Chapter Three: The Motorcycle
Once they arrived back at the Blake home, Elyza's shoulder was burning and a light sheen of sweat covered her face and neck. She was ready to take off her jacket because of the overpowering heat her body was creating.
They didn't run into any other problems on their way back, which Elyza was grateful. She wasn't sure she would be able to deal with another infected person, with having to kill someone. Still, she couldn't understand how Bellamy was so nonchalant about the whole convenient store situation.
Maybe he's killed before, she thought, he is a military guy. That assured her a little, he knew how to handle himself. Bellamy seemed capable of surviving. Maybe I should stay with him. She wasn't sure she would be able to survive out there on her own. Bellamy was capable. He can keep me safe.
Taking a deep breath, Elyza tried to shake that thought out of her head. She didn't know him, she didn't know his family or if they could possibly be dangerous. She needed to go find Wells and his dad, she needed to find a way home. The airport was shut down, at least for the day, until the government could start dealing with the threat of the disease.
Bellamy dropped his bags in the bed of the truck with a grunt, "Alright. I say we stay here tonight and head out in the morning."
Finn placed the rest of the bags with Bellamy's, "Are you sure? Maybe we should leave now." He ran a hand through his hair, getting a few tendrils out of his face.
Running a hand through his curls, Bellamy shook his head, "No. We're all tired and driving down is going to be hard. There's going to be traffic everywhere because it's getting late. Even without the threat of getting infected, the traffic would be horrible."
"But people are going to start getting scared, they're going to start leaving. It's only going to get worse from here, Bell."
Sighing, Bellamy leaned against the trucking, putting his head in his hands. It seemed to Elyza that he was in charge, without really wanting to be. He was making decisions, while his mother was staying silent. Elyza didn't know why she wasn't being more vocal and motherly about the situation, but she wasn't. So it was up to Bellamy to protect the women of his family, and Finn.
"People aren't going to be heading for the coast," it was Octavia as she came outside. "They're going to be heading east. Towards other people. Not the ocean."
Elyza nodded, "She's right."
Octavia smirked, "I know I am."
"Don't boost her ego, Lex. She always thinks she's right, she doesn't need anyone telling her that she actually is," Bellamy rolled his eyes, flashing his sister a cocky smirk.
Elyza chuckled and glanced around at the small group, "Sorry, Blake."
Chuckling, Bellamy sent everyone inside. Elyza followed behind Finn and Octavia as they headed indoors as the sun went down. "Hold on a second, Lex." He grabbed her arm.
Elyza turned and frowned, "What is it?"
"Are you still planning on going your own way tomorrow?" His voice was low and deep, it sounded like he didn't want her to leave.
"Yeah, I am. But I need to find some mode of transportation," she pulled her arm lightly out of his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. He had a weird way of getting too into her personal space.
He nodded, and glanced away, stepping backwards. "I have something for that. Follow me."
Bellamy led her to the Blake's garage, pulling the door open from the outside. "My dad used to be obsessed with fixing up old Harley's. But he was never really able to work out the mechanics so my mom made him just buy a bike. Well, he died three years ago so his bike has just been collecting dust. Since I'm in the military I don't take it out and mom won't let Octavia ride it, no matter how much she wants to." He pushed around a trash can and several boxes full of old knick-knacks of their family.
A white sheet hung over what Elyza assumed was the motorcycle and Bellamy yanked it off, "So I'll just give it to you. Now, don't say no. I want to give it to you. If only it means you can get out of here safely and find your friends. I'm going to draw you a map to the beach house and I want to you come down if you find the chance, okay?"
The bike was beautiful. It didn't look very used but it was a little dusty. It was a completely black Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic without any designs on the paint. There three, large storage compartments on the back end, enough space for Elyza for sure. The windshield was clear of cracks or dirt and there was a stereo embedded into the dashboard. The seat looked comfortable enough, with a second one behind the driver's for a passenger. It had a complete seat with armrest for the passenger and looked even more comfortable than the one for the driver.
Bellamy maneuvered the bike out of the garage and settled it next to the truck. "The keys are inside. But the compartments lock closed and it's been maintained, I promise."
Elyza didn't have a clue what to say. She was overwhelmed with gratitude at Bellamy's kindness. He was willing to give his father's motorcycle to a complete stranger, a stranger who hadn't even helped save him from a life or death situation.
"Bellamy, I-I don't know what to say to this…" she finally managed.
Bellamy shook his head, "Its fine, Elyza. Just, take it okay? Find your family, find who you need then try to find us. If you ever need anything, you can trust us. At the very least me. No matter what happens, you have a safe haven with us."
Elyza still didn't know what to say. She was unable to develop a proper sentence so she just grabbed Bellamy by his fatigues and pulled him into a hug, "Thanks."
This was a lot more than anyone had ever done for her. More than any of her friends that she had known for her entire life. Bellamy managed to wrap his arms around Elyza in shock for a brief moment before the ground began to shake.
He pulled away and grabbed Elyza's hand, "Shit! It feels like an earthquake!"
But it wasn't, Elyza turned around just in time to see a large plumb of smoke blow into the air. It couldn't have been more than twenty miles away. "Bellamy, stop. It's not an earthquake." Her voice was in awe, she could barely process what exactly was going on before her eyes.
"What the…" he pulled Elyza closer to the house. "We need to get inside, this doesn't look good. Staying indoors seems like the best option."
Bellamy pulled her into the house and closed the door behind them.
"Hey, what the hell was that?" Finn was standing up from the couch, a frown on his face.
"Some sort of bomb, it's getting worse. More people are infected. Clearly things aren't going very well for the government. They can't contain this disease," Bellamy began pacing.
Octavia rushed down the hall, "Bell, you need to get out of those clothes, didn't you abandon your post? You'll get in serious trouble if the military starts coming into the neighborhood."
He nodded, "You're right." He began unbuttoning his jacket and pulled it off before rushing down the hallway in the direction Elyza assumed was his bedroom.
He was gone for several minutes, during the time Elyza perched on the love seat pressed against the far wall of the living room. The electricity was still out so there wasn't much to do. Elyza tried to contact her mother again, she was probably getting worried after not hearing much from her daughter in the last three hours.
The sun was beginning to go down outside so Elyza helped Aurora and Octavia light candles around the house the family had been keeping under the sink for years. Octavia even explained that her mother was a little bit compulsive when it came to candles and always bought them because they would have future use for them.
Once the living room was better lit, they all sat around on the couch while Aurora put together a dinner of perishable food items so they didn't go to waste. To burn the time, Finn suggested they play 'get to know Lex'.
"So where are you from, Elyza?" Octavia asked.
"I'm from Brisbane, Australia. I came to the States for a trip to see a close family friend of mine during a break from University."
"Oh really?" Finn asked in surprise, "What are you majoring in?"
Elyza pursed her lips, "I've been stuck between medical and art ever since I started. So I've been taking both types of classes until I can finally make a decision. But it doesn't seem like I'll be able to make a decision at this point."
Bellamy laughed at that, "I dropped out of college after the first semester and joined the military, so you're doing a lot better than me."
Finn and Octavia joined in before Octavia added, "Yeah, what was your average again? C? D? Well, whatever it was. It was horrifying."
Bellamy rolled his eyes, "Shut up, O. Anyway, how old are you, Elyza?"
"I just turned 22 a couple of months ago."
They continued asking questions, getting to know the girl that Bellamy had saved in the airport. Elyza liked getting to know all of them. She asked questions as often as she received them. She learned that the Blakes knew Finn through Octavia, who went to school with him. They weren't too close of friends but they were working on a school project together and Finn's parents were in Florida on vacation for the next week so he decided to hang out.
"Dinner, kids!" Aurora called from the kitchen, placing plates on the dining room table.
Elyza stood up and followed her new-found friends into the kitchen where she found plates of salads and fruits that would soon rot if they weren't eaten quickly. A gallon of milk was set out on the table. Since the power was out, the microwave wasn't working so they weren't able to heat anything up.
Everyone sat down, Elyza next to Finn with the Blake siblings across from them and Aurora at the head of the table. They tried to make things light as they spoke, just getting to know each other and discussing school.
They acted like things weren't going crazy outside. They pretended the world wasn't ending outside of that front door. The faint sounds of sirens, alarms and noise could be heard from the city, but they continued to talk to drown out the noise.
Things are normal. We're all safe, Elyza thought. But she knew that was far from the truth.
A/N: So I've gotten more views on this story than I originally anticipated. I've already got several chapters pre-written so I'm thinking after this one, I'm going to start updating every two days. Just so I can give my schoolwork enough attention that it oh-so desperately it needs. Leave a review if you'd like. I like to know when I make a mistake and I'm totally open to suggestions for the story. I might use the suggestion later because I have a pretty clear idea on where I think this story is going to go.
Anyway, I really appreciate the views and let me know what you think!
~Nina :)