A/N: I know it's been 10 years, six months, 19 days, 8 hours, 9 minutes and 15 seconds give or take a few years since I last updated this story, but here it is. I swear I still fully intend on finishing it, I just haven't had much time. If you read any of my other stuff, you know that I've kind of extended Is There Somewhere? And now I have to work on finishing that. But I pumped this out quickly and I'm trying to outline the rest of the plot for this story. I hope you enjoy and drop a comment. Thank you for your continued patience.
~TGF
Chapter Twenty-Two: Infested Waters
Elyza awoke the first time to a dip in the bed and a gentle hand on her arm. Her eyes fluttered open and she was greeted to a beautiful, soft smile on Alicia's face. She reached out, her hand grasping at the brunette's.
"Hey," her voice was raspy with sleep and she glanced around in a daze. The sun was setting and the room was cast with heavy shadows. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Awhile, I brought you some dinner," Alicia gestured to the table next to her, where a tray lay. Fried, canned spam, some canned green beans and a glass of water. It wasn't the most filling meal and the spam would leave a film in her mouth., but it was food and her stomach was grumbling loudly for it.
"Have you rested?" Elyza asked, her gaze shifting back to Alicia.
"A bit," her eyes cast downward to the sheets, "it's hard to sleep."
Elyza nodded in agreeance but didn't want to delve into that, "Have you eaten, then?"
She watched as Alicia's expressions shifted upon her face when she nodded and the way her lip twitched upward. Her jaw clenched as her gaze lingered on full lips, but she forced herself to shift her eyes back upward. "Then why don't you get some more sleep?"
A blush pinkened Alicia's cheeks as she twisted her sleeve in her hand nervously. She remained silent for a moment, seeming to be warring with a decision. Elyza watched her as she did it, wondering exactly what the problem was. Their kiss was still at the forefront of her mind, but she wasn't going to be the first one to bring it up. Not unless Alicia did.
"I was wondering…I mean, could I lay with you? I think I would feel better going to sleep," she started, licking her lips and shifting slightly. "Safer."
Elyza nodded, her heart swelling in her chest at the idea that Alicia felt safer with her. "That's fine with me," she groaned as she moved up the bed, her back aching and legs sore. Their trek and adventures had taken a toll on her body and if she looked close enough she could see the same exhaustion upon Alicia's face.
She reached out for the plate as Alicia settled down next to her. Once she bit in the first bite of spam, the rest of the food went quickly. She really didn't realize how hungry she was until the food was right before her. It was gone before she was full, but she didn't complain, only settled the plate onto the table once again.
Alicia's body faced away from her, curled up under the blankets with one arm beneath her head and the other protecting her body. Her breathing had yet to settle so Elyza knew she wasn't asleep yet. Living in the same room as the brunette had made her incredibly in tune with the sound of her breathing, most of the time it was the sound that lulled her to sleep.
"You awake?" she whispered, settling onto her back.
Instead of a response, Alicia rolled over and settled on her other side, facing Elyza. Her eyes were alert and steady on Elyza's.
"Do you want to talk now?" Elyza asked, assuming her silence was a prompt.
Alicia shook her head and scooted closer, suddenly pressed tightly against the blonde. She removed Elyza's arm from her side and snuggled underneath it, resting her head against her chest. "Is this okay?" she whispered.
"Of course, whatever you need," Elyza's voice shook even as her heart thudded a bit faster in her chest. She was never this nervous when confronted by a zombie, but a pretty girl made her an incredibly gay mess.
They settled back and Elyza didn't really know what to do with her hand except rest it uncomfortably on the bed. Several minutes of awkwardly trying not to jostle Alicia but also being uncomfortable passed until the brunette chuckled and shifted onto her stomach a bit more.
She was still pressed tightly against Elyza's side, but less awkwardly. Her free hand grasped the older woman's wrist and let it drape over her back to settle on her side. They relaxed then, enjoying the subtle push and pull of their breathing and the warmth the other provided.
Sleep seemed to come much faster for both of them after that.
Elyza was surrounded by the dead. Blood dripped from her face and her boots slipped in the copious amounts covering the tile floor. Her heart kicked in her chest and her hands shook from the physical exertion. Her knees felt weak with exhaustion and her stomach rolled at the stench of rotting corpses.
She had an overwhelming sense that she was needed somewhere. There was something urgent that she needed to attend to and yet she didn't know what it was. Her mind jumped to Aden, wondering if he was safe and then to Alicia, her mind running at a mile a minute to try to figure it out.
Taking a step forward, she nearly slipped on blood, but just managed to keep herself upright. She reached the corner of the room, where the natural light from the roof did not penetrate before she did fall. Her head hit the tile, cracking hard and pain exploded in her skull.
Her body jolted forward and her head lifted from the pillow in an instant. It took her a moment to realize she was in her room on the Abigail and not back in that hospital. In the darkness, her eyes and her hands sought out her roommate.
Alicia had rolled to the other side of the bed, spread out her body and was breathing deeply. She stopped as soon as she started, noticing that Alicia was sleeping well and didn't plan on ruining that. Her hands came to her eyes as she rubbed them, wiping the tears that she had shed in her sleep away.
As she tried to shake the nightmare away, Alicia's breathing stuttered and then became uneven. She shifted and her head twisted into the pillow until she turned completely. Her eyes barely fluttered open as they fell upon Elyza.
As the light of the moon reflected off the ocean water outside of their window, Alicia's skin was cast in a silver glow and her hair shone with pale highlights. She allowed that image to settle her heartbeat and send her nightmare to the back of her mind. With a deep breath she relaxed back into the pillows and tried to think of anything but zombies.
Alicia watched with steady eyes as the panic faded from pale cerulean orbs. Elyza's face slackened and the furrow between her eyebrows disappeared. She reached out and hooked her arm around the blonde's waist, too sleepy to offer words of comfort and opting for the reassurance of touch.
She pressed her body against Elyza's, pulling the other girl closer until they were once again tightly pressed together. Her fingers sought out Elyza's over her body and intertwined them together. Alicia's eyes fluttered closed and her forehead rested just between the blonde's shoulder blades. Their hands squeezed tightly for a moment before settling back down and trying to drift off to sleep.
It was halfway between consciousness and sleep when Alicia heard a thump from above that sounded out of place. Her body tensed and she raised her head from the pillow to listen better. Footsteps, there are definitely footsteps.
She sat up further now, lightly shaking Elyza from sleep though she felt like an asshole for doing so. The blonde jolted, her hand instantly grabbing for the knife under the pillow until she realized it was just Alicia. Dark hair brushed against her collarbone as pink lips came closer, pressing to her ear. "Shh, listen."
Elyza lay their silently, her ears straining to listen for any noises. A humming that was higher pitched than the constant one of the Abigail confused Elyza and when the thumping of heavy footsteps from the floor above made it to her ears, she jumped to her feet. A shout echoed from somewhere above and even more movement, which sounded like fighting, ensued.
"Alicia, you should hide," Elyza suggested, flicking open the knife and creeping towards the door.
Of course, Alicia didn't listen. "Give me that," she snatched the knife away and shut it, putting it in the pocket of her sweats. Elyza raised her arms in confusion, but didn't say anything as a door thudded open and raised voices were just outside of their room.
Both girls rushed forward, throwing their door open to see a masked man with his back facing their door. Rather than stand frozen, Elyza reacted, shoving her body into the man's before he knew they were there.
"Run, Alicia!" She shouted, all thoughts of stealth disappearing as their cover was already blown. The brunette managed to slip her body past Elyza's just as the large man turned on them.
He reached out for Elyza just as she turned on her heels to follow Alicia, but his hand clasped onto her forearm and yanked her back. His strength whipped her around and slammed her into the far wall. Her head connected hard and she forced herself to shake the pain off to turn and face her assailant.
Her hands came up defensively and she centered her body's gravity quickly. The man before her was over six-foot-tall with huge shoulders and black paint over his eyes, making him look more intimidating. There was a strap over his shoulder, from which a gnarly semi-automatic hung useless. He was reaching for her when she turned and Elyza barely had enough time to duck under his outstretched arm.
A sickening crunch reached Elyza's ears after a moment and she whipped around once again. The man was clutching at his head and doubled over in pain while Alicia stood behind him, a wooden board in her hand. Where she had gotten it from Elyza wasn't sure, but she was incredibly thankful.
The moment that they stood there, dazed and confused, was to their attacker's advantage. He twisted around, gripped the gun and brought it up. Sidestepping to get closer to Elyza, he brought the gun down hard and quick enough to snap her head back. The world went black with a throb of pain.
She came to, moments later, her body held limply by a tree trunk of an arm. Her vision blurred and her line of sight was narrowed to the stairs she was being dragged up. Alicia's voice was the only thing she could here.
"She's bleeding, please just let me look at her." Her voice shook with worry or fear, Elyza wasn't sure. But her pleas were ignored.
They fully ascended the stairs and in her disoriented state, Elyza was unsure of where exactly they were. She was tossed like a ragdoll onto a familiar throw carpet and she stayed there, her bones aching and head throbbing. Her eyes remained closed as she settled her breathing and forced her brain to function through the pain.
"Well, well," a smooth, male voice murmured from several feet away. A pair of hands slipped into the curves of Elyza's elbows and restrained her with a pinching zip tie. A different set of hands, more calloused than the pair that had restrained her lifted her by her upper arms and settled her back against one of the chairs.
Elyza opened her eyes to find a familiar face smirking down at her. Bellamy Blake.
"Blake?"
"You know these people?" Strand's voice came from across the room and Elyza recognized her surroundings as the living room of the Abigail. She was leaning against a warm body, their backs pressed together and soft tresses of hair brushed against her arms.
"I – no, I don't." Elyza glared.
"You okay, Lex?" Alicia's voice came from behind her and Elyza slouched in relief. Her head fell back and she bumped it lightly against the brunette's.
"No," Elyza glared again. "What do you want?" A hand brushed against hers and a cold metal object was placed in it. She straightened up, her eyes scanning over their surroundings again as she felt for what it was. A knife.
"We've been tracking The Abgail for awhile now, but I didn't know you were on it. What did you do? Leave us to die? Again? How did you get off of that ship? We all nearly died, stuck in the ocean for four days without any way of getting back." Bellamy snapped.
"I didn't know, I was lost-"
"I don't care," Bellamy's jaw ticked as he looked away, face shrouded with grief. "My mother is dead because you thought it was necessary to save those people. When are you going to realize that not everyone can be saved?"
Elyza's heart sank and she opened her mouth to say something, whether to apologize or argue she wasn't sure, but nothing came out.
Bellamy waited expectantly, eyes filled with unshed tears, "You left us, you didn't come searching when you recovered. Octavia, Finn and I? We searched, we looked for you. But you found another group."
"H-how was I supposed to know?"
"You didn't have to know!" he shouted, lurching forward before pausing and sucking in a breath to calm himself. He straightened his shirt and blinked a couple of times, "It doesn't matter now. We're in control of the ship. Finn, gather what you can find, weapons and food. Murphy, keep watch over them, I'm going to check in with Marcus, Lincoln, come with me." Bellamy shot Elyza another glare before turning on his heels and exiting the through the rear with the buff man with the paint streaking his face.
Elyza's eyes met Finn's across the room, catching a flash of hurt and something else in soft brown eyes before the man turned away and headed deeper into the ship. He looked different, more haunted and sleep deprived than before. Elyza knew they had been through something horrible and wanted to know more about it but knew there was a gaping hole of distrust settled between all of them. They needed to be united, not divided because of something they couldn't control but Elyza didn't know how to go about discussing that when she was tied up.
As she watched Finn walk away, Murphy approached, crouching down on Elyza's other side, right in Alicia's face. Elyza's hands fiddled slowly with the knife until it met the tie around her wrists. As she shifted, Alicia did too, covering up her movement.
Murphy brushed the butt of his knife down her cheek. "You know, I think Cage and the Commander would like a pretty girl like you. Maybe we should take you with us, you could use the protection seeing as we're going to leave the rest of your crew here to die."
"Fuck off," Alicia spits, leaning further into him with a sneer. "I don't need your protection."
Murphy clicked his tongue and smirked, "Oh, honey, I think you do, you have no idea what its like to starve to death. To feel so dehydrated…you could die, slowly and painfully, or you could come with us. Nobody will hurt you…much."
The knife severed through Elyza's bonds and she lunged at Murphy, her body slamming into his and knocking the weapons from both of their hands. They struggled loudly for several moments before Elyza gained the upper hand and landed a couple of good punches, knocking him unconscious.
She rose to her feet with the gun that had been holstered at the boy's side. Madison and Nick shouted at her. The room dissolved into chaos of shouting and screaming at each other as she began to turn.
"Put the gun down," Bellamy's voice was calm and right behind her.
Elyza turned and her blood turned to ice in her veins. Bellamy stood with Alicia held to his chest, an arm holding her shoulders down and the other brandishing a knife at her carotid artery. "Let her go."
"I don't think you have the power to be making demands right now," Bellamy snapped.
"Elyza…" Alicia's eyes were wide with fear and reminded the blonde of a deer caught in the headlights.
"Hurt her and I'll pull the trigger, Bellamy."
"Pull the trigger and she's dead."
"You'll be dead just as quickly."
Finn entered the room, "Woah, Aussie, come on. Put the gun down. This has gone too far. We've gone through too much…for what? A girl you barely know?"
"Finn, shut up." Bellamy and Elyza snapped in sync.
"Seriously, put down the gun."
"Not until he puts down the knife. If there's a single cut on her neck…I swear to god, Bellamy." Elyza's jaw ticked and she couldn't tear her eyes away from Alicia's terrified face. The brunette was too afraid of accidentally jolting the knife into her throat to speak.
"You won't kill me," Bellamy smiles a little, though his eyes are alive with a frenzy Clarke only remembers seeing in Finn's eyes that night on the Freedom.
"Why's that?"
"I have someone you want to see."
"There's nobody else left for me."
"Remember Wells? Or have you already forgotten about him like you forgot about us when you blew up the Freedom?"
Alicia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, having not learned about that yet. Now that Elyza thought about it, she hadn't told Alicia much about what had happened after the apocalypse.
"What about him?" Elyza snapped, her hand still unwavering.
"He's at our main base. I've met him and his father. He's your best friend, right? I'm assuming you'd want to see him again." Bellamy shrugged slightly, "But maybe you'd rather die here for these people you don't even know."
Elyza's jaw ticked again, her shoulders tense. "Let her go, Bellamy. Then we could talk."
"Put the gun down, Elyza."
"If there's even a single droplet of blood on that knife, nothing will stop me from killing you, understood?" Elyza warned as she slowly began lowering the gun as Bellamy began to pull the knife from Alicia's throat.
The brunette was shoved away just as soon as the gun hit the floor and the guy in facial paint grabbed her by the arms before she could reach Elyza. He tied her hands back together and shoved her into a sitting position on the ground next to her mother.
Bellamy held his hands up over his head and let out a huff that was probably meant to be more of a chuckle, "Now can we talk?"
"What do you want from me?" Elyza shrugged. "Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"Because you owe me. You owe Octavia, Raven, Harper, Monty and Jasper. You left us without looking."
"How was I supposed to find you?" Elyza shouted, "Huh? What was I supposed to do? Force these people," she gestured towards the Clarks, "to galivant across the Pacific searching for people they didn't know if they could trust? They could hardly trust me, Bellamy."
Bellamy blinked, his eyes shining with tears. "What stopped you after they trusted you?"
"I don't know. I'm trying my best here, Bellamy."
"Well that's not good enough. You got my mother killed. She's dead because you kept the infected on the Freedom a secret, because you decided that your plan was better than anyone else's ideas. You dragged my family along because you needed bodies to get what you wanted done. Now my mother is dead, because of you." The tears were obvious now, though, somehow, Bellamy managed to keep them from rolling down his cheeks. His voice cracked and shook with the emotion of it all, but Elyza didn't know what to say to that.
Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, the pain in Bellamy's voice, the knowledge that somehow, what she had done had gotten Aurora killed. The woman had never done anything to hurt her, if anything, it was thanks to her that she was alive. Without Bellamy's mother, something was more broken than it had been before.
"I'm sorry," Elyza's voice cracked and she blinked hard, "what do you want me to do? I can't…"
"You can come with us, and you can pay for what you've done by living with it. By seeing everyone and I know I should kill you for it, but I can't, so I'm making you come with us."
"Why not leave me here to die too?"
"Aussie, just come with us." Finn piped up, his eyes pleading. "It'll be okay."
"One condition." Elyza pointed at the Clarks, "They get to live."
"That's not negotiable. We have a protocol to follow." Finn shook his head, though he had the decency to look like he regretted what he was saying.
"Leave them with enough so they can survive, and I'll come with you, Bellamy. That's all I ask," Elyza ignored Finn.
"That can be arranged." Bellamy nodded. "Murphy, take Elyza down to her bunk so she can gather her things, don't let her bring anything pointy, while you're at it. Lincoln, Finn, watch the crew and we'll be out of here shortly."
Murphy rubbed at his sore nose and grabbed the crook of Elyza's arm, pulling her towards the direction of the lower deck. "Lets go, Aussie."
Elyza's bag was on her back when she came back up the stairs. Murphy lagged a couple of steps behind her, confident that she wasn't going to do anything in an attempt to escape. The Clarks, Salazars and Strand were untied and rubbing at their wrists. Madison sent Elyza a glare, one that sent a shiver down her spine at it's severity.
Finn approached her, shooing Murphy away before murmuring to her quietly, "Say your last goodbyes, Aussie. Bellamy can't take that away from you."
The sincerity in Finn's face made Elyza's heart ache because this was happening. This new world meant that nothing was certain, ever. The likelihood of finding this group again was slim. They would probably all be dead before Elyza ever got to see them again and that was the hardest pill to swallow.
"Lincoln and I will be here, but you can talk to them." Finn nudged her in their direction.
The moment she was within a few feet of them, Aden was slamming into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll come with you, they'll let me come with you."
Elyza's eyes filled with tears and she ran a hand through the young boy's loose waves, "You have to protect them, Aden. I can leaving knowing they have you."
"But I'm supposed to be with you."
"You're supposed to survive," Elyza held him at arm's length and forced a smile onto her face. "Besides, you don't want me with you."
"You're my sister, Elyza, blood or otherwise," Aden insisted, his jaw set into a firm line and his eyes afire. "I'm going to find you one way or another. They can't keep us apart."
"Well, keep them safe while I'm gone then," Elyza ruffled his hair and pulled him in for another quick hug.
Blue met green over blonde locks before Elyza forced her eyes away. There was no point in hurting over what could have never been, not now. She would just have to savor what she'd gotten and hope that Alicia could evolve into a survivor.
Aden pulled away finally and Travis reached out, shaking Elyza's hand. "Stay safe, Elyza."
Ofelia actually gave her a hug and whispered a thank you into her ear before returning to her father's side.
"Its fitting," Nick sneered, "you brought them here and they get to take you with them. I bet this was all planned."
"Shut up, Nick," Alicia rolled her eyes.
"Good riddance, at least you won't put my sister in anymore danger." Nick shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Alicia, ignoring Nick, reached out and grabbed Elyza's arm to pull her into a hug. They remained silent and held each other for longer than necessary before Alicia shoved the blonde away. "Go."
Elyza didn't move far, "I don't want to, I can come back." she whispered, curving her body so she was cutting off everyone's view of them. Their conversation felt private.
"You don't have a choice," Alicia blinked and shook her head, looking down at her shoes.
"I'll try to find my way back, I'll get rid of Bellamy somehow."
"Maybe," Alicia's voice was devoid of hope when she spoke.
"I'll bring Wells back, he'll teach you better chess than I ever could." Elyza smirked when Alicia met her eyes with an irritated eye roll
"I'll hold you to that, Lex."
Elyza shrugged and her smile softened slightly, "Be safe, princess."
Alicia rolled her eyes again and gently pushed Elyza way, but smiled sadly, "You too, asshole."
They smiled at each other briefly, but it wasn't enough. There were words settling between them that had never been spoken, questions that wouldn't be answered now and an uncertain future that could never be now. Elyza cupped the back of Alicia's neck, causing the brunette's heart to skip at the idea of kissing the beautiful girl before her. But Elyza only bumped their foreheads together, "May we meet again."
Then the warmth of her breath and comfort of her presence was gone from Alicia's space. She was left alone, with a thumping heart and a reeling mind over the woman she was sure she'd never see again.