PREVIOUSLY
Elyza and I haven't spoken since her little storm off and telling by the way she is staring me down I can see she is still pissed. I try hard to relay my emotions to her with just a simple look but it's all for nothing, she looks away and so do I.
Reluctantly I continue my trek, finding that Nick and Strand are already on the motor boat and just waiting for me to join them. Heaving my rather large bag of clothes and food over my shoulder I run as fast as I can.
"Finally!" Nick says as I reach the boat, throwing the bag down onto his lap before leaping in.
Strand doesn't even wait til I'm completely seated, taking off at high speeds and heading straight into the rough surges ahead.
The pull in my chest is just enough to remind of the blonde still on the beach but my head tells me that I will only be leaving her side for a moment and that everything was going to be fine.
But it wasn't because not a second later that I hear the sound of gunshots followed by a loud scream coming from the shore.
Chapter 15: Hello?
Facing the shore I watch as Elyza and the others are slowly getting further and further out of my view, but the sounds of gunfire and the explosions from the bombing further inland do not go on deaf ears. It's too late to turn back and run to my blonde and that fact is slowly beginning to kill me.
It takes only a few minutes for us to reach the Abigail and with a sharp jerk our raft bumps into the ship's side. Strand is the first one out,climbing up the side and reaching down to grab whatever supplies we had been able to carry. I don't hesitate and quickly toss up the bags into his awaiting arms, wanting to return to the beach as soon as possible.
Despite the freezing cold night breeze, I'm sweating my ass off adrenaline pushing my body and warming me from the inside out. I make note to change into some jeans later when a sudden pick up in the wind rushes into my shorts-bare legs.
"Well that's unfortunate…" I hear from above me, Strand emerges back into my view, leaning over the side and staring back down at Nick and I.
"What's going on? Let's go we gotta get the ship back to shore."
"No you need to get the raft back to shore. We are not the only ones to think about taking to sea and I know for sure that the supplies we have will not be enough to share with all of them." He points off to the distance and I'm shocked to see he was right, there are about a dozen lights out at sea, markers for the various other ships.
"Get to shore and bring them back ,I'm starting the engines now. Good luck." I don't have to be told twice and neither does Nick.
We take off, spinning away from the Abigail and heading right back to shore. Still the sound of war rage on and on instinct I reach for my dagger retrieving it from my side and I grip the handle tightly and it's a good thing because as soon as we get close enough I can see more figures on the beach then before.
"Alicia!" Mom screams fending off a few infected with what looks like a piece of driftwood.
I'm jumping overboard when we're close enough, the chilly California waters reaching mid-thigh, this doesn't stall me long from running to help.
With the infected preoccupied with my mother it's only easy to approach him and sink my knife into the middle of his head, he falls heavily onto the floor completely dead. I follow with him crouching down to his body in order to release my knife from it's spot.
"Move to the boat now!" I watch as from the cliff above us infected after infected fall from the height landing hard onto the sand before slowly rising back up and advancing towards us. There are too many to take on especially with just a small dagger as a weapon. Lexa and I are good but were not that good.
Speak for yourself.
Now is not the time to stroke our ego, Lexa.
Well then move.
I follow her advice and turn quickly following after the fleeting form of my mother and an already fleeing Travis and Ofelia. I search for the remainder of our group and find them only a few feet away.
Daniel is carrying Liza, wrapped tightly in one of Strands thousand thread count white sheets, his free hand clenching onto a sobbing Chris and dragging him towards the raft. Elyza follows closely behind him gun wielded and with a bat swinging Raven on her back. Biscuit trails behind the group and as I get closer I see that his crisp ALoha t-shirt , as well as his muzzle, is dripping with blood.
Elyza and I once again lock gazes and I watch as her fear stricken eyes turn cold and her gun aims straight for me.
The pure hate in her beautiful blue eyes cause me pause and I see the look intensify. The barrel is aimed straight for my head and I'm stopped in my tracks. Was she really that mad at me for what happened with Chris? Mad enough to kill me?
At the sound of her gun firing I clench my eyes shut and I can hear my heart stop and it's like the world around me stood still. I waited for the pain and the inevitable breaking of my heart but time still remains frozen and I feel nothing but the cool air.
Out of the corner of my eye I see a dark mass fall beside me. It's an infected, and infected that was right behind me and I had no idea. Blood pours from the bullet wound in the back of his head staining the sand below him, it was a clean shot.
WoahWoah
"MOVE YOUR ASS CLARK!" Yells Raven as once again the group makes their way to raft. I follow behind.
Reaching the raft it's a tight squeeze and we're all tumbling over one another to get on, many avoiding sitting next to Daniel who now held Liza's corpse on his lap on the far corner. I wait for everyone to adjust before reaching down and scooping up a water-soaked Biscuit into my arms and transferring him onto my mothers lap before hopping in myself, settling down in the tiniest little space beside Elyza.
Seeing us all settled, Nick takes off back to the Abigail and away from the place I once knew as home. Turning back I watch as explosion after explosion lights up the sky, fires burning bright everywhere and the sounds of people screaming and gunfire never seem to cease.
I'm so drawn into the sight I almost don't feel the quick squeeze on my shoulder, I gaze behind me only to find Elyza's head turned away from me. Her hand remains close to my back and it's enough comfort for me, for now.
The Abigail comes into clear view along with a calm looking Strand. I recite the lines in my head, the words that now give me comfort and I can feel Lexa also relaxing at the words as I say them over and over again in the back of my mind.
The dead are gone, the living are hungry
I'm thankfully that I was smart enough to pack at least my thicker blue flannel along with my good pair of jeans. The morning air is cool enough to fully wake me up, some would even saying it's better than coffee. The events of last night are almost lost to me.
We're getting used to the blood, Alicia. It's only normal.
Lexa scoffs. I no longer jump at the voice I guess I got used to this as well, welcoming the voice as an old friend which isn't so weird since in some way I'm just really talking to myself.
A yawn pulls its path past my lips and I reach my arms high up to the sky and expanding my body, satisfied when I hear a rather large crack. I hadn't got much sleep last night and majority of it wasn't because of the events on the beach.
I had spent most of the night as soon as we had set foot on the Abigail trying to get Elyza to talk to me, useless efforts because the blonde continued to ignore me even going as far as to bunk with Raven instead of me.
Our room is rather small and consisting of two bunk beds and it was decided after the tense waves Elyza was sending my way that it would be better for the entire group if Ofelia and I were bunk mates. Even when I saw Elyza climb to the top bunk she immediately moved down below because I had chosen to follow her lead on my side.
*sigh*
We're not even dating and I'm thrown on the 'couch' already.
"Alicia, here." Mom taps on my shoulder and places a steaming cup of some of the most delicious smelling coffees I have ever had the delight of holding. Definitely something my family wouldn't be able to afford.
I graciously take it basking in the warmth the cup gives me. I hadn't realised how cold my fingers were, despite the fact that they were covered by my extremely long sleeves of my flannel. I was still mad at my mom because of how she had run back to Travis after the whole Liza thing but I guess the Lexa side of me knows that there are much bigger fish to fry and if my mom has decided to take back the sack of shit than it really wasn't any of my business. It was an unspoken agreement between us not to talk about what happened on the cliff side.
My mouth waters at the thought of my first taste of this liquid gold when a scream echoes through the air. I almost drop the cup in response in order to spin around and find the source. I'm relieved to find everyone other than Chris is above deck and sitting down in the dining area, but if it wasn't anyone of us then where did that scream come from?
My eyes search the seas around us and I swear I can see something out in the distance and I'm not the only one to see that. Daniel, Travis, Strand and Elyza are all up on their feet, guns in their hands and looking out in the same direction I was looking.
"Survivors?" I ask.
No one responds. As we drift the sounds get louder and instead of just one voice there are almost a dozen voices shouting at us and the image clears up. It's a group of people varying ages from elderly to children all crowded onto a shabby looking fishing boat. There arms signaling for us to come closer, voices begging for help.
"Oh God.." Mom grips my hand and I return the feeling with the hand that wasn't holding the slowly cooling mug.
"Mom, what are we going to do?" I see a few toddlers grasping closely to who i assume are their parents. They're crying and screaming and I feel my stomach drop.
"Strand! Stop the boat!" Mom rips her hand from mine and approaches our strangely calm captain. Strand only turns away returning to his own cup of coffee and walking away.
"That's funny Madison, real funny" Elyza blocks his path and Biscuit is on his feet, coming out from nowhere to help his blonde master, " We're not stopping this boat."
"We can't do this Strand! What are they going to do?"
"Go back to land." He states earning a push from Elyza and a growl from the shepard. Mom continues to argue back but zone out of the argument. I focus on the group in the distance watching as some brave souls jump into the water and begin frantically swimming towards us.
"This boat is only stopping to drop people off not pick them up," Strand notices the men and attempts to justify his actions, "this boat isn't big enough to hold all of them. There isn't enough food for all of them. You wanna pick and choose? Then go ahead, play God, take some and leave the rest but if you're willing to give up your chance of survival then go ahead be my guest."
I expect Elyza to knock him straight in the face or better yet grab the older man and throw him overboard but she doesn't. Instead she moves to the side and nods her agreement to pass which he does running up the steps to the helm and leaving the air even tenser than before.
I'm in shock, I don't know how to feel or what to think. Elyza had just let him go. She became a part of his plan to kill all these people, to not even help give them a chance of survival. Disgust is the only thing I can feel for the blonde at this moment and she seems to feel the same, refusing to take her gaze off of the floor.
I'm desperate for her to look at me so I can understand her reasoning, my mind begging her to see that I need to understand her decision but she doesn't acknowledge me at all. A grip on my arm startles me and I quickly reach for my knife but when I turn to see who had their hold on me I find Nick standing beside me with a dark look in his eyes.
"'Licia go down below deck. Get the radio and find those guys some help-"
"But Nick we can't just leave them out here!" this was crazy! "They will die out here! We need to help them!"
"And we will," he pushes me to the door that leads below "get on that radio and find someone who can help. Please." I search his eyes for any signs of distrust and I find only sadness.
Alicia. Do as he says.
Lexa?
"We will help them?"
"Yes Alicia, if you can find the coast guard than we can help them."
I take one more glance to Elyza but find that she has moved now to the side of the ship watching the oncoming swimmers coming closer and closer. There's nothing more I can do so I follow Nick's orders and I head to the door for the lower deck picking up the boat's radio on the way, clenching it close to my chest.
As I take the steps down my fingers toy around with the station nob and turn up the volume hoping for any signs of life I can come by and I find some, but just like those out there they are screams for help.
"Please someone help u-"
"Our boat has taken on wat-"
"WE HAVE CHILDREN! PLE-"
"People are jumpin-"
Before I know it I find myself back in my room that I had spent the night in, the sheets still messy from my fitful sleep. I finally find the station I had been hoping for..
"This is the Coast Guard Station, we have no assistance to provide. I repeat no rescue by sea or land or by air...there is nothing..forgive us."
The line goes dead. Along with whatever hope I had. I drop to the floor on my knees and lay the radio down beside me the sound now dull to me. Tears stream down my eyes as I drop my head into my hands, my elbows digging into thighs..
I can hear Lexa calling to me in the back of my mind begging me to let her through in order to calm me but I fight her off. That's when I hear the first gunshot coming from above. The tears fall harder now and I can't hold back my sobs any longer. I feel my body fall forward and I move to lay on my side, bringing my knees to my chest and covering my ears with my overly-shaking hands.
There is no hope.
I did not fall asleep or at least it didn't feel like it. I'm still laying on the floor when I hear someone enter the room and hastily I try to hide my tears, wiping at them with my sleeves. I'm hoping it's Elyza, coming to check on me, but the heavy steps and the slight dragging sounds tell me different.
Sitting up I find Raven just making her way to her bunk, the bunk that I'm obviously in the way of. I jump to my feet dragging the radio with me and move past the limping brunette and I'm almost to the door when she speaks.
"Alicia, are you alright?" I can hear the genuine concern in her voice and I'm slightly grateful to find that although we had only met briefly she could care for my well being but maybe that's just because I wasn't used to people caring for me too much.
"I'm fine, Raven," I lie "Just a really rough night is all."
"Yeah. More like a rough week." She scoffs and I decided that was my sign to leave.
I make my way back up the short amount of steps and upon opening the door I'm hit with an extremely strong breeze almost knocking me back. I proceed on, radio still firmly in my hands and I push my way out to the deck where I find Mom staring out at the rails.
The wind whips usually tamed locks into my face and I have to thank God for hair ties because without them in these winds I'd probably look like some lumberjack Chewbacca trying to get the evil Death Star plans back to the rebels via radio..
Ok Alicia definitely not the time to be thinking about Star Wars.
"You should get some sleep, 'Licia."
"I don't need it."
I move pass mom and find a comfy seat on the deck couch and once again I begin flicking through the channels on the radio, steeling my nerves for more cries of help.
"Alicia you hardly slept last night."
"Neither did you," more and more static comes through, " Neither did anyone else."
Mom comes to stand beside me, reaching for the radio in my lap. I jerk it away and out of her reach.
"What are you doing? Nick told me to scan the frequencies and that is what I'm don't even know where we're going anyway and this," I wave the radio in her direction, "can help."
"We're heading south, San Diego. It's safe there and when Strand drops us off we can make our way further inland where it's safer."
I stare at her in disbelief, as if she just told me she had never seen Star Wars or never even heard about it at all.
"And how do you know that it's safe there."
She says nothing and I take that as answer enough.
"Riiighht. Ok so just let me do this." She reluctantly agrees and walks away leaving me alone with the static as my only friend.
The seconds I stay staring at the dial of the radio feel like hours, hours of searching for help. Each time I pass by a channel calling for help I quickly change it knowing that we're in no position to be saviours. Suddenly a familiar song begins playing on the radio.
Day after day..I get angry and I will say
I leave the dial on the channel soaking in the fact that the last time I had listened to this song was in a very different time, a totally different world. A world of happiness and peace, where my family was as fucked up as ever, I had a loving boyfriend, great friends.
I let the song take me away back to that time, a time where I can pretend none of this shit ever happened.
"Hello? Hello? Is there anybody out there?" The voice cuts through the song and I find my breath catching in my throat at the sudden sound.
TBC