Just a quick note to say thanks for all the support, I'm so glad people are enjoying it :)
Alicia woke up to the sound of the car engine. It sputtered and died a few times. But she couldn't feel herself moving. She sat up, rubbing her eyes free of sleep and peered out of the window. They were parked in a small town, Elyza lying awkwardly under the dashboard of a nearby pick-up truck, one leg dangling out of the open door. Alicia shimmied over to the door and opened it.
"Morning."The reply was a loud thump and a grunt of pain as Elyza started and hit her head off of the dashboard. "Payback," sniggered Alicia. She was pretty sure she heard a muttered swear word, followed by the spluttering of the engine again. Slipping out of the car, she walked over to her companion. "What're you doing?"
Elyza didn't look at her as she kept fiddling with wires. "What does it look like?"
"It looks like crime."
At this, Elyza glanced up at her, returning Alicia's grin. "I think the coppers have bigger priorities right now." The engine sprang to life again, and Elyza sat up, looking pleased. "Got us a new ride. Bigger tank, more space. It'll handle off-road a lot easier."
All around were dust-covered caravans, teetering near the edge of a rocky outcrop. "Where are we?"
"Getting into desert country now. The caravans are empty, I already checked."
Elyza got up and patted the truck's door in a fond gesture. "We had a truck like this for a while. I always wanted to sit on the back." Opening the boot of the car, she began heaving the bags that had been crammed into the small space into the pickup. "We can cover stuff over, and keep the essentials in the back seat -"
"Elyza…" said Alicia suddenly, peering over her shoulder. A strange, twisted snarl sounded from behind her, cold and distant. "Walker."
Elyza looked over to see the walker shambling his way towards them. He was still some way off, his flesh rotting off of his bones. His movements were slow and clumsy. She sighed and dumped the bags into the truck, muttering about her peaceful morning being ruined.
Alicia stood by, sweaty fingers gripping her bat. Adrenaline shot through her as she kept her eyes on the walker. A quick glance to Elyza made her jaw drop. Instead of grabbing her shotgun and dealing with the creature, she was calmly rooting around in the glove box. "Shoot it!" she shouted, holding her bat aloft as the walker came closer, slowly but surely.
Elyza let out a small laugh. "No point wasting bullets on that thing. The noise might draw others too, if they're near."
This did not placate Alicia at all, as she looked desperately from Elyza to the walker with increasing anxiety. "Elyza!" The walker was almost at the car now, and Elyza didn't seem bothered at all. "Elyza, what the hell!"
Elyza withdrew from the car, holding aloft a rusty kitchen knife. "Relax, Alic –"
Alicia backed away, the bat held out in front of her like a sword as the walker approached her. "Stop messing about!"
"Okay, okay!" said Elyza, dodging around the walker and drove the knife into the walker's head. The walker snarled, reaching for her but Elyza pried the knife free and dodged behind it, stabbing it again. This time, it fell to the ground, dark blood leaking across the dusty ground. Elyza bent down and pulled her knife free. "Jeez, relax, Al –"
"Elyza!" yelled Alicia. "Behind you!"
Elyza spun to see another walker lunging for her. "Bloody hell!" She stumbled back, her foot catching on one of her dropped bags. Falling hard against the car, she caught the edge of the boot, trying to right herself as the walker lunged for her again.
A battle cry sounded from beside her. Elyza looked up to see Alicia towering over her, swinging the bat down. The moment seemed to pass in slow motion. Alicia's hair flew around her, illuminated like a halo by the sun. The bat in her hands gleamed as she arced it through the air, straight down onto the walker's head. The walker snarled, staggering a few steps away from them. Alicia brought the bat back up and sent it straight back down again with all her strength. Blood spattered across the ground, accompanied by chunks of soft bone. The walker fell to the ground and Alicia whacked it again. And again.
"Alicia," said Elyza softly, righting herself and stowing her knife away. "Alicia, stop." She reached out and held the bat before Alicia could bring it down again. "It's okay."
Alicia's breath heaved, her eyes glinting with unrepressed hatred as she glared at the corpse. Elyza could feel Alicia's strength behind the bat. She resisted for a few more seconds before she allowed Elyza to guide the bat to her side.
"I killed it," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. They were close enough for Elyza to feel the heat of her breath, their hands brushing where they both clung to the bat.
Elyza frowned at the sound – Alicia sounded alive, her eyes dancing with the thrill of her first kill. She looked to Elyza, the glee barely restrained as she stood up straight. "I killed it."
"Come on," said Elyza, tugging her elbow and pulling her away from the walker's inanimate corpse. "Let's get moving."
Alicia stared at the bloodied bat for a few moments more and then walked around the truck, hopping inside.
"What was that?" asked Elyza once they were on the road again. "Back there with the walker, what were you thinking?"
Alicia, who had been staring out of her window, looked over at Elyza, eyebrow raised. "Should I apologise for saving your life?"
"Firstly, I had it under control." Alicia snorted. "Secondly, it was reckless."
Crossing her arms, Alicia put her feet up on the dashboard. "Why do you care?"
At this, Elyza found the answer would not come easily to her. "I want you to get back to your family." Elyza hung her arm out of the window, feeling the warm metal against her skin. "It'd be nice to have a little more happiness in this world."
As night fell after another long day of driving, Elyza found her eyes drooping. Her quest to reunite Alicia with her family had been the first proper drive she had experienced for a while, other than surviving. She was determined to return Alicia to her family. Whether this new-found drive was borne of her own experience of living without a family, or to prove that even in this hell of a world, good things still happened, she wasn't sure. But all she knew was that she woke up earlier, and stayed up as late as her body allowed in her attempt to catch up.
What she would do afterwards, she hadn't really considered. What she had contemplated the possibility that Alicia's family were in a completely different stretch of desert. Over such a vast area, the odds of finding two cars was insanely low. Like that would stop her trying anyway.
A quick glance at the sleeping brunette made Elyza smile. Her face, paled by the silvery moonlight, was peaceful in rest, untroubled by the horrors of this hellish world. Elyza felt a strange warmth, a softness blooming in her heart that she had tried to harden to the point where only rock remained. But these desert rocks set against the barren landscape, even they had life growing from them, as unlikely as it seemed in such a harsh climate.
Hour after hour passed in the murky darkness. It must be nearing midnight, she guessed. In the headlights, she had seen a number of rusting cars, but none matching Alicia's descriptions. Her head nodded forwards every minute or so, only to jolt upright again before she fell asleep. Perhaps it was best she find a place to rest for the night.
The truck handled off-road easily, making quick work of the small hills and rocky terrain until she had set them off the beaten track on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley below.
She sat back, letting out a deep breath. There was far more room than she was used to, and she enjoyed stretching out her muscles without feeling cramped. Stifling a yawn, she settled down to sleep, casting one last look to the sleeping Alicia. Then she looked up at the stars in the clear sky – now they were enveloped in darkness, she could see millions upon millions of glinting lights above. And below, strangely enough. But what was a star doing deep in the valley?
Elyza jolted upright. It wasn't star light she was seeing. Now she focused, she could see another, dimmer light moving around the larger one. A torch. Both were glinting tantalisingly close, only a few miles away.
All thoughts of sleep forgotten, she sat up a little straighter and gunned the engine, careering off towards the lights. The truck lurched as she sped up, knocking Alicia awake.
"'Lyza?" she mumbled, rubbing her head. "Why are you still driving?" She sat up, looking out of the windscreen. "Walkers?"
"No," replied Elyza. "I can see lights down in the valley. It could be anyone," she added quickly. She knew how cruel it was to have your hopes rise only to drop back down like a lead weight.
Alicia's eyes lit up, a smile on her face. "But it's possible."
"Yes. But just…" Elyza grunted as the truck lurched over the edge of the valley. The lights gleamed in the distance, a few more joining the first two. Elyza counted two more. "Let's be careful. We don't know who's down there."
Alicia nodded, though she leaned forwards, bracing herself against the dashboard. The truck reached the bottom of the valley, the suspension creaking to adjust to the sudden change of gradient.
Within minutes, Elyza slowed the truck down to a crawl a short distance from the lights. She had considered switching off her headlights, but given the tricky terrain, she decided to risk it. Grinding to a halt, she put on the brake but kept the engine idling. By her side, Alicia was leaning as far forwards as she could, staring at the lights ahead. Three torch-beams swung back and forth. As they got closer, the beams were trained in their direction.
Elyza grabbed her shotgun and tucked her knife into her pocket. "Stick close." Kicking open the door, she raised the gun and stood in the glow of her headlights. Alicia stood at her side, bat held ready. Elyza handed her the torch so she could have a steady shot.
A torch beam began waving its way towards them. Elyza moved forwards, stepping in front of Alicia, pointing her shotgun at the approaching figure.
"If this gets bad," she muttered over her shoulder. "Get in the truck and go."
"I'm not leaving you–"
Elyza's tone dropped into a growl. "I'm not giving you an option."