A/n: Hello all! Long time no see, but I have come across a beta and I don't know if they want to be acknowledged. I'll ask about that during the next chapter. But thank them anyway, even though you don't know who they are haha. Let me know what you think, I always appreciate criticism and love. Thank you ~TGF

Chapter Seventeen: Infections

The rain didn't stop for another couple of hours. Elyza threw up three different times, and after the second, she stayed in the bathroom curled in the corner between the bathtub and the wall. Her head was spinning and the constant motion of the boat didn't help at all.

Alicia tried several times to help her out, she even left to get Madison in hope that she would help, but they didn't have any medicine. There was nothing that could really be done. Elyza was left, curled up in her corner, until the weather finally let up.

It happened gradually. The rain stopped first, then the clouds slowly dissipated until the rolling sea became eerily calm. The sun showed faintly through the high window in the bathroom and Elyza finally brought herself shakily to her feet.

"Hey, you okay?" Alicia asked, leaning in the doorway and wrapped in one of her plaid button ups.

Elyza smiled weakly and felt the blood rush to her head. She knew she should probably eat, but she was still queasy and felt as if her body could betray her at any moment. "Fucking fantastic, Licia. Thanks for asking."

The brunette rolled her eyes and stepped forward, taking ahold of Elyza's arm. When the blonde didn't pull away she slipped her free arm around Elyza's waist and helped walk them down the hallway together. "I've got you."

"I can walk, Alicia," Elyza grumbled, but didn't pull away.

"Shut up. You wouldn't even let me hold your hair back earlier and you're sick. Accept some help or I'll hit you." Alicia huffed gruffly, squeezing Elyza's hip in warning.

Elyza was unceremoniously dropped onto her bed with a painful grunt as her insides spasmed. Then pitifully crawled under the blankets and closed her eyes. "I feel like shit."

"Oh really? High and mighty Elyza Lex feels like shit? What happened to the tough girl act?"

"Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clark." Elyza's voice was muffled under her blankets and only the top of her blonde head could be seen under the comforter.

Alicia laughed, "Do you want to go up on deck? It could help."

The negative noise that Elyza made was probably the most adorable thing that Alicia had ever heard. It was a mixture between a whine and a groan; it made butterflies swirl in Alicia's stomach. A basic, instinctive part of her wanted to climb into bed and hold Elyza to try to make her feel better, it hurt her to see the girl in pain. But that didn't seem appropriate at all.

"Fine, I'll wake you up for dinner."

Alicia wasn't given a response, so she exited their shared room and went up on deck.

Elyza didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she was waking up alone in a dark room. The ocean was rolling beneath her, but at a much more manageable rate. Her stomach didn't feel like it was trying to self-destruct and her head only hurt a little bit. It was much better than before.

She rolled out of bed and found her old clothes folded neatly on the desk across the room. Her fatigues were cleaned and the tank top was bleach white as it had been when she'd first put it on. The clothing wasn't what interested her though, it was the shiny pocket knife sitting on top. It was the rainbow one she'd found all those weeks ago.

Elyza quickly changed into the pants, finding them more comfortable than the ones she was borrowing from Alicia. She slipped the knife into the pocket closest to her left hand and straightened her shirt before going in search of food.

She checked on Aden first, but found that he was asleep. Disturbing him wouldn't be smart, he needed the rest, especially now that he was sick. There was a tray with an empty bowl lying next to him, she assumed he had already eaten and left without saying anything.

When she ascended the stairs, she was greeted by Nick.

"The dead awakens!" he called from the living area where he had his feet propped up on the coffee table. Ofelia sat next to him, smiling at his antics.

"I see you found your clothes." She acknowledged.

Elyza brushed her hand over her pants. "Yes, did you wash them?"

Ofelia nodded, "Yeah."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Elyza sat on one of the cushions, facing towards the lower deck and the ocean beyond. She pulled her feet up to her chest and rested her chin on top of her knees.

Ofelia shrugged and pulled the blanket she was curled up in closer around her body. As Elyza got a closer look, she noticed the pale sheen of sweat on Ofelia's forehead and the heaviness in her face. Her eyebrows were creased together in tension or pain, she wasn't sure which.

"You feeling okay, Ofelia?"

"I've asked her that already," Nick interjected, "she says she's fine. But she's running a fever." He reached a hand over as if to touch her forehead, but the woman slapped him away indignantly.

"I'm fine," her eyes blazed and she shifted away from him.

But Elyza wasn't so sure, a sinking feeling was developing in her stomach. Some instinct told her there was something more wrong than just Ofelia being sick.

Instead of listening to the older girl's protests, Elyza got to her feet and leaned over. She pressed her hand to Ofelia's forehead. "Holy shit, you're burning up. What hurts?"

"What's going on?" Daniel had seen Elyza through the window of the walkway outside and investigated her sudden interest in his daughter.

"Nothing, pa—"

"Ofelia," Elyza interrupted, "It's something. You're burning up. Do you feel sick?"

"No," Ofelia glanced to her father nervously, "but my shoulder hurts."

Elyza bit her lip and her frown deepened, "You were shot, correct? I should probably take a look at it." she feared that the wound would be infected. There wasn't any antibiotics on board and she didn't want to think of the implications of that.

"I should look at it," Daniel interjected, moving Elyza's hand away from his daughter and stepping nearly in between them. There was something about the man that didn't sit well with Elyza. It wasn't his trustworthiness, but a deadly seriousness that seemed to echo in every word he spoke. As if he had a reason for everything he said. It made Elyza pull back and step away.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Fine, but I want to watch. Two pairs of eyes are better than one."

Daniel nodded and turned to Nick, "Would you mind?"

Nick's eyebrows rose, but besides that, he made no move to leave, "Where the hell do you want me to go?"

"Anywhere but here. You're not seeing my daughter shirtless."

"Papa—"

"No, it's fine." Nick grumbled and got to his feet, "I'll just go hop into the ocean. There's no other place to go."

"Good luck with that, Nick. Don't get eaten by anything. Undead or living."

"Shut up, Lex," Nick stuck his tongue out childishly and headed towards the deck, taking the stairs down to the swimming deck until his head disappeared.

Ofelia didn't take off her shirt. Instead, she maneuvered her arm from her shirt sleeve with the assistance of her father. Daniel carefully unwrapped the gunshot wound on his daughter's shoulder. Elyza perched on the table so she could have a clear view of the action.

Both Elyza and Daniel gasped when they saw the injury.

"Ofelia," Daniel's voice was gruff with urgency and disbelief, "why didn't you tell me about this? It must hurt."

The wound was turning a disgusting green color and the flesh around it was slowly dying. A white puss was beginning to secrete from it and it was burning hot when Elyza hovered her hand over it. She glanced over it with a critical eye. Her initial thoughts were that they were screwed, they needed to clean the wound out and then get antibiotics to completely clean out Ofelia's system.

"It hurts, but I didn't want to worry anyone. We have enough to worry about as it is."

Elyza rested her left hand on the older girl's uninjured shoulder. "It doesn't matter what we have to worry about, Ofelia. We need to keep each other safe and telling us when you're not feeling well is one of these things. I'm going to have to clean the wound…and by the looks of it, it won't feel well."

The two Salazars' shared a look that spoke more than Elyza could really catch onto before Ofelia turned to her. Her jaw tightened noticeably and she straightened her back, "Fine, whatever you have to do."

"Okay," Elyza's heart beat harder in her chest. "Just let me look at it closer?"

Daniel moved away, but stood so stiffly that the tension seemed to roll off of him in waves. Elyza pressed her finger lightly to the farthest reaches of the redness on the brunette's shoulder. She carefully gauged Ofelia's reaction, when there wasn't much of one, she slowly pressed closer and closer. When Ofelia pulled away and hissed, she stopped.

"Alright," her heart was beating fast in her chest. It didn't seem like there was going to be a good outcome to this situation, no matter how she looked at it. It all came down to antibiotics and they didn't have any. "We should have a group meeting and figure out what to do about this. I'm going to get Strand, okay?"

Both father and daughter nodded.

"Daniel, if you could grab a wet towel and try to get as much puss out of the wound as possible that would really help." Elyza said as she stood and headed towards the deck. She turned around as she went, "Don't tell the others yet, I don't want a panic."

Before she could receive a response, she was out of the door and heading down to the swimming deck. Nick sat at the edge, his feet dangling in the water. The khaki pants he was wearing were rolled up and if Elyza didn't know any better, she would think he was a rich kid on a vacation.

"Hey, any idea where Strand is?"

"Where is he ever?" Nick asked rhetorically, "Is Ofelia alright?"

Elyza bit her lip, hesitating. Nick was Strand's right hand man, he had a right to know what was going on. As did everyone else, but Elyza didn't want to go about pissing the captain of the boat off. She was still new and so was Aden, she didn't know what would happen if she didn't follow Strand's rules.

"Her shoulder is infected and it doesn't look good."

"What doesn't look good?" came a new voice from above. Elyza turned quickly and noticed Alicia kneeling on the lounge couch.

"Nick's hair," Elyza blurted out without thinking, the only thing she could do was say the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey!" Nick protested and stood, shoving Elyza's shoulder indignantly. "My hair looks fine."

Elyza laughed, momentarily relaxing with the easy banter, "Yeah, if you were a caveman that didn't know what a shower was. You literally have dreads and you aren't even trying to fix them."

"She's right, Nick. You should probably take a shower." Alicia agreed, descending the stairs. Elyza's eyes were drawn to her legs, all tanned and exposed. She couldn't help the impure thoughts that ran through her head before shaking them away and focusing at the problem at hand.

"Yeah," Elyza slapped Nick on the shoulder. "But you can do that after we talk to Strand."

"What about?" Alicia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning casually against the stern wall.

Nick shrugged casually, "Nothing important."

"Yeah, when I come back down we'll talk." Elyza smiled and saluted the brunette with a wink. Then she ascended the stairs and then headed to the upper deck, Nick trailing behind.

"Fix her," was Strand's simple response to their problem.

"It's not that simple," Elyza responded incredulously. She was pacing back and forth, finally allowing her discontent to show. She wasn't as comfortable with Strand and Nick as she was with Alicia, but they were the powers that be on this ship.

Strand was seated in his captain's chair as before and Nick stood by the stairs leading down into the main living space. Elyza had explained what was happening with Ofelia, but Strand didn't seem all that concerned. Actually, his eyes were still trained on one of the maps he had spread out before him. A notebook sat next to it with a pen marking the page it had been opened on.

"But it is. You're the doctor," he stated, finally turning to face her, "and this is your chance to prove your worth."

Elyza nearly growled in frustration. She had been sitting there talking to what felt like a brick wall for the last ten minutes. Still nothing. He didn't seem to understand that she wasn't a miracle worker. No matter how much medical training she had, they wouldn't be able to save Ofelia if they waited too long to get antibiotics. If they could even find it.

"Fine," she huffed, the annoyance and anger obvious in her voice. "I'll see what I can flush out. But if the infection has gotten into her blood, we're screwed."

"Strand, I really think we should consider stop—"

"No," Strand blurted, his voice laced with a desperation Elyza didn't understand. "We can't stop, not now."

Elyza's brain momentarily short circuited at the change in subject. Her curiosity overcame her, even though she was almost certain Strand wouldn't like it. "What's so urgent, Strand?"

The man turned to look at her and Elyza felt like she was being analyzed. It was as if Strand's eyes were piercing her very soul, searching for something. They met each other's eyes in a stare off of wills where Elyza insisted stubbornly that he needed to tell them.

"Fine," Strand broke eye contact and his jaw flexed noticeably. "I have a place lined up for us. In Mexico. The difficulty will be getting all of us in. There was only enough money for two people. Now I have…nine other people."

"What's in Mexico, Strand?"

"Safety for you if we get there. Now, I've taken more risks than I've had to for all of you. You would be dead if it wasn't for me. You and your brother." Strand turned to Nick, "Your family would be too. This is my ship and both of you seem to understand that…to a point. But right now, everyone is extra sensitive to their own needs and I need peace."

"So you want us to keep this quiet for you? Ofelia could die, Strand." Elyza insisted, throwing her hands up in the air. She wanted to hit something, preferable Victor Strand's face so he would realize how heartless he was being.

The man shrugged his Nordstrom clad shoulders. "Eight out of nine is better than nothing. I think I've done enough good if I succeed at that."

Elyza scoffed and turned to Nick, whose eyebrows were raised in disbelief. It was a subtle expression but enough to make Elyza believe that he didn't agree with what Strand was saying. She faced Victor again and narrowed her eyes, "Fine, but what do you want me to say when Ofelia is screaming her head of when I try to dig out the infection? What do you want to do then? Everyone's going to find out."

"Figure it out. Don't fix her arm. I don't care at this point. We're about two days away from our rendezvous point. She can get some help if she survives until then."

There was no way Elyza was going to convince him, she realized after that statement. Strand was a cold hearted sociopath who didn't care about anyone but himself. Elyza was just now starting to realize this and it really pissed her off.

Instead of lingering any longer, for fear she'd do something stupid, she stormed past Nick and down the stairs. She nearly barreled into Alicia when she rounded the staircase and into the living room.

"Shit, sorry," Elyza huffed and grabbed onto Alicia's hips to keep them from falling over.

The blonde untangled them quickly and ran a hand through her hair. Alicia chuckled at her and shrugged, "What's got you all moody there, Lex?"

"Nothing," Elyza sighed, "your ship captain is just a total asshole, is all."

"Oh, I know. He didn't want to risk saving you guys."

Elyza shrugged, "He's a pain in the ass. I can't stand him."

Alicia frowned and stepped forward, the concern etched into every line of her face. Her hand rested on Elyza's arm, "What did he say to you?"

She wanted to tell her. She really did. But there was a part of her that knew it would cause drama. There would be anarchy and Elyza understood Strand's desire to keep the peace. If this group couldn't keep their heads about them, what chance did they stand in the new world that waited on shore?

Maybe that was what Strand saw in her. She understood the hard decisions that came with being a leader of a group, at least in some way. No matter how much she disagreed with what Strand was saying, it didn't stop her from doing it anyway.

"Nothing important, I guess." She ran her hands over her eyes.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here." Alicia squeezed her arm. "Have you eaten anything?"

Elyza chuckled at her. "You have a really good maternal instinct, you know."

"Excuse me, I'm seventeen. And you're really good at not taking care of yourself. I need something to do on this damn boat." Alicia provided her signature eye roll.

"I know plenty of things we could do to entertain ourselves," Elyza wiggled her eyebrows teasingly.

Alicia rolled her eyes again and shoved Elyza with her shoulder, "Oh please, come on, let's get some food in you, Lex."

"What do you mean we can't do anything?" Daniel hissed. They were in the corridor just outside of the sick room Aden and Ofelia were resting in. Aden had woken up a little while ago and wanted to go up on deck so it was only Ofelia in there now. But after getting her settled, Daniel had cornered Elyza outside to ask what they could do.

Elyza sucked in a breath, "We need antibiotics and if you haven't noticed, we don't have any. I could try to flush out some of the infection, but that isn't going to help any if it's in her blood."

"So what? You're going to let her die?" Daniel leaned in close enough that Elyza could feel his breath on her skin. His eyes blazed with a fury that set her on edge and she eased away just a little bit. She wasn't particularly afraid of this man, but that didn't mean she wanted to get into a physical fight with him.

Elyza shook her head, "Convince Strand to go ashore. I tried. It didn't work. I don't think Ofelia will be able to survive the surgery if we try to go any deeper to get out infection."

Daniel glared at her, clearly trying to convince her to back down and say something he actually wanted to hear. But there wasn't anything Elyza could say, so she stared back, stubborn enough not to let him try to intimidate her.

"Fine," Daniel conceded, his voice barely above a whisper. "I will convince him. But don't get angry with me if it doesn't go the way you want it to. I won't forget this, Elyza."

With that final, chilling threat, he turned and walked back down the hall. And in that moment, Elyza wasn't sure whether to be scared or brave.