A/N: So this took way too long to write and I'm sorry about that :/ But it is a decently long chapter and I intend on updating this faster. But many things happen in this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. This story is going to end up moving forward pretty quickly and I plan on working on a sequel. If you want to see anything or are confused by something I could elaborate on in future chapters, please let me know. Get ready for some drama soon! Thanks for reading!
PS. I am on a cruise and just got internet (it's our second day heading to Alaska) and I found out that two of my dear friends RhydianKnight and ClexaWarrior updated when they knew I've been waiting for their updates and wouldn't be able to read them on this cruise. So I'm a little salty and I guess that's expected when you're in the middle of the ocean. ~TGF
Chapter Twenty-One: Paranoia
Alicia's head hurt and there was a buzzing in her ears that made it difficult to focus on anything else. The wall behind her was the only thing she was aware of besides the radiating pain. It felt like her heart was beating in her skull, and when she reached up to touch it, her fingers came away wet with blood.
A faint noise underneath the constant buzzing made her eyes flutter open. She glanced up, finding the dirty tile of the hospital floor, then the white wall. As the buzzing faded, the noise became louder; it was almost like a feral growl inching closer.
Everything then came flooding back in that moment. The zombies, where she was, why she was there and that Elyza was here somewhere. She had fallen and hit her head. They had been fighting zombies to save Ofelia before that. Where was Elyza?
She rolled onto her back and came face to face with a zombie, its breath rancid and eyes devoid of emotion. A scream bubbled in her throat, but didn't have time to escape. Alicia twisted her body, kicked her legs out and shoved the zombie backwards.
Scrambling to her feet, Alicia managed to stumble backwards and further down the hallway. Her head pounded and blood dripped over her eyebrow and into her eye as she ran.
She couldn't risk looking back, for there were a few straggling zombies hell-bent on getting as involved in the action as they could. Alicia had managed to dodge them and nearly gotten bit in the process. When she reached the end of the hallway, she stopped and gasped for breath.
She turned back towards the direction she had come, but she found only a horde of zombies at the end of the hallway. The door to the infirmary was ajar and the undead were focusing in on something on the ground. Alicia's heart fell. She couldn't see through the crowd, which only increased her anxiety. Her eyes automatically tried to find the wheat-gold hair she had become so accustomed to.
She felt a squeeze in her heart that she couldn't place, a sense of loss she hadn't felt since she'd left Matt sick and alone. She pressed her forehead into the wall in front of her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. This had been a mistake. This entire mission had been a mistake. It was all her fault for insisting on entering the military compound.
Elyza was most likely dead or dying because of her. She would either become one of those monsters or be eaten alive, her bones left to rot. The images that flashed through her mind threatened to send her into hysterics, so she tried her best to push them away.
Alicia tried to focus on her breathing and will the tears away. There would be a time to grieve. There would be a time to deal with all of these turbulent, festering feeling that threatened to overwhelm her. She had a mission to complete, a job that had to be done or the entire endeavor would have been for nothing.
With a final, calming breath, Alicia stood up straight and clenched her jaw. Her eyes scanned over the directional signs on the walls, hoping that something would lead her in the best direction.
The Pharmacy.
The arrow pointed to the left, much deeper into the hospital than Alicia was comfortable with. The hallway seemed to be darker than the other ones, and Alicia imagined the Greek God, Janus, standing there, his body grotesquely decomposed with his two heads and eyes as dead and blue as a zombie. He would be staring at her, silently demanding she make a decision.
She shook the image from her brain, brushing it off as ridiculous and having read way too much Percy Jackson and watched too many horror films in middle school. Then she moved forward. No matter the danger, she was determined to finish this mission.
The first warning sign that things were not right was the sound of footsteps behind her. She'd noticed the way zombies shuffled. They didn't attempt to mask their approach because they had no cognitive way of doing so. This was a living person following her, yet when she stopped and glanced around, she couldn't see anyone.
Alicia sped up then, but those footsteps still seemed to be just behind her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she paused before turning a corner. She pressed her back against the wall and tried to steady her breathing to open her ears and listen. She could hear the person steadily approaching, their boots tapping lightly against the tiled ground. Briefly, she wondered if she should run. If someone was living in this hellhole alone, they would have to be insane by now.
Staying would mean potentially getting killed, but running would only ensure her survival for a bit longer. If the person following her was friendly and only wished to help, then that would be a different story. Maybe they could help her find Elyza. But if they had wanted to help her, why wouldn't they have just approached her?
All of these questions swirled through Alicia's head, but she really needed to make a decision. Trusting her gut was the only way to go so she turned and headed further down the hallway. It was in her best interest to be cautious when meeting new people, especially when she was on land.
The footsteps begin to fade behind her as she continued to follow the signs for the pharmacy. It wasn't until she reached the entrance that she heard the sounds of gunfire echo through the hallways somewhere to her right. Then came the moans and groans of the undead.
The first one came around the corner directly in front of her. It seemed like she couldn't get away from them, as if they were somehow tracking her. Alicia turned, attempting to backtrack and find a different way around, but was cut off by another half a dozen of the dead. It seemed she was cornered once again, unable to find a safe way of escape.
Her mind raced and her eyes darted around the dimly lit corridor. She lunged for the door to her left, some sort of holding or utility room and tried the knob. When it clicked open, she glanced back up, finding the dead frenziedly stumbling in her direction, their arms extended. Heart pounding, she slipped inside, slamming the door hard behind her to keep out anymore of the dead.
After taking a moment to collect herself, she took in her dark surroundings. Reaching around, she opened her bag and snatch up the flashlight lying within. Clicking the button, she took in the small room around her.
It took only a moment to see the zombie heading straight for her. Dried, rust-red blood was caked on its neck and its eyes were bulging and bloodshot. Its teeth gnashed loudly and a frothy liquid pooled at the corners of its mouth. Alicia dropped the flashlight and turned, grasping the door handle and yanking. When it didn't budge, she pounded her fists against it in frustration.
The zombie growled, which drew her attention back to the danger at hand. She grabbed her gun, the light of the flashlight only succeeded in casting a glow that she could barely see by. But that didn't stop her from taking aim and firing.
Utterly terrified, Alicia emptied the entire clip into the undead man before she realized how idiotic that was. It kept moving towards her, having been unaffected by the bullets now riddled in its abdomen. Blood seeped from those wounds, but the zombie kept coming.
Alicia had just enough instinct to flip her bag around and shove it into the zombie's outstretched arms. It went stumbling back, allowing her another moment to pull Elyza's knife from her back pocket and flick it open. Blood rushed in her ears and the only sound she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat.
She could die here in this small, dark room and never be found by her family. This zombie could easily kill her if she couldn't dig her heels in and fight for her own survival.
Elyza had finally collected herself and shoved all of her feelings away until she could think clearly. It took several minutes of steady breathing until she stood and listened at the door intently. When there was no noise or any sign of the dead outside, she carefully turned the knob until it clicked. She pushed it open slowly with her right hand, holding the gun up and aimed at the widening crack steadily.
When the crack was wide enough, she peeked out and slid her body through. The hallway was empty save for the bodies she and Alicia had already killed and a few stragglers that posed no threat to Elyza unless they managed to corner her.
Her eyes tracked the bodies and when she didn't come across Alicia's, her heart picked up speed. Without thinking of the consequences, she rushed down the hallway, further into the hospital. The sign indicators guided her back into the direction of the entrance, but she took a sharp left that lead her along the front wall towards the pharmacy.
With the hope of finding Alicia igniting a fire in her chest, she moved forward. If the girl wasn't lying half eaten or undead on the ground, then she had to be alive somewhere. But figuring out where she would go was going to be the hardest part of finding her.
If she was injured, she may have attempted to leave. But if Elyza had learned anything about this girl, it was that she was too stubborn and caring to just abandon this mission. Elyza searched for anything that would point her in the direction of medication as she moved, keeping her gun up and flashlight at the ready.
There was no way she would be caught off guard again. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and she caught sight of a sign indicating that she had arrived at the pharmacy. That was the direction Alicia would go if she was able to, because there was no way she would let Ofelia die if there was anything she could do to help it.
"Damnit, Alicia," she breathed, suddenly wishing the other girl wasn't as stupidly brave as she was.
She followed the signs carefully, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any signs of the dead or Alicia. Elyza passed a side hallway, so distracted with searching for the next sign, she didn't notice the zombie coming from behind her. It hissed and reached out, its hand snagging the strap of her backpack and pulling her back.
Nearly falling over herself, Elyza jerked herself around in search of her attacker. Her eyes landed upon a dark-haired girl about her general size. For a brief moment, her stature and hair color made Elyza think it was Alicia, until her head came up and the features were completely different.
Briefly caught off guard, the zombie got the upper hand and Elyza desperately tried to fight off its advances. She batted its hands away with the flashlight before taking aim and shooting a bullet straight into an undead skull. Blood splattered everywhere and bone clattered against the wall and the ground.
Brains landed on Elyza's clothes and she felt the warm blood drip down her lips and in her hair. She wiped at her face desperately, hoping none of it had gotten into her mouth before recoiling. She shivered and tried to steady her breathing to keep from throwing up all over herself.
After a moment of recovery and to stare disgustedly at the bits of brain on the ground, she wiped her sleeve over her face one last time and decided to keep moving. The moment she rounded the next corner, she came face to face with another half a dozen of the dead. Her heart jumped into her throat and she backpedaled in the direction she had come.
Irritated and blood boiling with fear and adrenaline, she lashed out. Her fist connected with the wall and she backed up, done with these zombies and her inability to get around them. It felt like a never-ending cycle of losing and Elyza was tired of it.
Elyza raised her gun and clenched her jaw, aiming carefully before pulling the trigger on her gun. She counted the remainder of her bullets and knew she would run out before she killed all the zombies coming at her. Rather than trying to come up with a better plan of action, she fired slowly, making every bullet count.
After six bullets, there was two left and two more zombies coming at her. She was doused in zombie blood and sick to her stomach by the gore, but she had no other options. Shoving the gun into her pants, she placed both hands on Alicia's bat and brought it up. The man dressed in nursing scrubs moved closer and Elyza stepped up, waiting impatiently until he came within reaching distance.
The bat swung and it cracked solidly with the side of the zombie's head, snapping its neck and sending it crashing to the ground. Elyza spotted a twitch in its chest and stepped forward, bringing the bat down one more time and scrambling its brain for good measures.
The second one was a civilian, dressed in normal clothing with a heavy military jacket over them. It was female with blonde hair and looked like a much fresher death than the nurse before it.
Elyza tried not to think about it as she brought the bat up and let it swing. She missed its head, and the force of hitting it in the shoulder jolted up her elbows and into her spine. With a grunt, she kicked the zombie in the chest and sent it falling to the ground. Placing a steady foot on its chest, she brought the bat down one last time and killed it.
The silence that followed was nearly deafening. She stood surrounded by dead bodies, doused in blood and smelling like a decomposing body. Elyza glanced around herself in search of another threat, but only found a reflection of herself in a broken mirror.
Her body was slumped, but her shoulders rose and fell while her breath came hard. Blood and dirt were both caked to her face and her hair looked dyed nearly red. She looked very different from the University student she once was, even to herself.
Briefly, she wondered how she had gotten to this point, but pushed those thoughts away as quickly as they tried to come. There was no time for an existential crisis, she had a mission and needed to find Alicia so they could get back to the Abigail. Ofelia's life depended on it and she would be damned if she let another person die on her watch.
Rapid gunfire drew her attention from her own mind and turned towards it, further down the corridor. It echoed through the halls and made it difficult to pinpoint, but there was only one person it could be. Without thinking about it further, Elyza bolted down the hallway and mentally begged for the gunfire not to stop.
She counted the bullets as she went, hesitating at the fork when another bullet echoed to her left, or at least she thought it was the left. After counting seven shots, it went silent for a moment and Elyza hectically searched along the hallway. She moved quickly, trying every door she came across until the screaming started.
The door had an employee's only sign drilled into the heavy metal and a dead key card identification block right next to it. She pounded on it loudly and shouted, "Alicia!?"
"Elyza?" it was faint, but seeped through the cracks in the door. Something slammed heavily against the inside, making the metal vibrate with the force. "There's one in here! I can't get out."
"I've got you, don't worry." She called back reassuringly, her fingers already feeling along the lip of the door until she realized the problem. It must not have been fully closed when Alicia opened it and once it was, the automatic locking system had still somehow managed to kick in. She would have to force it open if she wanted to get her out.
Boosting the bat, she brought it down several times on the handle until it came loose. Wires held it together and Elyza ducked down close to get a good view of the inner mechanisms. Everything within went completely over her head but thinking on her feet had always been her greatest attribute.
She found a small mechanical motor system embedded deeper within the door. The only thing she could think of was finding some sort of switch potentially connected to the deadbolt. With shaking fingers, she fidgeted with it, twisted and turning the gears until she heard the final click.
A grunt came from inside, and Alicia cried out in pain, thumping against the door again. But Elyza opened it as soon as it was unlocked and the brunette practically slammed into her. Dark hair blocked her vision for a moment but in record time, Elyza withdrew her gun and sent the final bullets into the zombie's head. The first one grazed its scalp, but the second one hit home and both girls slumped in relief.
Elyza's arms settled against the frame of the door, shaking with adrenaline. Her head pounded and her heart skittered painfully in her chest. It took a minute for her to realize that Alicia was pressed against her, her arms squeezing so tightly around her torso it was difficult to breathe.
"You're alive," she mumbled, barely able to believe it. But Alicia's hair smelled clean, like the shampoo she had used the morning before and a little bit like decomposing bodies. It didn't matter though, because having her there, both of them covered in zombie blood and worn to the bone, when she thought Alicia had been dead only minutes before was one of the greatest reliefs of her life.
Alicia pulled away, her entire body quivering, "Thanks to you. I can't thank you enough, Elyza." There was a cut blossoming with blood on her forehead and Elyza carefully used her sleeve to wipe it away. Alicia hissed in pain and tried to jerk away.
"I need to look at it, Alicia," she pointed out.
"After we get the medicine," Alicia gestured towards the pharmacy several feet further down the hall.
Elyza agreed that she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible so she allowed it to be left alone for a minute. Even though all of her instincts said she needed to make sure Alicia didn't have a concussion, she really wanted to get out of there. So she stepped back and gave Alicia room to walk past her.
Alicia's face fell briefly and she reached out, grabbing Elyza's jacket. She wouldn't meet the blonde's eyes when she pulled her closer. "Give me a minute, though? I did almost die and so did you."
Elyza nearly protested, but feeling the younger girl wrap her arms around her waist and bury her head in the crook of her neck made her stomach twist with nerves. She stood there, dazed for a moment because she wasn't sure how to respond to this. Alicia's body continued to shake and instinctively, Elyza rubbed her hand down her back, "I've got you."
They stood there silently until Alicia's body calmed and Elyza shut her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being at peace for even just a brief moment like this. It felt good, like she could possibly find safety and calm in such a violent and cruel new world. But she also knew that this was only because Alicia had nearly died and she needed some type of comfort, Elyza was just the lucky person to be there with her.
Alicia finally pulled away, they stared at each other, blue seeking out green. Elyza's eyes were soft and sent warm shivers through Alicia's stomach. There was something in them that she couldn't quite place, but there wasn't time to question it. "Let's go."
Elyza clenched her jaw once, nodding before turning away. They entered the pharmacy and hopped the counter together.
The shelves were practically empty and the few bottles they had found rolling on the floor and underneath furniture were empty or contained vitamins that wouldn't help them. After rummaging through useless, empty bottles and trash several times, they found a bottle of ibuprofen and Alicia had resorted to crawling on the dusty floor to search underneath counters.
"I can't find anything," Elyza sighed in defeat after searching through the lobby that had once been full of 'Get Well' cards and other items that would make patients feel better when they received it from family members.
"Keep looking!" Alicia snapped back, her hope slowly fading too but she was unwilling to admit it.
After scouring the pharmacy one last time, Elyza was getting frustrated with Alicia's inability to concede defeat. "Alicia, we need to go and I need to look at your head."
"Just...one more time, I feel like we're missing something."
"We've looked through this place at least a dozen times. There isn't anything useful here. Maybe somewhere else in the hos-" Elyza had collected some braces and ace bandages to use for potential injuries, but had ended up taking a seat by the front doors when Alicia refused to give up.
"We're not risking going deeper into this place. Who knows how many dead are crawling within," Alicia grumbled, feeling further underneath a kiosk because she swore she saw something orange underneath, something that could be a prescription bottle. The only problem was that her shoulder wouldn't fit underneath the lip between the kiosk and the floor.
She grunted and turned her head away, pressing her cheek into the cold tile of the floor. Her shoulder twisted painfully but still, her fingers wouldn't reach. With a growl of frustrated she pulled herself to her knees, slouching slightly because she was out of breath, "Elyza, come here."
"What is it?" Elyza was there in an instant, kneeling next to her.
"There's a bottle under there," she pointed.
"And?" Elyza looked at her like she was crazy.
"It's a prescription bottle and I can't reach it. If you'll pick this thing," she hit it with her open palm, "up for me, I can grab it."
Elyza looked towards the ceiling and had to resist rolling her eyes. There was a point where she had to give up on finding what they needed because there wasn't anything there. But that still hadn't gotten through Alicia's thick, stubborn skull. She would keep searching and grasping at straws until she found what she needed.
Instead of arguing further, she hooked her fingers into the edges of the kiosk and braced her legs. With a grunt, she lifted upward and her shoulders strained painfully.
Alicia grimaced with effort before reaching the bottle and rolling backwards just as Elyza's grip faltered and the kiosk slammed back onto the tile, echoing through the room. A laugh escaped Alicia's lips and Elyza stretched her aching shoulder before looking over.
"What?"
"It's antibiotics," her voice was small and breathless. She had rolled onto her back, lying flat on the ground and held the bottle up.
Elyza jumped forward, snatching the bottle up and holding it towards the vague light coming from the hall. She counted the number of pills, "Eight, eight pills. Holy shit."
Alicia stood up, a smile wide on her face and eyes crinkled at the corners. It made Elyza's heart skip a beat because she was certain she had never seen Alicia so happy and carefree. A laugh bubble from within her own chest, warm and relieving after all the stress of the day.
They collapsed into each other, their arms squeezing tight around each other's abdomens as they laughed. It grew in volume and strength and their joy fed off each other. It just felt so good to be alive and together that they got carried away in the pure elation of it.
Their bodies pulled apart and Elyza felt so light, she got lost in the green depths of Alicia's eyes. They sparkled and crinkled at the corners. Without hesitation, she cupped the side of her face and leaned forward, bringing Alicia's lips to hers.
It felt better than she had imagined, kissing Alicia. Her lips were soft and pliant beneath her own, cooler than her own but enjoyable nonetheless. When there was no response after a moment, Elyza yanked herself away, stumbling over her own feet in her haste.
"I'm sorry," she covered her own mouth, unable to believe she'd done that.
Alicia stood there, blinking and the smile was gone from her face. Her lips had dropped, parted slightly in shock and she stared at Elyza like she was a stranger. Her mind couldn't process what had just happened.
She had never kissed a girl before and if she was being honest, she hadn't done a very good job. Elyza was something else entirely, she knew, and it hadn't crossed her mind that being more than friends with her was a possibility. Alicia knew there was something there, a connection deeper than just two people having met each other due to unfortunate circumstances. But were they even friends, did they know each other well enough to say that?
As she stood there, wondering what her next move would be, Elyza's heart was kicking in her chest. She extended the prescription bottle like a peace treaty, trying to bring the two of them back to equal ground. "I-, we should go."
She turned her back, heading towards the door when Alicia finally took the bottle. But what she didn't expect was a hand at the crook of her elbow yanking her back around. Both of their momentum pulled them closer and their bodies were pressed tightly together. Their eyes met briefly, something sparkling in the depths of green eyes before soft lips were once again pressed to Elyza's, this time moving in sync.
Elyza was surprised, but kissed Alicia back anyway, taking a hold of her button up and pulling her closer. Alicia's hands reached up and wrapped around the back of Elyza's neck. They didn't pull apart until air became necessary and when they did, gasping for breath, their foreheads remained pressed together.
They moved slowly, and Elyza kept her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of having Alicia's body pressed against her own. Everything seemed to calm for the first time since the apocalypse started.
"Elyza," Alicia started.
"Shhh, give me one more second," she murmured, keeping her voice low for fear of ruining the moment. She didn't open her eyes, just tugged lightly on Alicia's shirt again and pressing their lips together briefly before finally pulling herself away.
Alicia's eyes still sparkled, but her jaw was tightly clenched. Her body seemed to tense up as she drew herself together to return to the mission at hand. The change and loss of emotion shocked Elyza for a moment before she did the same thing.
"We'll talk about this when we get back," Alicia reached out and squeezed her hand before moving past her, "but now we need to actually get back."
"You're right," Elyza hurried to the door, "your family will probably murder me."
They moved together in sync as they navigated the halls of the hospital once again. It was still dark and the dead were still around every corner. They remained silent, using hand signals and mouthing words to get their messages across.
A couple of times, Alicia had to use her bat to dispose of the dead, but they managed to escape the darkness of the hospital without a serious incident. The sun was bright, and high in the sky. Dew from the cool night had almost completely dissipated and the air was growing warmer by the minute. The sunlight hurt Elyza's eyes and she had to shield them to keep her head from throbbing.
They must have been in there for hours because by the time they hopped the stone wall, Nick, Travis and Chris were pacing back and forth. When Alicia dropped down just before Elyza did, Travis was already on her.
"What the hell were you thinking? What was I supposed to tell your mother if something bad happened?" his eyes flitted over her body, accounting for the cut on her forehead. He didn't give her enough time to respond before continuing, "Are you hurt?"
Elyza didn't have a chance to hear the brunette's response before Nick was shoving himself in her face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Having always been unable to respond well to being called out, Elyza was instantly defensive. She moved forward, nearly nose to nose with Nick, "We're fine, thanks for asking."
"I don't care if you're fine," he shoved her shoulders and she slammed into the wall. "You have no right to putting my sister in danger. In risking her life."
Elyza's blood boiled in her veins and her face grew hot. She stepped forward and shoved him back, "I'm the last person that would put her in danger, Nick. I'm the last person that would let her get hurt."
He stepped forward, eyes ablaze with a fury Elyza could only compare to something crazed. "She was safer here with us, you are not her family."
"Nick," Alicia shouted, shoving her way between the two of them and resting her hand on Elyza's chest. She flashed the blonde a firm look that told her to back off before turning to her brother. "She kept me safe, I'm fine. We are fine, thanks for asking."
Nick seemed to take a moment to look over his sister, "Your head," he reached out but Alicia ducked away.
"I'm fine, Elyza checked it out," she lied.
"If either of you ever do this again," Nick pointed at Elyza, "I don't care if she's a doctor, she's gone. I will kick her out of here faster than she can think. She's not family, we don't owe her our loyalty." Then he was turning away and stalking off back in the direction of the ocean.
Chris was pacing back and forth behind his father, a permanent scowl on his face. Travis watched Nick go for a second before shaking his head and sighing. "Did you two find anything useful on your suicide mission?"
"At least someone asked," Alicia grumbled, digging in her pocket and revealing the antibiotics. She handed it to Travis before gesturing at Elyza, "Elyza also found some first aid."
"It's in my bag," Elyza dropped it from her shoulder and kneeled on the gravel beneath her. She unzipped the backpack and grabbed Alicia's arm, "Come here, let me fix your head."
"Is that really necessary? It stopped bleeding." Alicia argued, crossing her arms.
"Would you just come here and quit arguing with me? It would make this go a lot faster," she let go of Alicia's arm and gestured for her to move closer. She pulled out the alcohol she'd found and a wad of cotton balls before standing up.
Elyza cupped the side of Alicia's face tenderly, smirking at her before pressing the cotton balls doused in alcohol to Alicia's forehead. "This is going to sting, love."
Alicia hissed and tried to pull away but Elyza's hand was firm against her cheek. "That hurts."
"You cut yourself," Elyza chuckled and dabbed at the spot until all the dried blood was gone. Alicia rolled her eyes and tried to hide the smile on her face, but Elyza could see right through it. Then she ducked back down and grabbed a sterile gauze pad, ripped open the package with her teeth and taped down the edges over the wound. She tapped Alicia's cheek lightly and winked, "Ta da, all fixed."
"Thanks," Alicia patted at her head and stepped back, putting some space between.
Travis watched the two interact and frowned. He noticed the way they stayed closer to each other, something between them had changed but he couldn't quite place his finger on it, "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine." Both spoke in tandem.
"Good, let's head back, we have a long trip ahead of us and the others are probably getting worried."
Alicia felt like she was being watched. It didn't start until they left the town and finished their raid on the gas station. It was just an itch at the back of her neck that left her paranoid as she walked.
She was at the back of the group with Elyza walking in front of her, talking quietly with Travis while Chris and Nick took the lead on the way back. Her eyes kept flitting to the rocks and the cliff up above, yet she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
Her eyes scanned the horizon once again and she spotted a boot before it disappeared. Then, several minutes later, dirt and pebbles fell from the cliff up above, pattering down the rock loudly. That was when she was certain someone was seriously following them.
The third time she caught sight of the person that was stalking them. It was a man, burly and archaic looking with a long beard and complicated braids of thick hair. He had a large ax propped on his shoulder and stood much farther behind them, it was only because Alicia glanced behind them that she saw him.
He didn't seem to be hiding is presence any longer, but also wasn't following them either. Alicia turned back around, "Elyza! Look!"
The blonde dropped back to walk with her, and glanced to where she was point, but came up empty. "What is it?"
"You didn't see that?"
"See what? Nothing's there, cutie." Elyza chuckled, though continued to scan her surroundings.
"Someone's following us."
"I haven't noticed anything, are you sure?" Alicia was grateful that Elyza never seemed to write her off as ridiculous or paranoid. She always took her seriously and listened to her when she had something to say. It was one of the many things that Alicia liked about Elyza.
"I'm sure…it was a big man with a beard…he looked like a cave man."
"I haven't felt anything weird or heard anything. Are you certain, though?"
Alicia frowned and shook her head, suddenly doubting herself. She could feel the tiredness of the day settling into her bones and wondered if maybe she was just sleep deprived. "I don't know, maybe."
"Maybe you're just tired, 'Licia. You can sleep when we get back to the Abigail." Elyza rubbed her shoulder lightly, concern evident in her eyes and the little crease between her eyebrows.
Alicia only nodded, glancing backwards one more time before trying to shake the bad feeling from her head.
After a brief lapse of silence, Elyza spoke up again, "How's your head?"
"Hurts," Alicia rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder with Elyza's.
Elyza rolled her eyes back. "We'll be to the water soon, don't worry."
When they got back to the ship, the sun was at its peaking point and everyone was waiting on deck. Madison checked on her children before looking over Travis and Chris. She got a bit fussy with Alicia's head and Nick didn't help matters by blaming it solely on Elyza.
Aden limped his way over and punched Elyza on the shoulder lightly before the blonde brought him into a hug, "I told you I'd be back," she whispered in his ear.
"Thanks," he breathed and pulled away. "Did you bring me back a souvenir?"
Elyza rolled her eyes, "No, but I did bring Ofelia some medicine. Do you have it Travis?"
The older man withdrew himself from his conversation with Madison and handed her the bottle. "Here."
Elyza nodded and made eye contact with Alicia, who was now being pestered once again by her mother. They nodded to each other briefly before Elyza moved to get her job started. Even though she was exhausted and wished only for a shower to rinse all the blood from her body, she had to check on Ofelia first.
She moved below deck, Aden hot on her heels as she entered their shared room. Her first item of action was to remove Daniel from the room and check the older woman's temperature. She was shaking and shivering and hardly coherent enough to swallow the antibiotics with a sip of water.
It took her a half an hour to check and double check the bullet wound, then change the bandages. She cleaned it out with alcohol, which had Ofelia crying out and shifting in an attempt to get away, but Aden helped hold her down. Once Elyza was satisfied with her job, she finally settled down.
A cool wash cloth was placed on Ofelia's forehead and Elyza left Aden with explicit instructions to change it every twenty minutes to try to bring down her temperature. Daniel reentered the room once she began to gather her things to leave.
"I will not forget this, Elyza," he murmured to her, the only thanks she would receive from him she knew.
"It's my job," she responded, but nodded nonetheless.
With her things fully packed, she thankfully and tiredly dragged her feet down the hallway and into her shared room with Alicia. The brunette hadn't returned yet, but Elyza's eyes were so heavy that she barely managed to convince herself she needed to shower and not instantly fall asleep.
The shower helped revitalize her and after another thirty minutes of resting under the warm spray and scrapping at her skin, she finally stepped out. It felt good to be clean and even though her body was clear of the violent things she had done, it didn't keep her from remembering.
She leaned heavily against the sink as the day seemed replay in her head. Every time her eyes closed, it seemed like the events were burned onto the back of her eyelids.
With another shake of her head, she changed into clean clothes and left the bathroom. Alicia still wasn't back when she returned to their room, but she wasn't going to go in search of her. She wasn't really in the mood to possibly be chewed out by another one of Alicia's family members.
They would have time to talk in the morning and even though Elyza felt a bit nervous, she was certain the discussion would go well. What she felt was not one-sided, she knew. Even though Alicia wasn't the best at expressing her feelings in words, her kiss and her eyes were very good at doing it for her. There was something between them and putting a name to it wasn't necessary so long as they admitted it to themselves and each other.
Her eyes drifted shut as soon as her body slid under the cool blankets, and she was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow.