A/N: Sorry for the late update, guys! I hope I can update more frequently, but work is crazy. How do adults do it? Anyway, enjoy. Review/Favorite/Follow! The next chapter will be aaaall about Alicia and Elyza, so look forward to that.

Chapter Fifteen: The Welcoming Committee

Alicia found Ofelia first. She was thankful it wasn't her mom, Travis or Daniel. But the three of them had been locked up in the captain's control room discussing the two kids they had rescued. Nick was up there with them, something Alicia wasn't at all comfortable with.

If he was allowed to be involved in the "adult" conversation, why couldn't the rest of them? Ofelia just wasn't interested, she was too busy holding a grudge against her father and nursing a slowly healing gunshot wound. But Alicia and Chris both deserved to have their opinions heard if they really wanted to.

None of this could be kept from them. They couldn't be forced to let the "adults" make decisions that could get them killed. The world had changed, kids were going to be growing up faster in a world that was kill or be killed. There was no reason for the "kids" to be left out of the conversation. It made her angry that they were trying to shelter and protect her, when what she needed was to be included.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Alicia asked.

Ofelia was on her way down the stairs from the main deck. She was walking slowly, with a weight to her step that transcended physical exhaustion and her face appeared to be permanently locked in a scowl. Her injured arm was clutched to her stomach to keep it immobile. She looked up when Alicia approached and let out a soul-wrenching breath, "Nothing, just wandering. What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be with those kids that you found?"

"Yeah, but I need some help. The girl woke up—"

"Alicia, you're supposed to tell the others when that happened," Ofelia frowned and grabbed at Alicia's arm to guide her up the steps.

The younger girl pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't want to tell them yet. You know how they'll react and I…" she hesitated, not sure if she wanted to bring it up but knew she needed to, "I don't want what happened to Andrew to happen to them."

Ofelia's face seemed to go slack for a second before she composed herself. It was like all of her emotions were sucked into some secret part of herself and all that was left was a bored, poised expression, "What do you want from me?"

Alicia sucked in a deep breath because she knew how much dredging up that memory hurt her friend. "I need some antibiotics and some washcloths. Do we have any left?"

Ofelia shook her head, "I finished those off a couple of days ago. Why do you need antibiotics? Who's watching them?"

"The boy, he's sick. Elyza said—"

"Wait, what?" Ofelia stepped forward and shook her head, conviction creeping into her voice, "You're listening to her? She's awake? Alicia, you can't go around trusting every person you meet. You don't know her." Her healthy arm clutched at Alicia's as she shook the younger girl, attempting to force the information into her head.

"Ofelia, please. Just let me do this, they aren't bad people. This girl can't be older than you. If you can't trust her, trust me." Alicia wriggled out of her grasp and stepped back, straightening her clothes.

Ofelia just stared at her for several seconds, a concerned frown creasing her forehead. She looked doubtful and maybe a little surprised that Alicia was the one going around trusting every person they picked up in the ocean. "Fine, I trust you. What do you need?"

Alicia had her help gather some food, wash clothes and chilled water from the fridge in the kitchen area. They were careful to make it seem inconspicuous and avoid anyone else on the boat. It was a good thing four of them were locked up in the captain's quarters or else it would have been much harder. The yacht was only so big, of course.

Instead, they made it back to the second suite room through the main passageway without a hitch in their plan. Alicia cracked the door open and stuck her head in. The sight that greeted her made warmth spread through her chest.

Elyza was sitting on the ground, one leg up against her chest, the other stretched out in front of her. She leaned against the bedside table, her head tilted to rest her chin on her shoulder. What really made Alicia's heart swell was that her hand was holding on tightly to her unconscious brother's. Their fingers were interlocked and Elyza still squeezed tightly even though she was asleep.

Ofelia elbowed her way in besides Alicia who scoffed and sent her a sideways look, "They're just so dangerous."

The older woman rolled her eyes and rather than comment, moved further into the room to place the bowl she was carrying above Elyza's head on the bedside table. She didn't touch the blond, only stretched over her before beginning to pull back.

It happened faster than Alicia could follow. She was still standing across the room so there was nothing she could do about it. One second the pretty blonde was sleeping peacefully, the next she was up and Ofelia was crying out in pain as she was thrown to the ground.

Elyza had somehow managed to pin Ofelia to the ground with her face pressed tightly against the carpeted floor. Her good arm was twisted and her wrist held tightly between her own shoulder blades.

Ofelia's voice was nearly hoarse she screamed so loudly.

"Elyza! Elyza, get off!" Alicia finally unfroze and jolted into action. She hopped onto the edge of the bed, grabbed at the fabric of Elyza's shirt and pulled, using her other hand to grab onto her upper arm. The blonde felt like a boulder in her arms, completely immovable.

Elyza looked like she was locked in a trance, some type of memory, maybe. She didn't move, but she was somewhere else.

Ofelia continued to howl in pain, but she didn't move any more. It must have hurt her shoulder too much. "Please get off of me!"

"Elyza, please," Alicia murmured, her heart was pounding in her chest and it felt like her ribcage was too tight to let her pull in a complete lungful of air. She tugged weakly at Elyza's arm, "Please let go, she won't hurt you."

Long moments later, she let go and scrambled off of the girl, knocking Alicia back on the unoccupied bed. Seconds after that, everyone and their cousin were in the hallway outside of the bedroom. Nick had gotten there first, rushed in and made a beeline straight for Alicia.

Daniel was there after him, quietly coaxing Ofelia from the floor. Her cheeks were pale with tracks of tears evident on her face. She shook and collapsed into her father's chest, their family drama momentarily forgotten.

"'Licia, are you okay?" Nick pulled at Alicia's wrist, bringing her to a sitting position.

But Alicia wasn't worried about herself. She was more focused on Elyza, who was being pulled to her feet by Travis. Her hands were secured behind her back with a zip-tie. She didn't resist, only slouched a little. Her eyes were closed tightly as if she were fighting some internal demon that wouldn't let her go.

"Alicia?" her mom. It was her mom's infuriating mom-tone of voice. She very rarely got that tone when she was spoken to. But recently, things had become different. Alicia had entered that rebellious teenage stage a little too late.

That stupid tone drew her attention away from the blonde, "Mom, she didn't do anything. She was sleeping."

"Why was she on the floor? Why's she in your clothes?"

"I—"

"I'm sorry," Elyza interrupted. "I was surprised. I didn't mean to." Her eyes were open, yet the sharp blue was hazy. She wasn't really there but she was trying to be. Something was going on in her head that was too hard to get away from.

Alicia licked her dry lips, "She didn't do anything. She was just defending herself. She thought someone was going to attack her."

None of the adults seemed to be listening to what she had to say. No, of course not, they were too focused on the "dangerous" stranger in the room. Daniel guided Ofelia out of the room, murmuring to her all the while.

"Bring her up on deck," Strand growled from the doorway, taking up the entire frame with his lanky body. "And restrain the boy, we don't need him reacting the same way."

"He's unconscious, Strand," Travis protested, his hands still holding Elyza tightly, "He won't—"

"I don't care. Better safe than sorry. This is my ship, remember?"

Nick moved forward, pulling a zip tie from his back pocket. Alicia grabbed his arm, "Nick?"

Her brother turned to her, shrugging his shoulders helplessly as she frowned at him. Clearly he wasn't going to protest as hard as she was. He pulled free of her grip and did what Strand said, tying the boy's hand to the bed post tight enough to make a strip of white skin.

Travis lightly shoved Elyza forward and something hot and sharp jolted through Alicia's chest and she stepped forward, "Where are you taking her?"

Alicia glanced up at Travis, avoiding the confused look in Elyza's eyes. She wasn't exactly sure why she was being so difficult and protective of strangers who could be capable of hurting them. But she didn't want to dwell on it, she only wanted something normal again.

"Upstairs. We need to have a discussion with her about where she came from."

The brunette opened her mouth to protest but Elyza caught her eyes at the last second, "Let them do it, please stop." Blue eyes pleaded with her. She was tilted forward, slightly off balance from lack of ability to use her arms.

Elyza stared at her hard for a second, jaw thrusted upward in a show of bravado and rebellion. She looked like she was in control, even with her hands tied behind her back. Alicia nodded once and stepped to the side, averting her eyes. She clenched her jaw and watched as Travis tried to gently guide Elyza out of the room.

The blonde went willingly, her shoulders slumped. Madison, Strand and Nick moved to follow him and their prisoner.

"Where do you think you're going?" Chris's voice came from behind Alicia as she stepped forward to follow after the procession.

Alicia turned, eyebrows raised at the hard tone, "I'm going with them."

"Don't you think you've done enough already?" Alicia dully noted the venom and judgment in his tone. She'd noticed that ever since Liza had died, Chris had grown more and more hotheaded and unpredictable. It wasn't healthy and yet nobody was paying attention. He could go off the rail at any moment if someone didn't reel his attitude back in.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, resting her weight heavily on one leg, "Why don't you mind your own business?"

When he didn't respond and only stirred enough to storm past her and into the hallway, she thought it was a battle won. But she glanced back at the boy lying unconscious in the bed. He looked small, pale and very alone lying there. His face was slack and peaceful in sleep.

She should go back upstairs and ensure that Elyza wasn't getting tossed overboard. But what about this kid? He couldn't have been older than thirteen and he might just wake up all alone in an unfamiliar place. Alicia fought with herself for several long moments before finally concluding that Elyza would be able to take care of herself. Travis wouldn't let Strand or Daniel make any rash decisions. She hoped her mom would be concerned and her motherly instinct would kick in because Elyza wasn't much older than Nick and the boy wasn't that old himself.

So Alicia dragged the seat she had vacated over to the side of the bed and pressed a damp cloth to the boy's forehead. He shifted and mumbled something Alicia couldn't make out, but she still brushed her fingers over his cheek softly to feel his temperature. His skin was clammy and hot, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Instead, she stood and looked at his wounds. Alicia grabbed another cloth and dipped it into some of the water to wipe at the deep wound at the boy's waist. She didn't know what to do, but hesitating wasn't something she could afford. The wound was still oozing but she didn't know how to stop the bleeding. She needed help.

Elyza was shoved down a hallway, up a set of narrow stairs and forced backwards into a metal chair. Her arms slammed against the edges, the light padding doing little and digging into her skin and causing her to hiss in pain. Lucky enough the chair didn't fall backwards with the force of it. She blew at the hair shrouding her vision before flipping her head so it would fall backwards and she could see.

They were in another room. Natural light filtered in through several windows, but her chair was angled so the rays hit her back rather than her face. She was opposite a sliding glass door that lead out to a narrow walkway, a table was set up to her left with several chairs around it, and matching the one she was sitting in. To her right, a set of stairs led upward and another back down to the rooms she had just been in. To her left was a large living space that led out to a lower deck, bathed in natural sunlight.

"Alright, let's get down to business. Travis, get Daniel. Nick, you can stay. Everyone else, leave." The tall black man ordered. He stepped forward, never taking his eyes off of Elyza as he did. Their eyes met and Elyza felt a shiver run down her spine at the cold, guarded look he gave her. His brown eyes seemed almost alight with danger.

She clenched her jaw and glanced at the others in the room. They begrudgingly moved to do the man's bidding. One boy left heading towards the lower deck followed by a short, blonde woman. Then a tall, dark haired man that held a striking resemblance to the boy went the opposite way, passing the wave picture hanging from the wall and exiting the room through a door. Must be father and son, Elyza noted.

Another boy, one with knotted, slicked back hair moved to step up next to the black man. He crossed his arms over his chest, set his jaw and looked down at her with his eyes narrowed. "What are we going to do, Strand?"

"We're going to interrogate her," he announced, not lowering his voice to make it difficult for Elyza to hear him.

She licked her lips, trying to think. If they were going to kill her they would have. If they hadn't wanted to rescue them, they would have left her and Aden at sea. They weren't bad people, they were just scared, she realized.

Alicia seemed nice enough, even though she was the only one Elyza had had enough contact with to notice. But she wasn't there to help, Elyza didn't know where she was. She took a deep breath and swallowed to try to clear her throat.

"You don't need to interrogate me, I'll tell you anything you want to know," she shifted to sit back, slouching slightly as she looked upward at the men before her. They stood side by side, far enough away that she wasn't able to reach them without jumping from her seat. Either way, she stretched her legs out as far as they could go. The best way to earn their trust was to be as honest has possible.

The boy—Nick, seemed to purse his lips. "What's your name?"

"Elyza Lex."

Strand narrowed his eyes further, "That's a peculiar name, sounds almost fake."

Elyza had to resist rolling her eyes. "If I'm going to be honest, you can't just not believe me. My mom liked the name Elyza and my dad's last name was Lex. Whoop-dee do, asshole."

"Where are you from?" Nick asked before Strand could bite back a comment.

"Australia. Aden and I were visiting family friends in Santa Monica when everything went to shit. We were at LAX getting ready to leave actually," she huffed out a heavy breath, thinking about Bellamy and Octavia. She had to force herself to include Aden in her statement. She wondered if her friends were alive, not for the first time since she woke up. "Was there anyone else out there? Besides Aden and me?"

Strand let out a strained, humorless laugh, "We're asking the questions, Lex." Her name fell off of his tongue like a curse but Elyza kept her jaw clenched tightly. She couldn't really risk them getting angry and throwing her overboard. "Why were you out there? Where did you come from?"

She couldn't resist this though, "Well you see when a man and a woman lov—"

"That's not what I meant," The barely contained rage and frustration shook Strand's gravelly voice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. His fists were clenched tightly as if prepared to lash out at any moment.

Strand's next words were interrupted by a man descending the stairs from the upper deck. The tall, dark man with the big nose reentered followed by a short, older man with a hard edge to him that made a chill shiver down Elyza's spine. When their eyes met, hazel seemed to bore straight through Elyza like a hot knife. He seemed to see all of her deepest secrets with that one, dead look.

He walked slowly but methodically, like a shark circling its prey before settling down on the alcove couch just barely within Elyza's peripheral. He crossed one leg over the other and rested back, looking way too relaxed for the blank expression on his face. Elyza angled her body so she could see him better, uncomfortable with him behind her.

"Daniel, thanks for joining us," Strand turned and nodded at him.

"What are we going to do with her, Strand?" Daniel asked, lifting his chin defiantly as he addressed the larger man.

Strand returned his gaze to Elyza's, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth, "I was hoping you'd help me get her to talk."

"What?" Travis stepped forward, his eyebrows nearly lost in his hairline, "We're not doing that. Remember what happened with Andrew?"

"Yeah, Strand," Nick agreed in a hushed tone. "I don't think that's a good idea, she's been answering our questions."

"Yeah," Elyza called, gaining the four men's attentions, "I'm answering your questions. Honestly. My brother is sick and shot. He needs medical attention."

"We don't have anyone with medical training on board, unless you count Daniel," the peculiar note in his voice made Elyza curious on what type of medical training Daniel had. She really didn't want to find out.

With a deep breath she replied, "I have medical training. I've been going through school. My mom is—was, I don't know—a doctor. Just let me fix him." She paused, searching all four faces for any sign of giving before settling on the most vulnerable, Travis. "I can help him, I can help you guys. If you don't have a trained professional, what do you have? How have you survived without it?"

"We did have it," Travis responded, licking his lips and averting his eyes. They seemed to redden around the edges and a frown creased his forehead before he swallowed and cleared his throat, but it still came out rough, "She died."

The mood throughout the cabin grew thick with grief and regret. Every face seemed to turn downward at the mention. Elyza realized that she'd hit a soft spot, someone they'd cared about was dead, "I'm sorry." She allowed a moment for the sincerity of her words to settle in, "But you need someone who understands medicine. I understand medicine."

"How well?" Nick asked.

Elyza's first instinct was to snap back, Better than you. But she restrained, it wouldn't do to provoke or insult one of these men, no matter how much she enjoyed it. Her mouth had never done anything good when it came to authority figures so keeping it n check was imperative. "A year in medical school? A Bachelor's of Science Degree in Biology? Take your pick, mate."

Nick glanced at Strand, who pressed his lips tightly together in thought, "Fine. But you need to tell us everything that's happened to you and that boy."

"My brother, Aden." Elyza provided.

"Fine, your brother Aden. Then we'll see about letting you join our crew."

"You think that's smart, Strand?" Daniel piped up. He didn't look particularly interested in the conversation, but Elyza wasn't getting a very good read of him. He had a Spanish lithe to his voice, clearly foreign and he was good at maintaining control of himself. There was something else though, something that screamed cold and danger. Something that made Elyza want to stay as far away from the man as possible.

Elyza nodded and swallowed again, tearing her eyes away from the man and settling them back on Strand who still hadn't replied. "I think it's a good idea. Aden and I won't hurt you. I was half asleep and dreaming," she licked her lips, remembering what she'd been dreaming about, "and I didn't know who she was. I didn't know where I was. I didn't mean to hurt her, I can apologize to her and look at her shoulder if you want me to." She knew she was rambling, but couldn't help it.

"You attacked my daughter, I would kill you if I was in charge," Daniel leaned forward a semblance of anger creeping into his voice.

"I'm sorry, I really am. It won't happen again," she glanced between him and Strand, sitting up straighter. There was nothing she could do to protect herself with her arms literally tied behind her back. The only options she had if this went the wrong way was the use of her legs and maybe the chair if she could get her hands to cooperate.

Nick nudged Strand and they exchanged a look.

Travis took a step forward, inserting himself into the conversation, "I think she's being truthful, just let her explain and then we can make a better decision."

"Fine," Strand finally decided, "we'll let her explain herself. Then I'll make a decision."

Elyza nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with the decision, "Great, great. First, can I get something to eat? Maybe to drink?"

All four of them seemed to stare at her blankly, and for a moment, Elyza thought they were utter morons. She wondered why there were no women in charged because the world would have gone in a much different way if they had. Men were stupid.

"I've been shipwrecked and I don't know how long it's been," she reiterated, looking expectantly.

"Right," Travis nodded and turned around, heading towards a closed door at the end of the room, "I'll get Madison to get you something."

Strand and Daniel left after him while Nick took up residence on the couch Daniel had vacated. He rested his grubby shoes on a chair he pulled out with his feet and slouched against the seat with a dramatic sigh. One of his arms crossed over his eyes and his neck craned over the back of the cushion, bathed in the bright golden glow of the sun.

"How far off shore are we?" Elyza inquired.

Nick didn't move, he didn't seem like he was going to respond, either. Elyza actually wondered if he had managed to fall asleep within the few short seconds it had taken him to settle down. But his mouth finally opened, "Nearly thirty miles, we've been heading south too."

"Where do you guys plan on going?"

"I'm not telling you that. We can't trust you quite yet, remember?" The biting sarcasm was evident in his voice.

Elyza shrugged, "I guess, but is there any way you'd be willing to untie me? My shoulders are starting to ache. I won't hurt you. You can shoot me if I try to."

She didn't intend on trying anything anymore. She didn't know where she was and it seemed that she was too far away from any other living creature to really be able to get away if she wanted to. The best she could do was make friends and hopefully not get kicked off of this ship.

From what she had seen so far, the yacht was large. She hadn't been on deck yet, but Elyza was certain that the group aboard it would be able to take on two more people. Not to mention they had an unlimited supply of food from the ocean. If they could catch it, of course. But that didn't mean anything.

Elyza hadn't been on land in over two weeks, she wasn't sure what it was like. If she thought about it hard enough, she'd give herself a headache just thinking about all of the what ifs. What if the military was winning? What if the dead had overrun them? The world was changed either way and she wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that.

Nick sighed again and stood up with a swift jerk. He walked over determinedly, digging in his back pocket for something before pulling free a switchblade. He flicked it open deftly the grabbed Elyza's shoulder, pulling her forward and cutting the plastic of her restraints with ease.

A groan of appreciation and painful relief left Elyza's lips before she could control it. She brought her arms around, shoulder muscles protesting at the movement after being locked in one position for so long. Her wrists were red and blood slowly began to seep back into her fingers, making them tingle. Elyza rolled her shoulders back, working them out so the muscles would relax once again.

"Thank you," she murmured, stretching her body.

The boy shrugged, "Don't mention it."

Before either of them could say anything else, Alicia jogged up the stairs with a platter held in her hands. Alicia stood there, a tray in her hands, looking a little nervous and maybe a little curious. She worried at her lower lip, "Hey, I brought food."

"Thanks," Elyza greeted with a slight nod as Nick moved to take the tray from Alicia. He set it on the table, but Alicia didn't move, only shifted from foot to foot in the doorway.

"Need something, Lish?" Nick asked.

She nodded at him first before facing Elyza, "Yeah, um, your brother, he's awake. My mom's down there with him."

Elyza jumped up at that, her abdominals protesting with every movement. Her body was still aching and her neck emitted a dull throb along with her heartbeat. But she was still lucky, she knew. She could be dead, things could be worse. But she didn't want Aden saying anything that would make these people doubt her story. She was also glad he was awake.

"Really?" Her eyes widened as she glanced between the two people before her, "Can I see him?" She hoped they took her urgency as impatience to see her brother and ensure his well-being and nothing else.

Nick licked his lips and turned to look at Alicia, who shrugged, she really didn't have a problem with it. There was no reason they should keep the two separated. She honestly didn't agree with anything that the adults were doing. People were the only ones you could trust anymore, there were only a few left.

"Fine, yeah. Eat first then we'll take you to him."

Elyza nodded and tried not to show the pain she felt when she moved forward to reach the tray. A sandwich of chicken salad sat on the platter next to a glass of water. It wasn't the most luxurious meal in the world, but Elyza wasn't complaining. She felt like she'd eat a can of sardines if she could just get something in her ravenous stomach.

She shifted to sit down on the couch and pulled the tray towards her. But something twisted in the pit of her stomach, something dreadful, "How is Aden? Does he need medical attention? Has anyone seen to the gunshot wound on his side?"

"Don't worry," Alicia said, leaning her left shoulder against the wall adjacent to the door. "I cleaned up the wound and covered it. I think it needs stitches more than your neck does. Though, I think you might be a better judge of that."

Elyza nodded, "Has he woken up yet?"

Alicia hesitated, her eyes shifted from Elyza's up to stare at the air above her head, "Yeah, he has. I managed to coax him back to sleep though."

"Did he say anything?" She hoped he hadn't ruined her plan. She'd been telling everyone they were siblings so they would feel obligated to keep them together. If they found out she was lying there was a likely chance that the crew of this ship wouldn't trust her ever again.

"No," Alicia pressed her lips together in a tight line. A pair of plump lips that looked very kissable, Elyza noted before trying to tamp down those thoughts. She couldn't afford to get distracted by a pretty face, she had to earn everyone's trust first. But something about the tone of Alicia's voice wasn't very convincing.

She didn't dwell on it though, only picked up her sandwich carefully and shove a large mouthful into her mouth. There was a large amount of mayonnaise in it and enough seasoning to make it taste good. After the first bite hit her taste buds, the full extent of her hunger tore through her and she began eating like a woman possessed.

Elyza was almost certain she looked like a messy caveman, but couldn't help it. The sandwich just tasted so good. She was halfway through it before she was able to convince herself to stop and actually wipe her face. The napkin she used came away with the heavy white cream of the mayo and she blushed, realizing she really did look like a fucking caveman.

"Sorry," she got out after swallowing her last bite. Both Alicia and Nick were watching her, there wasn't anything else interesting to do. Nick had a barely contained grin on his face, amused by Elyza. Alicia maintained an expression of barely veiled disgust and a hint of something that made Elyza blush harder. She was looking like a complete idiot in front of a pretty girl. She really had no game, Wells was right.

A pang of longing and grief flushed through her chest in a cold rush. Tears pricked at her eyes at the memory of her best friend. He'd always teased at her that she would never get another girlfriend after letting Niylah slip away so easily. He said she had no game and that the only thing she had going for her was that she was mediocrely attractive.

Wells had only ever been teasing her, never serious. He did think that she was attractive, but also believed that nobody was good enough for her. Wells was her best friend and very much like her brother. She regretted having not seen him in over two years before she'd visited Santa Monica, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

She cleared her throat and set the sandwich down on the table. The memories were forced back and into a small box that Elyza conjured mentally. She locked it and mentally tossed the key into a deep, dark lake where she'd never find them. She couldn't afford to focus on the past, not anymore, not with so many dangers surrounding her.

Elyza sipped at the water provided to her before finishing off the sandwich with a couple more bites. "Alright, I want to see Aden please."

Alicia hadn't moved from her position against the wall while Elyza ate, but now she stepped forward and stood straight, "Okay, I'll take you down to him."

"I'm going to tell Strand. We'll give you about twenty minutes with him before Strand will probably want to question you again. I have to admit, I'm curious about what you have to say too." Nick waved a lazy salute, touching his fingers to his brow before leaving the room in search of his leader.

His departure left Alicia and Elyza alone. The blonde glanced at the girl in front of her, who was worrying her lower lip in thought. Her eyebrows were drawn together.

Elyza wasn't sure whether or not she should ask, but decided there was nothing to lose. "What are you thinking about?"

"Why'd you lie?"

Elyza's heart jumped in her chest at the question. It wasn't really a question wondering if she had lied, which meant that Alicia knew without a doubt that she had. "What did I lie about?"

"You and Aden," Alicia seemed to gain confidence. Her chin lifted in a show of defiance and superiority, "He told me when he woke up that you guys weren't related."

A huff of air left Elyza's lips unintentionally, "Oh. I just…well, I don't know you and your people. He's not my brother, but if he was…you would want to keep us together, right?"

"Just because you two aren't related, doesn't mean we don't want to keep you together. My family and our friends aren't horrible. Strand is just cautious and Daniel is…well, I don't know. But my mom and Travis, they're just trying to keep us safe," Alicia explained, crossing her arms back over her chest.

Elyza only shrugged and stood, "Either way, blood is thicker right? Can you please not tell anyone?" She felt like she could trust Alicia, somewhere deep inside of her she just knew. There was something about the broody looking teenager that screamed trustworthy.

Hesitancy crossed her face before several other emotions Elyza couldn't quite place did the same thing. Wide, doe-y green eyes bore into hers, searching before finally settling. "Fine, I won't tell anyone. But you need to be honest with us. We can't just let you in here."

"That's fair," Elyza raised her hands to placate the brunette, "What do you want to know about me?"

A pink tongue peaked out from between Alicia's lips, wetting them. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two, you?"

"Seventeen. Where were you when it happened?"

Elyza's jaw clamped shut. There was obviously nothing to horrifying about how thing initially went down, but she didn't want to talk about it. There were too many loose ends and unacknowledged emotions over what had happened, they were buried too deep to bring up now.

"I was at the airport," she responded vaguely. Elyza knew that the other girl was looking for something a little deeper, but she needed to stay clinical about it for her own sanity. "You?"

If Alicia noticed her uncertainty, she didn't say anything about it. She glanced away, seeming lost in her own thoughts and memories, "Home? School? I'm not sure, it all seemed to happen so fast. One second I was living a normal life, looking forward to college and the next I'm here."

The both fell silent and Elyza closed her eyes. She wondered what had happened to Alicia and her family at the beginning, where they were headed to now and if—just maybe—she and Aden could go with. Keep moving forward, right? Find somewhere safe and stay there, she concluded.

"Can we go see Aden now?" She opened her eyes and found Alicia staring at her with a frown on her face. The brunette turned and averted her eyes an obvious blush creeping up her neck and cheeks.

She nodded and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. I bet her hair is really fucking soft, Elyza thought, unable to restrain. An image of running her hand through it popped into her brain before she could divert her train of thought. It was almost like Alicia could read her mind because her head ducked again, she cleared her throat and turned back towards the door.

"Yeah, let's go see your brother," she used air quotes around the name and flashed a half smile over her shoulder. It lightened the air in the room and they left on a much lighter note.

The trip back down to the lower deck was short and they stumbled into the double bedded room silently, having not spoken the entire way. Alicia's mom sat in Alicia's abandoned chair and staring blankly at the far wall, lost in her own head. When she heard the girls enter, her head turned at the noise.

"Hello," she greeted, standing after blinking several times to get back to reality. Her eyes fell on Elyza, who felt like she was being assessed for several moments. The woman held her hand out, "I'm Madison, Alicia and Nick's mom."

Elyza grasped her hand, shaking for a moment before pulling back, "Elyza."

"I'm sorry if we've treated you in any inappropriate ways, we're just trying to keep our kids safe," she glanced at Alicia, who stood to Elyza's right and slightly behind her, their shoulders almost brushing.

The blonde shrugged and allowed an easy smile that wasn't so easy, "No worries, I can understand. Parents are protective. Ah, my mum… she'd, well, she'd probably be the same way."

"Oh," Madison's eyebrows creased, "do you know where your mom is?"

"Mom," Alicia warned, but couldn't get anything else out. The question was inappropriate itself, no matter how curious Alicia was about this girl.

Elyza shrugged and flashed Alicia a grateful look, "Its okay. My mum was in Australia when all of this happened…I don't know where she is…or if she's alive." She licked her lips, mouth feeling thick and dry speaking of her mom. A lump formed in the back of her throat and she tried to blink away the tears that threatened to fall. At the mere mention of her mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Madison muttered lamely, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans awkwardly.

"Alright, mom. Let's give Elyza a moment with her brother, please." Alicia took her mom by the crook of her elbow and looped their arms together. They exited the room and Alicia closed the door behind them.

Elyza took a seat in the chair next to the bed. Aden was sleeping again. His hair was damp from sweat and water, making it look almost brown even though a few traces of blonde were visible. He was sleeping again and Elyza saw that there was a new, clean bandage crudely taped to his waist.

"Aden?" she shook his shoulder softly and he groaned. His eyelids fluttered for a moment before they opened, dazed and unfocused from sleep. He blinked several times before he seemed to realize who was sitting next to him.

"Elyza?" he croaked, voice thick from sleep and lack of use. "Where are we?"

"On a yacht. Some people picked us up. We were drifting. What's the last thing you remember?"

The boy reached out and took a hold of Elyza's hand, his palms were sweaty. "We were being shot at," he turned onto his back and closed his eyes, remembering, "I was shot," he let go of her hand and ghosted his over the bandage covering the wound, "we had to jump overboard. Then the Freedom exploded."

"Yeah, well I guess we survived, now we're here."

"What about the others? Your friends?"

"I don't know, we'll have to figure that out once you're better," she deflected, "how are you feeling?"

"My throat hurts, my side is throbbing and my head feels like a train rammed through it. Is this what a hangover is supposed to feel like? If so, I don't ever want to have one." His hand moved to his forehead and he squeezed his eyes shut, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows as he grimaced. He opened them again when he felt the cloth on his forehead.

"Don't move it," Elyza set her hand over his, keeping it in place. "It's just to get your temperature down. You're sick, probably dehydrated. Here," she reached behind her and grabbed her cup from earlier, handing it to him after filling it up.

He drank heartily for several long moments before speaking again, "So what are we doing now?"

"Well, these people aren't the most trusting." She gestured to his restraints, "I'm going to tell them everything that's happened to me, well, us. I told them you were my brother."

"Um, isn't that going to be hard to pull off? I'm American and I kind of already told that girl we weren't related."

She hadn't really thought of that and cursed, "Shit, well, maybe you lived in the States with our dad or something?" She pushed the memories of her father away. It was a lot easier to do than with her mother, since he had been gone for a couple of years before any of this had even happened.

"This is going to be difficult, Elyza," Aden pointed out.

"I know," she sighed and proceeded to tell him everything about her parents just in case he was asked to provide back up for her story. She explained how her dad was an engineer and then modified the story to explain that he had been relocated to the States after him and "their" mom had gotten a divorce. Aden had been young and gone with him, only seeing his sister and mother half of the year. Elyza had stayed in Australia because she was already nine years old and they didn't want to uproot her life.

Elyza ran down that her mom was a doctor and they lived in Brisbane, Australia. Then she tried to explain as much as she could about her parents that she could remember without getting emotional. It was hard, but Aden seemed to hang on to her every word, so she tried to maintain some semblance of composure.

"Okay," she finally sighed, "If they ask you anything that you don't know the answer to, just be as vague as possible. We have to keep this up as best we can."

"I get it," Aden nodded before submitting to a fit of coughing that had him wheezing afterward.

Elyza squeezed his shoulder, "You should get some more rest, we can't have you sick forever."

The young boy nodded, sinking back into his pillows. His eyes were heavy lidded and Elyza knew that it would only be a couple of minutes until he fell asleep. As he drifted, she changed out his wash cloth, bathing it in the now lukewarm water that sat on his bedside table before ringing it out and placing it back on his forehead.

Mere minutes after his breathing had finally fallen into a deep rhythm, the door opened. Nick ducked his nappy head in, hair falling over his cheek, "Hey, you gotta come with me now. Strand wants to talk to you."

Elyza wasn't afraid of Strand, she was almost certain that he would underestimate her if it came down to any sort of physical altercation. She didn't think that it would, but nobody was going to force her to say anything. She wouldn't allow it.

She nodded and stood without a word, squeezed Aden's hand one more time before exiting the bedroom to follow a stranger.

The interrogation was going well. Elyza had been lead to what she assumed was the captain's control room. A line of electronics peered out over the bow of the ship. They were sleek and modern, set over a black table. A captain's chair sat bolted into the floor where Strand stretched out his long body. Elyza was sat on the opposite low black couch with her legs crossed underneath her.

Daniel sat on the smaller couch adjacent to her, face impassive as ever. Travis stood, leaning against the small table covering part of the staircase that lead up to the room. The other boy, the one who must have been the same age as Alicia stood near the stairs, leaning against the locked storage closets along the wall. Nick had decided to sit this one out, stating before he left that he would just ask Elyza herself personally when he was free.

"Go over it again, what happened on the Freedom?" Strand asked.

They'd been doing this for nearly two hours and Elyza had to resist rolling her eyes. They weren't as curious about her personal life as she'd thought they would be. Only asking a little bit about Aden, her parents and the Jahas' who'd she'd been visiting. Then Strand had moved on to everything that had happened after the disease had become an epidemic.

She'd gone over it nearly three times and was almost certain the sun was going to be down by the time they were finished with her. Travis had asked maybe one or two questions, mostly about her parents and her past while Daniel sat there silently, observing.

Instead of protesting, she sucked in a deep breath before starting from the beginning once again. She went through being at LAX—with Aden—while visiting the Jahas'. She explained once again, that their father had been on a business trip for the second part of their stay in Santa Monica so it was just the four of them. Two Jahas' and two Lexs'. She continued into how the airport had been infected, like a wave infected every person within minutes.

Elyza explained the Blakes' and Finn, then how she had left Aden with them to go in search of their family friends. The Blakes' were trustworthy, she reiterated after Strand questioned why she would leave her baby brother with strangers. She even told them how she'd holed up for days in a storage unit drinking herself into oblivion—her unhealthy version of coping.

She described her first kill. Her kidnapping. Her experience on the Freedom and then on the Pearl Harbor. Described what the doctor was doing on the Freedom and how her and her newfound friends had tried to figure out what was going on. The explosion and then waking up on the yacht.

Both Travis and the boy grumbled when she told them about drawing a gun on Alicia and then attacking Ofelia, but she was sure to explain that they were both isolated, misunderstandings. She wasn't violent, not unless she needed to be.

"So Los Angeles is dead?" Strand asked once she finished.

Elyza could only shrug, "From what I saw, it was going up in flames. A final showdown, I would assume."

"The only way to know for sure would be to go back," Travis added, "We're too far away to do that."

"Were not going anywhere near Los Angeles," Strand agreed, waving away the idea.

Before anyone could ask Elyza anymore questions, the welcoming face of Alicia peaked over the railing from the stairwell, "Do you guys think you should take a break? I found some stuff for stitches and Aden is still bleeding."

Travis glanced to Strand, asking his permission before giving an answer.

"Sure, for now. But I'll find you when we need to talk again, and we will need to talk again," Strand gave Elyza a pointed look before swiveling his chair around to stare out at the ocean, a clear invitation for everyone to leave.

Elyza was up first, rushing around to start down the stairs, nearly barreling into Alicia when she did so. She managed to grab onto the railing and Alicia's arm before they both went tumbling down the treacherous stairwell.

"Sorry," she chuckled after they managed to make an awkward descent, cheeks flushed bright red, "I was just really glad to get out of there. You're my knight in shining armor."

Alicia rolled her eyes and led Elyza through the main living space and back down into the cramped passageway leading to the room the blonde had woken up in. "No big deal, I think you deserve a break. Well, to stitch up Aden, but still."

"Yeah thanks," Elyza shoved her hands deep into her borrowed pants pockets. "So do you want to talk?"

Alicia was ahead of her, so she couldn't see her face, only the soft waves of her hair as it fell over her shoulders and down her back. "Aren't you tired of talking?"

"Of what happened to me? Yes."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Alicia stepped to the side to allow Elyza room to enter the suite Aden was settled in. He was still asleep, though he'd turned onto his uninjured side and spread himself out just a little more.

Elyza took a seat on her bed, watching Aden's chest rise and fall steadily, "I don't know," she replied in a shushed voice, "something normal. Something that doesn't have to do with our new lives."

"I can understand that," Alicia settled down next to her, though far enough away as was appropriate. The brunette was intrigued by the Australian woman sitting next to her. She was the first person besides the Salazars and Strand that Alicia had met since everything had happened. She was insanely curious to find out what had happened to Elyza as opposed to everything that had occurred with her family. But she knew now wasn't the time. Instead, she changed the subject, "What's your favorite color?"

Elyza tore her eyes from Aden and grinned at Alicia, who couldn't help but grin back, "Are we playing twenty questions before I perform surgery on this kid?"

"Even better," Alicia's smile widened until it was full blown, beautiful and so dazzling Elyza had to tear her eyes away, "we'll play while you perform surgery."

"Oh, a challenge. I think I like this idea."