The journey back to Atlanta was far less tense than it had been recently. Any differences we may have had were all in the past, if we wanted to survive then we couldn't constantly be at odds with each other. It wasn't to say that we wouldn't have opposing opinions in the future but we had to let go of the past.

It had been difficult for me to admit that leaving the women behind had been the right decision, but looking back I could see that Elyza was right. She had most likely been bitten and we would have all been caught short by the group of walkers even if we had by some miracle managed to get her over the fence. It had been the main source of conflict between us ever since the incident but now everything had become clear to me, and even though I still hated having to leave anyone behind, at least now I had accepted that we had no other choice.

Elyza had seemingly forgiven my harsh words to her the previous day but I was not about to forget so easily. It had been unnecessary and despite the circumstances I had no right to behave in such a way. We stopped off at a store not an hour into our trip and I presented Elyza with a pair of black ankle boots, adorned with a buckle clasp over the silver zip, no use having laces that would only trip her up.

I had been fortunate to find them, only able to locate one shoe before a hurried search had revealed the other half hidden beneath the mess of clothes strewn over the floor. Elyza immediately pulled off her own blood stained boots and grinned when the new pair fit with the same comfort. They were practical with a thicker sole and Elyza grinned in thanks at the gesture. It had admittedly been my fault that the others had gotten into such a state so it was the least I could do.

We were back on the road soon after, both our spirits lifted to be away from the beach and the futile hope that I had been clinging to. I had not forgotten about my quest to find my family. The hours of driving had given me time to think of a plan. I knew for certain that the Abigail had a radio and if I could get my hands on one myself then I could get in contact with them.

Over half of the distance back to the house in Arizona was covered in that one day. We had another uncomfortable sleep in the car that night before setting off again the next morning, only another three hours to go until we arrived at our destination.

I stretched out my arms in front of me and yawned, my muscles slightly cramped from being in the car for so long. It would be a relief to sleep in a bed once more, it had been a long time since I had been treated with the comfort of pillows and a mattress.

'Will you give it a rest Alicia,' Elyza muttered, raising a hand to cover the yawn that was forming on her own lips in response. 'We would be there by now if we had taken the motorbike.'

The thought of being balanced precariously on the back of the metal bike riding at over 100 mph made me suddenly thankful for the rusting car that had gotten us this far. Elyza felt differently, she loved nothing more than feeling the air whip by as she tore down an open stretch of road.

'This old car is good enough, though it's not really in keeping with your love of top speeds,' I commented, half expecting her to have revealed an excessively fast sports car when the motorbike had been firmly refused.

Elyza smiled fondly at the dashboard as she recalled a distant memory. 'This beauty got me out of a lot of scrapes, it would hardly be fair to ditch her after all we've been through together.'

I rolled my eyes, not understanding her attachment to the vehicle and wondered if she could ever choose between the car or her beloved motorbike.

We had allowed ourselves a lie in that morning and it was now gone midday, crossing into Arizona only a few hours later. The journey passed quickly, general conversation between the two of us now coming easily and within half an hour we were pulling into Mescal Loop and I recognised the house that Elyza used as a temporary base.

Elyza was whistling cheerily to herself as she cut the ignition, both of us pleased to be back and with no sighting of any walkers on the stretch of road. I hopped out of the car and took a deep breath of the fresh air as I relished the freedom of being out of the confined passenger seat.

I glanced around the street, hardly having had time to take in my surroundings before when we had quickly set off for San Diego and away from the walkers that had been attracted by the roar of the motor bike.

It was a neatly organised area, this house being one of the few two-storey buildings nestled amongst the bungalows each with its own gravelled drive. The air was quiet and it was almost peaceful until you remembered to keep an eye out for any nearby walkers.

Having taken in the sights I made my way up the small drive to the front door as Elyza grabbed the bags from the backseat of the car, not wanting to take her eye off her precious weapons for a moment.

My steps slowed when I neared the door to find it ajar. The frame had been torn from where someone had seemingly felt it necessary to kick the door in with considerable force. I came to a complete stop and called back to Elyza who glanced up curiously, gently shutting the car door and approaching with the bags in hand.

'This doesn't look good,' I commented, clearly remembering Elyza locking the door behind us when we had departed.

'No, it doesn't,' she murmured in agreement, holding out the duffel bag of weapons for me to take before drawing the handgun and advancing into the house. I grasped the material handle tight and followed behind her, holding my breath with anticipation as she swept through each room in turn, ready to fire on anything that moved.

My mouth hung open as my gaze fell on the mess that was once the clean and pristine kitchen, the cupboards flung open in search of supplies with anything of no use having been strewn carelessly on the floor. Smashed glass crunched under Elyza's new boots as she let the weapon fall to her side, letting out a sigh of annoyance at the state of the house. It was not only the kitchen that had been ransacked but every single room.

With horror, I realised that whatever supplies had been stashed here were most likely in the hands of whoever had broken in. We had planned to use those supplies to get us to Santa Fe, it would take us more time now to find food and water for the journey. With my attention on the bare shelves I jolted in surprise when Elyza darted out of the back door without warning, an anguished string of curses filtering through not a few seconds later.

'They took the goddam bike!' she exclaimed, storming back into the kitchen with a scowl as she holstered the handgun. There was no one here to use it on, they were long gone by now.

'All of the supplies are gone,' I said quietly, knowing that our whole purpose of returning here had been to pick up the spare food and water.

'If only they had the guts to stick around and fight for it. That bike was a good model, better than any others they've laid their grubby hands on,' Elyza went on darkly, seemingly not bothered by anything other than her precious bike.

'Did you hear me!? The supplies, they're all gone.'

The blonde didn't react for a moment as she stared into the distance, still wrapped up in thoughts of the lost bike. Her eyes finally snapped to mine when I repeated myself, confused to see no urgency in the blue depths. Did she realise that we only had a handful of cereal bars and a single bottle of water between us?

'Forget about the supplies. There's a chance we could catch up with those cowards, do you think they got far?'

I stared in disbelief at her clear prioritising of the bike over anything else, hardly able to comprehend her idea of chasing across America after these people.

'We are not traipsing without direction across the country for your bike without even a slim chance of coming across it. We have next to no supplies left and the bike is what you're worried about!?'

Elyza scoffed in response and strode out of the kitchen without another word, leaving me to stare wordlessly after her before hurrying to catch up when I heard her steps fading. Stepping out of the now broken front door into the bright sunlight, I lifted a hand to shield my eyes and jogged across the road to the adjacent house.

I followed the blonde curiously as we rounded the side of the building to the back of the next house and continued on until finally she came to a stop in front of the garage at its side. My heart jumped for a moment when I rounded the corner and saw the bloated dead body lying out over the gravel in the heat of the sun, having been there quite some time by the amount of decomposition that had already taken place.

Elyza stepped easily around the corpse to the garage entrance, waiting a second as I followed suit with considerably more reluctance. The smell was enough to make my stomach turn and I couldn't understand what we were doing here. My eye was drawn to what I had first assumed was pointless graffiti decorating the cream coloured door, only on closer inspection to see that the smeared black paint held a dark message.

DO NOT ENTER

DEAD INSIDE

DO NOT

The last word had been made unreadable by the spattered blood stain that I guessed had been from the corpse behind us. It didn't take a genius to figure out why someone would go to such effort but it made me even more uneasy when Elyza reached out a hand to grasp the handle.

'Wait, what are you doing?' I asked nervously, not reassured in the slightest when her lips curved into a mysterious smile and she made no move to withdraw her hand.

'You'll see.'

With one fluid motion, the garage door was sliding up and I tensed in preparation for whatever was about to come charging at us from the near darkness within, except nothing did. Not a single thing.

Elyza walked straight inside without hesitation, gesturing for me to follow. With the sunlight now streaming inside I could make out no corpses or walkers as the message had warned and glanced at her in confusion.

'Please tell me this is not where you keep a second bike?' I asked weakly, not doubting for a second that she would go to this much effort.

'I'm afraid not but that's a good idea,' she mused, pausing for a moment as if wondering why she had not thought of that. The next moment she was crossing the distance to the back of the garage to where a blanket had been thrown over a rectangular object. Nothing in here seemed to be particularly special, the usual array of tools and dusty shelves that had probably never been cleaned.

Elyza pulled the blanket back with a flourish, dropping it to the ground before lifting the lid off the wooden chest. I watched curiously as she heaved out a beige suitcase and laid it gently on the ground. Without a word, she pulled on the zipper which offered only a small amount of resistance, before finally pulling the case open.

My jaw almost fell in surprise when I caught sight of the sheer amount of food that had been shoved into the suitcase. A multitude of cans was stuffed in next to bottles of water, no wonder Elyza had not been worried about the missing supplies.

'I figured something like this might happen, so I took a few precautions,' she said with a proud smile, rising to her feet and dusting her hands off.

We were most certainly set up for the journey to Santa Fe, the worry easing from my mind now that we had these supplies to take. There was only so much of Elyza's gloating that I could take as she revealed a second suitcase hidden on the highest shelf in the corner, filled with just as many cans of food.

I rolled my eyes as she recalled my earlier doubt of her priorities, jabbing her playfully on the arm to shut her up.

'Let's just get the supplies in the car already,' I huffed, feigning annoyance as Elyza grinned at my back, the two of us then heaving the cases a short distance back to the parked vehicle. The weight of them was unforgiving, and I let out a breath as I shut the boot firmly. Everything was now ready for us to set off in the morning.

'So, what now?' I asked, hoping that there were no other hidden cases that needed to be relocated. Elyza pulled free a can from her pocket, presenting it with a smile.

'Care to join me for dinner?'

I had assumed we would be eating the food cold, which I would not have complained at due to the prospect of eating something other than cereal bars. I was pleasantly surprised when Elyza revealed that the inhabitants of the house had owned a wood burn stove, ideal for life without any power.

My appetite was growing steadily and it was with eagerness that I waited for the food to cook, soon being banned from the kitchen after constantly inquiring if the food was ready. I passed some time clearing up the worst of the mess in the front room before looking through a small collection of books that sat untouched by the staircase, though none of them looked particularly interesting.

On the lowest shelf I discovered an old game of monopoly resting on top of some classic literature, lifting it over to the table as I remembered the games played so long ago with my family. I removed the lid and waved away the dust that had come with it, finding the contents to still be in a fairly good condition. The game was forgotten when Elyza called from the kitchen and I left the box abandoned on the table whilst I went to claim my meal.

I ate on the couch with my legs drawn up under me, enjoying every mouthful of the hot food. I rested the plate on my lap one finished and let my head fall back against the cushions contentedly. I thanked Elyza again for the cooking, though she had laughed and told me that heating up some canned food could hardly be called cooking.

Before Elyza could move, I gathered up our plates and took them out into the kitchen, dropping them on the side before opening a can of mixed fruit. I grabbed two small plastic bowls for us and returned to find Elyza looking over the monopoly game.

'Did you play a lot?' she inquired as I dropped the bowls down next to the box.

'Yeah, with my family. It was something of a tradition.'

'Think you're good enough to beat me?' she inquired with a smirk. A beat of silence passed before I accepted the challenge.

'Without a doubt,' I said confidently, 'I'll be the car.'

We managed to fit in three games before we called it a night. We both won a game before Elyza claimed victory with the third. I stood and stretched my cramped muscles, having been sat cross legged on the floor for so long.

'It has to be said, that was a flawless victory,' Elyza stated proudly, thumbing through the collection of paper notes that she had acquired in the last game.

'Well I stood no chance when I landed on all your hotels,' I agreed, having gone bankrupt at an alarming speed after that. Elyza stood and waved the fake money in my face as if she had just won a fortune.

'Face it Alicia, you were no match for me,' she bragged with a grin, laughing when I shouldered past her in mock anger to go about putting the board away. I stifled a yawn as I shoved the small pieces back into the correct compartment, pleasantly surprised when Elyza knelt beside me to begin the tedious task of returning the money in the right order.

'You should head up and get some sleep, it's late,' Elyza told me once we had finished packing away the game, the evening had gone by relatively quickly despite the games reputation to drag on. 'You can choose any room, just don't bother with the door on the first left. There are some unidentified stains on the walls that aren't particularly decorative.

I grimaced at the thought, glad that Elyza had warned be before I'd unknowingly wandered in. With another yawn escaping my lips I wished Elyza goodnight and ascended the stairs to find a room. Ignoring the first door on the left entirely, I went straight to the end of the small corridor where one of the four bedrooms was located and twisted the handle to let my self in.

After only one small step inside the room I noticed that it was already occupied. Elyza's rucksack was thrown onto the crumpled sheets beside the blades that were usually strapped across her back. I was about to turn and leave when a picture frame caught my eye. It was set upright on the cabinet by the bed and I couldn't fight the curiosity that drove me to step further into the room.

I picked it up carefully by the plastic frame, noting that it was not layered in dust like the other objects in the room. Elyza had a wild grin on her face, her blonde hair flying in the breeze as she laughed at something the photographer had said. There were no sun glasses to hide her expression and I smiled to see her so full of joy. My attention drifted to the woman at her side who had an arm draped over her shoulder, her features similar to that of Elyza as she also grinned with amusement.

Aware that this would most likely be considered an invasion of privacy, I carefully placed the frame back in its original position so that it might appear untouched and felt that it was time I left before being discovered. A sharp gasp escaped my lips when I turned to see Elyza leaning casually against the door frame, an eyebrow arched questioningly in my direction. How she moved so silently I would never know, and focused instead on trying to calm my racing heart.

'I know I told you to pick any room Alicia but this is a surprise, it is a double bed though in case you were wondering?' she told me lightly, nothing in her tone to suggest that she was angry about the intrusion. I couldn't be sure how long she had been stood there, but I felt guilty for inspecting the personal item without permission.

'Oh, um, your bed does look uh comfy,' I stuttered, mentally questioning why I had said such a thing. I was more concerned with the possibility of being caught invading her privacy than I was thinking about a rational response.

Elyza's eyebrow rose even higher and she stepped into the room with slow, deliberate steps.

'Oh yeah?'

I was almost certain by this point that she had seen me looking at the picture and decided it was best to leave now before I made this any worse.

'Well, I'll just go and check out the other rooms, sorry for the intrusion,' I said slowly, stepping around the advancing girl before hurrying out into the corridor. I shut the door softly behind me and let out a breath, wishing I had just left the room alone. Elyza had shared very little when it came to the topic of her parents, and clearly valued privacy of such matters.

I eventually chose the room closest to the stairs, my mind still turning over thoughts of the blonde and her past. Sinking down onto the bed made me realise how tired I was and settled down onto the pillows, my eyes fluttering closed after a quick scan of the room showed nothing unusual that demanded my attention.

The unfamiliar surroundings did not make for an easy sleep but, with the curtains drawn tightly shut, I eventually drifted off. The next day we would be driving the rest of the way to Santa Fe and if all went well I would be gaining more insight into Elyza's life before I had met her. She was a mystery to me at the moment with her incredible fighting skills and medical knowledge.

My light rest was brought to end when I sat up abruptly on the bed, my thoughts clouded slightly as I tried to remember what had awoken me. I sat silently for a few moments, rubbing my eyes gently before a sound from outside stilled the motion. It had been a thud from outside, whether from this house or down the street I could not tell.

I rose from the bed and stood without a noise to listen intently. It sounded again, followed by a crash from one of the houses opposite. A spark of panic burned in my chest, what if the people who had stolen our supplies were back?

Without even making a conscious decision I was moving at a fast pace out into the corridor and hurried to throw open Elyza's door and warn her of the danger. She lifted her head as I rushed inside, the quilt falling down to her waist when she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

'Alicia?' she murmured, voice still thick with sleep even as she reached for the handgun on the cabinet. I moved over to her window and peaked out through the curtains, careful not to move them in case the motion was seen.

'I heard something, like a thud and then a crash,' I explained, beginning to doubt that it had come from the other end of the street after all. What if it had been from outside this house?

Elyza sensed my worry and threw back the covers to join me at the window.

'It's just a walker. It was wandering on the street a few hours ago but it must have found its way into that house,' Elyza explained, 'it doesn't know that we're in here so it's no danger to us. It'll move on soon enough.'

Her words reassured me slightly but I knew I would not be able to sleep with the knowledge that it was so close to us. Elyza moved away from the window and back to the bed, sliding back under the covers as I hovered by the window.

'Come and sit down, I'm awake now,' she said lightly, not seemingly angry at how I had burst into the room uninvited.

With only the slightest hesitation I complied and clambered onto the foot of the bed, resting my back against the metal bars that extended out of the frame behind me. I was still unsure how Elyza felt about me seeing the picture earlier so I was not about to be the first to speak.

'How about some Q&A to pass the time? We ask a question alternatively and the other person has to answer.'

I nodded slowly, not seeing a problem with her suggestion. If anything it would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about my companion.

'Wonderful. I'll start,' she said, settling back against the pillow as she regarded me. 'What would Alicia's life be like had the apocalypse not got in the way?'

'I was accepted into UC Berkeley so that's where I would have been if not for all of this,' I replied, remembering how proud and excited I had once been at the prospect. It had been my chance to escape from the never ending drama of Nick's addiction and the possibility to start my own path in life. Now it just felt like an old dream.

My eyes flicked back to the window when a faint clatter was heard from a distant building, but I returned my attention to Elyza when I realised that it was my turn to ask a question.

'How did you pick up your fighting and medicinal skills?' I inquired, pulling myself free from the memory. It wasn't something you just became good at because of the apocalypse.

'I got medical knowledge from my mom really, she was an amazing doctor and inspired me to follow in her footsteps. I had been reading up for my course before all this happened and obviously I learnt a lot from my mom,' she explained, a hint of sadness crossing her face to recall her parents. 'As for the fighting skills, I fell into a group of very diverse people when I first hit the streets and one of them kindly trained me to fight as he did.'

'What happened to him?'

'He died,' she said simply, 'and I believe that was two questions.'

Elyza thought carefully for a moment as to what she would ask, a smile curving her lips as she decided.

'How would you describe me in one word?'

I stared back at her in silence for a moment, surprised by the sharp turn in conversation. There were many words that I could use to describe the girl.

Intense, skilled, ferocious, Incredible.

My train of thought ended rather abruptly as I wondered where the last one had come from. Suddenly feeling the pressure of Elyza's eyes resting patiently on me for a reply, I settled for something less complimenting.

'Insufferable,' I offered, drawing out the word with mock irritation which resulted in a laugh from Elyza.

'I was thinking more along the lines of...legendary? There's always phenomenal but you can take your pick, lets see how you feel in a few weeks.'

I smiled back, trying to hide my surprise out how many compliments I could have, and had almost given her.

'My turn,' I stated, my eyes flicking over to the frame on the cabinet before returning to Elyza's unwavering gaze. She knew that I had seen it, no point dancing around it any longer.

'Is that your mom?' I asked softly, wary of what response I may get. She turned to look at the picture with a fond smile and nodded.

'That was taken a few months before she died. We were having a day out at the beach on her day off, it was my girlfriend who was taking the picture.'

I was instantly curious but did not want to pry further. Elyza had never spoken about being in a relationship and that left me wondering what had happened since that photo had been taken.

'The day my mom died, we were packing and getting ready to leave,' Elyza continued without any prompting. 'We wanted to find somewhere safer away from the carnage that was happening. Before we could, a band of raiders broke in and threatened us, they wanted all of our supplies. They took everything and shot my mom point blank. That day the life I knew ended and I had to become stronger to survive.'

I listened silently as she recalled the memory, sickened by how such cruelty could happen as the world fell apart. Elyza's willingness to speak of it quickly escaped and she visibly pulled herself back to reality. Pity was the last thing she wanted so I said nothing, silence could sometimes be as good, if not better than any sympathetic words.

Without warning Elyza shuffled forwards on the bed until she was sat in front of me, reaching out a hand to grip my left arm. I was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and glancing down I realised what the object of her focus was.

'Why this tattoo?' she asked me, tilting her head to one side as she took in the swirls of dark ink just above my wrist.

My breath caught for a moment when her thumb gently began to trace its outline.

'I, I uh did it myself,' I finally stammered, seeming to impress Elyza who continued to gaze down at it.

'Wow, it's beautiful. I've always loved art,' she said quietly, but I barely heard her, my own focus firmly on her face as she admired the ink. I was acutely aware of the sensation on my arm as her thumb continued to follow the pattern. For a moment I was fixed in that second, not even bothered that she could glance up at any second to see my expression.

I jerked back suddenly when another muted crash sounded from a nearby house, my heart racing at the unexpected noise though Elyza remained unaffected. Not entirely sure what this sudden mood was that had overcome me, I decided to leave Elyza to get some rest. I'd already lingered to long.

'I'd best get back to my room, you need some sleep before you get behind the wheel again,' I insisted, even as I slowly edged towards the door.

'It might be quieter in here than your room, if you cant sleep because of the noise,' Elyza suggested, moving back up to her previous position at the top of the bed. I shook my head without even properly registering what she was saying.

'Sleep well,' I said quickly, pulling the door shut behind me as I retreated into the corridor. What the hell had that been?

I was too tired to dwell on my odd behaviour and instead trudged back to my room and settled on the bed, trying to block out the noise from down the street. Tomorrow we would be on our way to Santa Fe, where we would hopefully be reuniting Elyza with her old group. After all that she had been through I could only hope that she was granted this one moment of happiness, she more than deserved it.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment and let me know what you thought! :)