A/N: Just as promised, here's chapter two! And before we delve in to Tina's story, I would just like to say:

(If any of you aren't caught up with season 4 of FearTWD, I would stop reading now. MAJOR spoilers ahead.)

Well, The Walking Dead universe has done it again; they've killed off my favorite character. Argh. Well, seeing as this story is JUST making it to season two, I still have a long way to get there. I don't know what I'm going to do just yet when I reach that part, but I have time. I'll come up with something. Now, if any of you read my Not How We Were story, you know that I am not a fan of when TWD kills off half of my fricken ship that I have literally created a whole story for. I'm fixing it on that story, so I'll probably fix it here, too. I'm just not sure how yet.

So, point is: if you are worried for season 4 when I get there in this story, don't be. I'll manage something. Maybe not a whole happy ending, seeing as this is FearTWD we're talking about, but I'm not gonna let THAT happen. We'll see!

Update as of 5/9/19: Awe, back when they killed off Nick. Ouch.

Well, if any of you are interested, I DO have an ending in sight! There's a barebones plan now, but I think it's a very rewarding end for these characters that we know and love!

I'll admit, I should not be out in direct sunlight while I'm still healing from my sunburn. I'm probably making it worse. But it's so damn nice out that I can't care.

I lounge beside Alycia on pearl white plastic lawn chairs, the first level up on the Abigail. They're bent completely straight to the ground so we can lay flat. She's facing the sun. I'm resting on my belly, my face curled on bent arms as the sun beats on my back, covered only by my whipping hair and the black sports bra I'm wearing. I'm comfortable and content. It may be the end of the world, but in this moment, it doesn't feel like it.

"MAYDAY!"

"HELP! HELP US!"

"PLEASE!"

"MAYDAY!"

Alycia and I share a look of fear before bolting upright and running to the railing. Madison trails close behind, running from inside the Abigail to reach us.

Dozens of people are floating nearby on a rickety, rotting raft. It's barely a 5x5; I'm not sure how long they'll be able to float on there before it'll sink. Clothes are tattered and burned, no belongings in hand, or backpacks on shoulders. These people must have been through hell.

"Oh my god." Madison exclaims softly. I nod quickly in agreement. Poor guys.

"What do we do, mom?" Alycia asks, eyes burning with concern.

"I'll talk to Strand." She answers. Yeah, good luck with that. She pulls away from us and turns to the captain's cabin, throwing, "Go get Travis," over her shoulder.

And we do. I grab my t-shirt and toss it on before we bolt past the doors threshold. We find him in the dining room, cleaning up a couple plates for lunch in the deep sink.

"There's people." Alycia says quickly, grabbing his hand and tugging him behind us.

"Wait, what?" He stutters, confused.

I explain, "There's over a dozen people stranded on a raft. They need help, we need to help them."

We pass the threshold of the glass door leading to the first level of the ship, where Daniel was fishing earlier and Nick rests. I barely look at Nick, but his ensemble is... Interesting to say the least. Underwear showing above saggy khakis, no shirt on his chest, but wrapped in his hair to keep it out of his face. Because hair ties are too mainstream. Idiot.

Daniel's fishing equipment is pulled to the side, away from the edge of the boat. Not that he'd get anything out of the water besides debris from whatever wreckage these poor strangers have been in.

In Daniel's hands is his shotgun, yet again, as he points out, "We have company."

"Oh, shit!" Travis exclaims. His hands grasp at the burning metal of the railing, grip tight. "Where's Madison?"

"She's talking to Strand." Alycia answers. "We got to get these people."

I nod energetically. If we can help them, we should. "We have to."

Travis looks away from the two of us, down to the litter floating in the water. Contemplating. It's like I can see the gears in his head, turning at rates faster than I can comprehend.

"We're gonna help them, right?" Alycia asks.

The frown he makes after the question breaks my heart. He's saying no. How could he say no?! These are human beings we could help!

"Right now, help us." He changes the subject. "Inside, there's a radio."

"Travis-" I start. Alycia opens her mouth to object, too, but Travis cuts us off.

"Girls." He starts again. "Inside, there's a radio. Listen to the channels. We got to get a track on where we can go that's safe, okay?"

"What about these people?" Alycia objects.

"I'm gonna talk to Strand." He dismisses us, mentally at war with himself. "If you two could do that for us, right now. Go." He gently shoves us toward the inside of the boat, and we follow through the threshold of the opened glass door.

I look behind us one last time, my eyes gleaming over Travis and accidentally locking with Nick's. His are just as worried as mine probably are. Then I turn away from him and run to the large radio with Alycia.

"When this is over," I start, "Tell Nick I think he looks like an idiot with his hair like that."

"He knows; he just doesn't give a shit." Alycia shrugs. She fiddles with a couple of the dials before it turns on and emits crackling static into the air.

"Have you worked with one of these before?" I ask. She grabs the large, black box and we begin our descent down the curving stairs.

"A couple times, yeah."

She turns another dial, and a deep voice calls out, "Mayday, mayday, mayday!" Oh, no. "This is the Summer Wind. We're taking on water-"

As we head down the hallway to our bedroom Alycia clicks to another radio wave, and this time a soft, feminine voice calls out, "There's another boat, they're boarding and I don't know what they're gonna do."

"Oh, god." I say gravely.

I see Chris walking out of his shared bedroom with Nick, his belongings in a single duffel bag on his shoulder. He shuffles past, warily eyeing the radio in Alycia's hands before turning the corner of the hallway that leads out to the other side and to other rooms. Moving to the other side of the boat?

I follow the next broadcast; Alycia doesn't stay on this one long. "The population of this city is officially zero. I repeat, there are no more living in my city!"

My hand is shaking as I open the door. These people, all of them, are in a world of shit.

"Don't let it get to you," Alycia murmurs, her voice pained as much as mine. She flips the channel over as we sit on the edge of her bed side by side.

I don't manage the first part of the next broadcast, but I get, "… People on the cliff. People are jumping!"

More voices fill the background of this channel, at least three other voices, one of them a small boy. "Mommy—Mommy won't wake up!"

"They were hurt and won't wake up." An older voice cries. Not by much; his voice is higher, puberty-like. Children. Kids.

She flips it again, pained eyes meeting mine. There's a lot of static and chatter on this channel. The only sentence I can make out is an older woman's voice, gravely whining, "I saw his head go away. It just… Went away. I don't-"

Alycia switches the channel again, her and I both hoping for better news than this. This virus, this bloody apocalypse, has spread everywhere.

The speed of the Abigail picks up as we hear a strong, soldier-like voice announce, "This is Coast Guard Station L.A.L.B. We have no assistance to provide. I repeat, there is no rescue by sea, land, or by air. There's nothing… Forgive us."

We shuffle through a few more channels, listening to more horrid stories. It feels like each one gets progressively worse. Ten more horror stories and I'm done.

"Alycia, I..." I can't. I can't anymore.

"Go." Her voice is soft and hurt, eyes glassy. She shouldn't go through this alone.

"Are you sure?" I ask her quietly.

"Mayday, mayday! The infected, they're in the water-"

I need to leave. I can't hear this anymore. My eyes glaze at the damn black box. I wish it would stop.

"Yeah." Alycia nods. "Go. I'll keep an ear on it."

"Okay." Thank you.

Slowly, I head out of the room and close the door behind me. So many lives; elderly, children, regular bloody people all suffering to this awful devastation.

I walk aimlessly throughout the ship, up the stairs to the second level, by the hall that leads to the dining area and out to the front. Ophelia's resting on the couch by the windows, alone and a blanket resting on her bottom half as she reads from a pristine kept hard cover book.

"This seat taken?" I ask and point to the open cushion beside her.

"Not at all. Pop a squat." She pats it.

I sit next to her, giving a quick thanks, and comment on the book. "Whatcha reading?"

"Grapes of Wrath." Ophelia replies, thumbing through it. "Goes to show how deathly bored I am."

I give an empty chuckle. Normally I'd laugh at the joke, but after listening to so much death—I don't have it in my heart to enjoy the humor.

"Need any help with the bandage?" I change the subject and look at it. Blood's seeped through the pale cloth; probably not good.

"I changed it earlier." Ophelia brushes it off. "I'm fine. Managing."

"Okay." I'm a little disappointed; I was hoping to get more first aid training. I'll just have to go back to the book. At least she's healing okay. Thank god for that. "Glad to hear it."

"By the way, before I forget." She adjusts in her seat as she looks over to me. "Nick told me to tell you. Day three."

I scoff in disbelief, though I can't suppress the grin that follows. Is he going to do this every day until day seven? He's certainly that stubborn.

"Any idea what it means?" She asks.

I jerk a sarcastic nod. "Oh yeah, I know. Don't worry about it."

She shrugs, curious but not pushing it. "Okay."

The glass door from outside opens, Madison pushing through it. She looks grim; a deep, sad frown and blank eyes gracing her features.

"We're deep enough." She says. "We're going to bury Liza."

We're on the floating raft at the back of the ship, all of us, sans Strand of course. Liza, her face left uncovered, is still wrapped in the pale white sheet as her body rests on a wooden stand right by the edge of the raft. Her face is ashen, the only contrast being the bright red blood around the bullet wound on her forehead. Besides all that, though, she looks peaceful. Her lips curve upward, the ghostly hint of a smile remaining on her deceased form.

I stand beside Nick and Alycia as they rest on the set of stairs leading up to the captain's quarters. Travis stands next to Liza, eyes hollow of any emotion besides grief. Madison stays close, by the railing at the edge of the boat. Close, but not smothering. Letting him mourn by himself while still offering a crutch. Ophelia and Daniel are away from the group, offering those who actually knew her some space to grieve.

Chris, though, stands the farthest away from her. He's at the bend of the boat, where the raft connects to the Abigail and the pathway curves over the side. He looks out to the water, away from everyone; away from her. It's like he can't even look at Liza. I'm sure it's too painful.

"Um..." Travis starts. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying, "You all knew Liza long enough to see what kind of person she was, how devoted she was to her family. She loved to help people. She would help anyone, and she did. She was selfless, y'know? She just, would give from her heart."

He lets out a shaky breath as his eyes cast to the ground. I try not to notice the tears welling in his eyes. He bats them away with a palm as he begins again. "And she could be fierce. Oh my god. She was so strong, it was painful sometimes." He lets out a soft chuckle. I can imagine. I barely knew her and I could see all that determination.

He rests a hand on the wood of the platform she rests on, gazing down to her lovingly.

"And the best thing that we ever did together was our son..." Chris shoots his head up, staring to Travis. His expression is unreadable. Anger? Sadness? Grief? Melancholy? All of the above? "She loved him more than anything or anyone."

Chris takes a slow breath, shutting his eyes before he stares straight at his mother's face. He takes slow, deliberate steps, padding up to the front of her platform. He stares down to her, and I don't miss the second-long flash of utter hurt on his face. The brokenness he feels. The pain. The sadness. Then the anger.

He pulls the white sheet draped around her to cover her, teeth clenched, and he yanks up the platform from underneath her. Liza's body slides down the wood, splashing into the water violently. The rest of us stare in shock. None of us were expecting that this is how she'd be buried into the blue.

Chris stalks off quickly, palming away escaped tears as he stomps back inside the boat. Travis, stunned in place, shakes off the surprise and follows Chris down the dark hallway leading into the Abigail.

Then silence. It's deafening as we all shift awkwardly, waiting for something to happen.

"Um..." Madison starts in the awkward silence. "Why don't we all get the table ready for lunch, yeah?"

"Yeah." I nod, and one by one we trail inside the Abigail, going to the dining room.

Alycia pulls away from the group, ready to take the curving stairs up a level before I stop her. "'Lych, come on. Lunch time."

"Yeah, I know, just gotta check the radio first."

I frown. "The radio can wait 'till later, love. At least eat without all that floating in your head."

"I'll be fine. Don't wait up." She replies, bounding up the stairs with vigor.

Madison and I share a look of concern as she hands me a set of plates. Ophelia grabs the silverware, setting forks and knives down at each dish I set. Madison sets the glasses, Nick rests on one of the couches, and Daniel cooks the eel he caught earlier. I'm not looking forward to eating it, but at least we have bread and fruit to wash it down.

Travis amble into the room slowly, eyes glassy. The surely forming bruise on his eye is visible, but I try not to look at it.

"Travis." Madison calls to him. She pads over, gently twisting his head so she can take a closer look at it. "Oh, it went that well, huh?"

"Oh yeah, great." Travis says sarcastically, though his tone has no bite. He just seems... Sad. Which is understandable. Poor guy has been through enough. Him and Chris both. Hopefully the tension dies down soon.

"Remind me to never have kids." I whisper to Ophelia as we meet at the same plate set.

"Me too."

Madison takes a step back from him, pulling away and turning to the dark hallway. "I'll go talk to him." She says softly. Travis just nods in agreement.

Her soft footsteps fill my ears as I turn back to the table and set the plate of canned veggies down. Yummy, I think with an eye roll. Travis goes to sit on one of the very expensive-looking couches, pouring a glass of very expensive-looking bourbon. Strand has the money; he loves to spend it. Travis deserves the few minutes of peace.

"Travis." Alycia calls out, bounding down the stairs two at a time with the radio in hand. "Travis, someone needs helps. They're sinking."

It's like I can see the frustration bubbling in him. Travis let's out a slow, "Who?" before taking a long sip of the alcohol. Goddammit, Alycia, let him take a break.

"Look," Alycia sighs as she takes a seat on the couch opposite him. "It's just him, his brother, and his sister-in-law. Just three. We can manage that."

"What's this?" Madison asks as she enters the room, swiftly walking to Alycia.

"Jack. His name's Jack." Alycia says, looking between the two. I rest my arms on the long table in front of me, concerned. I was adamant on putting those survivors on the raft with us. What's a whole three more people on here? If they need help, they need help. I look over to Ophelia, but she's unreadable. Concerned, yes. I can't see her stance on the problem, though.

"Who the hell is Jack?" Strand's deep baritone asks as he gets down the stairs. His eyes train harshly on Alycia, anger burning without even attempting to look calm.

"You gonna make me ask twice?" His voice raises as she stays silent, nervous.

"He's on a fishing boat," Alycia explains, "He's near here and he's sinking."

"You talked to him." Strand clarifies. Alycia looks over to Madison, as if silently asking for permission to speak, before Madison nods to her encouragingly.

"Yes, I talked to him."

"Did you tell him anything about us?"

Alycia has the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look as she stutters out, "I… No, I didn't tell him anything important."

Oh, dear. Strand did not like that.

"What didn't you say, Alycia?!" Strand raises his voice, nearly shouting. "What didn't you tell him about us?!"

"Calm down." Travis says softly, tired but ready to defend.

"This isn't a game!" Strand glares daggers at the two. "It's mob rule on land; you think it's any better out here?"

"Back off."

"What're you gonna do, Travis?! You feel strong?"

Travis stands up, resting a hand on Alycia's shoulder as he steps in front of her to give some space between the two.

Strand takes a deep, huffing breath before projecting his voice for our group. "Please, let me explain the rules of the boat. Rule number one," he holds his index finger out. "It's my boat." He clasps his hands together, straightening his back out. "Rule number two, it is my boat. And if there remains confusion about rules one and two, I offer rule number three; it's my goddamn boat."

His voice goes lower, more controlled as he finishes with, "If it weren't for me, you would all be burned. You're welcome." He storms off from us, bounding up the stairs with a vicious vigor.

His anger is met with silence as we all process the scene. Hah, only day two on the boat and we're already causing problems. Bloody wonderful.

"I'll go talk to him." Nick says, standing from the couch and trailing behind our happy captain.

The rest of us finish prepping the table and food. Bread, butter, veggies, some fruit, and when Daniel finishes with the eel he sets the covered platter in the middle, only opening it once Nick has come down the steps with a joyful vigor. It's one of the few times I've seen him actually grin.

"Alright, are we all ready to eat?" Madison announces. Her question is met with many excited nods. "Then let's dig in!"

We all grab seats and start to fill up our plates with the diverse options. I scoop a small heaping of the veggies first, then a slice of bread, which I notice is warm enough that the butter melts on top. Yummy! Then I grab some slices of mango and some grapes, waiting to grab the eel last. I'm not sure if I'm going to like it much, so I'd rather get the small portion.

SPLASH!

The sound travels through the whole room, startling everyone. Splash? Why was there a splash?

"Chris!" Travis exclaims. The only person not at the table besides Strand. Shit.

The whole group rushes through the open door, bounding down the stairs and onto the wooden platform of the ship. Nick leads the group, barreling down first and diving into the water to grab Chris. If he can find him. It doesn't look like Chris has surfaced the water at all. Shit, shit.

I block the sun out with my eyes as I search through the water for the two. There's a huge cloud of fog coming our way, making the visibility even shittier.

"Chris!" Travis calls out, eyes darting over the surface of the water as he nervously twitches in place.

"I can't see either of them." I say, my voice worried as I stand beside Travis on the platform. "Can you?"

"There." Travis points, and through the fog I can see the two breaking the water's surface. "Chris?"

"Is he okay?" Madison calls out to Nick.

"Hey, come on in!" Nick answers jovially. His hands swing back and forth around him as he treads water. "The water's fine."

He and Chris float off in different directions, and I sigh. We were supposed to be having lunch. I try not to let my nerves get shot as Nick dives under the water again, swimming deeper than before. He doesn't surface until he's gone a good ten feet farther away from the boat. Then he dives again.

I swear to god, if he drowns I will revive him and kill him myself.

He doesn't surface happily this time. Instead, he screams. "MOM!" A shot of fear burns through me as I hear the agitation in his voice.

"Travis!" Madison calls, pointing to the fog.

No, not fog. Smoke.

A shipwreck floats in tatters and pieces throughout the clear blue around us. Debris ripples through the water, large and small chunks with odds and ends strewn about them. The front of the ship is largely held together, but flipped upside down in the water. The dead float freely as well, a good dozen surrounding the Abigail. Their moans fly into my ears as my heart soars to my throat.

"Get him out of there." My hands grip onto Travis' forearm. "Get Nick out of there, NOW!"

"GET OUT OF THE WATER!" Madison screams to Nick and Chris. "NOW, BOYS! GET OUT!"

Travis pulls away from me and hops on to the raft tied securely to the Abigail. In little time he undoes the knots keeping it attached, and he starts up the engine and pulls away from us.

"Where is he?" I ask Madison, searching the waters for Nick. Chris is closer; it shouldn't take too long for Travis to get him. But Nick—

"I don't see him. Oh my god…" Madison gasps under her breath.

"Nick!" Alycia screams from the first level of the ship. I follow her eyesight and find him floating off, far in the distance.

"I hear someone!" He calls back. He dives under the water again, his feet breaking the surface as he kicks himself further to the wreckage. Alycia and Madison scream out to him again, calling him back to the ship. I stomp to the edge of the platform, having half a mind to get out there and pull his ass back to the Abigail.

Travis finally gets the raft close enough to Chris to pull him out of the water. Just in the nick of time, too, as there was an infected right behind him, grasping at his ankle. Great. One down, one to go.

"Nick!" Madison screams out beside me. I try to ignore the pounding in my chest. I can't see him, I can't hear him. Where did he go? Damn this seven day rule. I scream out for him too, the terror in me rising by the second.

Travis calls his name out, swiftly pulling off his jacket and jumping into the water, quickly paddling to the immense wreckage of the front of the ship.

"Nick!" I scream out, my eyes taking in every little detail. "Goddammit, Nick!"

He finally surfaces the water, gasping for air as he triumphantly holds a plastic bag with a book in it above his head. Thank the fucking lord.

Travis and Nick both paddle over to the raft, taking a quick moment to breathe as they float.

Fast footsteps fill my ears as Strand hops to us. "We should be leaving now." He bounds down the steps leading to the captain's area, all the way to the platform beside me and Madison. "Someone's joining us."

"Travis!" Madison screams out. He and Nick pull themselves onto the raft, and Travis starts up the motor.

"It could be no one." Strand says as he runs up the steps leading to the platform. Then he stops by Alycia. "Or it could be the ones who did that."

Shit. It doesn't seem like Alycia's radio crush is quite-so-innocent. But quite frankly, I don't give a damn in the moment. Madison trails after Strand as Alycia and Ophelia grab pale white towels from one of the cabinets inside the living area of the boat quickly, coming back down the platform just as the raft hits the edge of the Abigail.

The boys try to secure it back to the side of the platform as Madison comes back down the stairs. "We have to go. We have to go now."

"What?" Travis asks, disoriented.

Ophelia hands Nick and Chris each a towel and they begin to dry themselves off and Madison shouts, "Strand! We're clear!"

"What's happening? What's going on?" Travis asks.

"Whoever did that…" Madison points to the wreckage in front of us. "They're coming back."

Shit.

Madison, Travis, Daniel, and Ophelia hop up the stairs up to the captain's quarters, probably going to talk to Strand about the wreckage situation. Travis grabs a towel from Ophelia as they do, and he brings it to his hair and dries as they run.

In the brief moment of silence, I immediately stomp over to Nick, throwing my arms around his damp form tightly. He's surprised and rigid at first, but his arms go around me and his head rests atop mine after the moment. I sigh loudly into his shirt, breathing him in. He's fine, I tell myself. He's right here and fine. If I don't kill him, that is.

"Don't you ever. Do that. Again, yank." I command, mumbling into his shirt. He has no response; he just holds me tightly.

Alycia heads back inside, Chris following suit with his towel wrapped around his neck.

"I thought we were supposed to stay away from each other?" Nick lowly comments. I'm not looking at his face, but I can hear his smirk.

"Shut up. That doesn't work if you die in the water."

I pull my head away from his chest and look up to him. "Please don't give me a heart attack again?"

"No promises." He grins to me. His hands rub comfortingly at my forearms. "But I'll try. That I can promise."

"You're an idiot, Nick Clarke."

"But I'm your idiot."