Chapter 4: Confined
It only took about an hour for Nick to start feeling better. After taking some of the liquid cough medicine and snorting a small line of the pills that Madison brought home, he seemed to be back to not vomiting every few minutes. As much as Jamie wanted to see him suffer for his stupid decisions, she was glad he wasn't whining anymore and they didn't have to baby him.
There was a brief argument about leaving without Travis, but Madison insisted on waiting for him before they did anything. This led to lots of time waiting and the spur-of-the-moment decision to pull out the Monopoly board to pass the time. They were on turn six, with Nick in the lead followed by herself and Madison in second and Alicia dead last. Despite the looming chaos outside, playing a simple game made things feel normal, even if only for a short time.
"Please don't buy the railroad, James, come on!" Alicia whined.
Jamie snickered, gathering the proper amount of money to purchase her third railroad. "Too late. Railroad number four is waiting for me so you better not get in my way."
The other three exchanged looks before Madison announced, "Alright, team up to make sure she doesn't get that fourth railroad."
Jamie laughed a long and genuine belly laugh that caused the rest to chuckle along. She hadn't had a day like this with Madison and Alicia in ages.
They continued to play the game until Madison finally declared herself the winner, even after Jamie had gotten all four of the railroad properties. The wind-down of the game eased the previous tension back into the room, and it wasn't long before everyone started to discuss how long they would wait for Travis.
Madison was firm on waiting as long as they could, which made sense. Nick seemed more antsy than anyone else and it made her wonder what he knew that they didn't. It was only when the power flickered out and she and Alicia were told to clean up the game did she try to find out what was happening.
She ditched Alicia to tell her that she had to go to the bathroom but instead, she lingered outside of the kitchen archway, pressing herself against the wall and listening carefully as Nick and Madison rustled around the room.
"Mom. You know what's out there. We can't stay here. I'm not trying to be an asshole," Nick murmured.
"Good," Madison replied.
"He went to get his ex-wife-"
"He went to get his son."
"Yeah, his family," Nick reiterated.
"We're his family. He'll come home," she said firmly.
"Maybe he went home."
"Remember that thing you said about not being an asshole?"
Alicia appeared next to her with a flashlight, not bothering to try and remain hidden, but sharing a knowing glance with her. She'd have to spill on their conversation later.
The four of them gathered at the window to try to find the source of a noise that was going on outside. Jamie felt uneasy, especially after hearing Nick and Madison talking about something the rest of them didn't know about. Nick didn't let them stay by the windows for too long and she was too wound up not to confront them about it.
"What is it that you guys know?" she asked, cutting them off before they left the room again.
Alicia spun around, curious and alarmed to hear that something else was going on. But before they could speak on it any further, a loud scratching emanated from the sliding glass door. Everyone froze, and Nick inched toward the door, only pausing for a brief moment before ripping the curtains aside to reveal a German shepherd trying to scratch his way in.
While he attempted to comfort the dog, she couldn't help but notice the shiny red blood all over his front, and Madison spotted it too.
"I don't think that's his blood," Nick admitted, leaning back and watching as the dog suddenly bolted and started barking at the front door.
She felt her heart begin to race and the adrenaline seeped into her limbs in a rush of fire.
"Okay, the Trans have a shotgun. I tried to steal it once," Nick said, rushing back over.
"Wait, shotgun? Nick, what the fuck is going on?" Jamie hissed, grabbing onto his wrist to stop him from going any further.
His eyes locked with hers and he shook his head. "I will tell you when we are safe."
Her stomach dropped and she released his wrist, following after the group of them as they all went to the backyard. They all began to climb over the fence one after the other, and she had a really bad feeling about this. But she didn't want to be left behind and she surely didn't want to leave the others, so she followed suit, taking up the rear to keep a watch from the back.
Walking through the trellises felt eerie and ominous. What would they find at the end? Between the darkness and their swift movements, she wasn't sure they'd know until they got to the other side. But to their luck, everything was quiet when they got to the house. The lights flickered on and off with the power. Nick and Madison went to go and find the shotgun, but Alicia stayed behind, which made Jamie stay behind. She didn't want to leave her alone by herself when neither of them knew what the hell was going on.
Everything was quiet for a moment, until her friend nudged her to get her attention, pointing across the way through the window. She squinted, spotting someone clambering into her house and watching the dog turn feral. There was a quick agreement to stay put for now, until seconds later a truck pulled into the driveway.
"It's Travis. No. Oh my God, it's him," Madison murmured.
Despite knowing little of what was actually happening, she could feel Madison's desperation and knew that this was life or death. Few words were spoken as they rushed out of the house and back through the maze of trellises. Nick was whisper-shouting directions at them and despite the tension they made it back to the fence with no problems. But when Nick went to hand the gun to his mother, they realized they had forgotten the shells.
A struggle sounded from the open sliding door and both Nick and Madison went bolting over the fence. Jamie was about halfway over when she realized Alicia turned back for the shells.
"Shit! Alicia, no!" she hissed, nearly tripping as she tried to reverse her actions of climbing over the fence.
Her friend had already disappeared inside the maze once more and by the time she finally got down on the ground, she couldn't see her at all. She swore softly, moving quickly as she tried to maneuver through the paths. Blood soared to her ears, rumbling like a train and matching the beat of her heart. Everything was a blur and she lost focus until the clear sound of a gunshot woke her from her stupor. She froze, eyes growing wide as she glanced back to the house just as a body slammed into her.
Jamie fell over, dazed, but grabbed onto the hand held out to her. Alicia had made her way back, and she almost breathed a sigh of relief until she spotted arms reaching through the trellis to grab onto her friend.
Alicia let out a plea for help, and Jamie grabbed onto her leg, pulling her as hard as she could away from their attacking neighbor. In the seconds that it took for the two of them to get up and move, their attacker made up the ground, fresh on their heels as she practically dived over the fence and almost landed straight onto Chris. Alicia was still struggling, and the boy was trying to pry her away.
Everything happened so quickly once Alicia tumbled over the fence, elbowing Chris in the face to get out of his grip and practically diving away from everyone until she realized she was okay. There was a lot of tension and yelling while everyone got their bearings, and she glanced toward their neighbor still trying to reach through the fence.
The kind and gentle face of their once neighbor Susan was now twisted in a snarl, eyes glazed over with something she could only describe as hunger.
"What's wrong with Su-su?" Alicia breathed, looking at her mother.
Words like 'sick' and 'bitten' were thrown around, which started to connect the dots a little more. The whole thing with the video of that man and the drugs and the way he bit into the officer's neck….
"She's not sick," Nick clarified, arms crossed. "She's dead."
A twinge of nausea fluttered in her throat. Despite it not making any sense, it also made perfect sense.
"Well that's…that's not Matt," Alicia started, voice quivering. "He's not like that. He's not like that, Mom! Matt's not like that, that's not him! That's not Matt!"
Jamie's heart began to ache at the desperation in her best friend's voice. Could it be Matt? Could he just be sick and not dead like Susan?
"Why would you say that?" Travis confronted, turning to Nick.
"Because it's the truth."
Tension hung heavily in the air, threatening to squeeze her lungs until there wasn't any air left. But they didn't have time to stand around. Apparently, Travis had helped a few others get out of the city and one of them was injured. Alicia was still clinging onto her mother as they headed inside and Travis left to go and find Chris. She shared a sharp glance with Nick before also heading in.
With everyone on edge, she couldn't help but think of her parents, and even though it was late, she was determined to get ahold of them and figure out when they would be home and what was going on. She grabbed her cell from the kitchen counter, noticing she had several missed calls, both from her mother and her father, followed by multiple texts. It only took one ring to get through to her mother.
"Jamie, oh my god," she cried, words thick with tears. "I was so afraid something happened to you."
"Honey, are you okay?" her dad asked. "We saw on the news there was something happening in LA and they've got us all locked inside up here in Canada."
"I'm okay, I promise," she breathed, a twinge of nausea coating her mouth. "I'm at Alicia's house with her family. Do you know what's going on? Why are…..why are there dead people that are alive?"
The words caught in her throat and the heavy silence on the other end only confirmed her suspicions. They didn't know.
"Listen to me carefully," her dad started, "whatever you do, I don't want you to be alone. Stay with Alicia and the Clarks. Or if you can get hold of your uncles, get them to pick you up. No matter what, I don't want you by yourself."
The hair on her arms rose and she shivered, taken aback by the seriousness in his tone. "Okay. Okay. When are you going to be home? How fast can you get to the airport?"
She knew they weren't supposed to be home for another five days, but this was an emergency and it was enough to cut their trip short.
"Sweetheart, the airports are on lockdown right now. Everyone is being quarantined in their own neighborhood and we are stuck at the hotel…. They don't know when it's going to open back up," her mom said tentatively.
Jamie squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the tidal wave of emotions swirling in her eyes. Damn it, she couldn't cry. She was stronger than this. The last thing they needed was for everyone to become an emotional wreck…. So she steeled herself, clenching her jaw so tightly she was sure she'd break some teeth, and nodded firmly, even though they couldn't see.
"Okay. I will be here when you get home. Keep me updated and I'll let you know what's going on over here. I'll stay with Alicia for now. I know Miss C and Travis won't mind."
"Good. We love you, Jamie. Stay safe. We will be home as soon as we can," her dad assured.
After saying their goodbyes, she headed back to the living room, just in time to get in the middle of an argument, with Alicia shouting that she didn't want to stay and Travis trying to convince them to stay another night.
"We can't leave, my parents aren't back yet. They're gonna be home soon," Jamie interrupted.
"You'll have your cell, you can keep in contact with them and stay with us until they can get home," Madison tried.
"Maddie," Travis warned. "One more night."
Despite the growing unease, it was agreed they would stay for one more night and leave in the morning. She hoped by that time, her parents would find some way to get on a plane home.
She took up space with Alicia in her bed that night, and though the events from the day swirled in her mind, exhaustion took over and brought her into an uneasy sleep. Her dreams were full of blood and monsters, making it easy for her to wake up at Alicia's smallest stir. Light flooded through the blinds, and she didn't waste time getting moving, starting off the day with another phone call to her parents to figure out what was going on.
They were still stuck with no way home, and after telling them the Clark's plan to leave, they wanted her to go with them until they were able to return. She didn't like the idea of leaving everything behind and having to delay their reunion even longer, but the thought of being alone for who knew how long sounded worse.
Since she had packed everything to stay the next few nights, she already had enough essentials that she didn't feel she needed to go back to her house to get anything else. While Alicia took a shower and got her things packed, she headed to the kitchen to grab a small bite and stay in the middle of the action so she knew what was going on.
Daniel Salazar, the man who Travis helped, was at the table with Chris, looking over the shotgun. The thought of using it on someone she knew - one of the sick people - made her stomach churn. But the idea of not being able to protect her loved ones made her feel just as ill.
"Can I join?" she asked, gesturing to one of the empty chairs.
Daniel's eyes swiveled over, studying her face with a scrutiny that made her set her jaw. His lips twitched into a smirk and he nodded, returning his gaze to the gun as he explained how it was used. He had just finished the explanation when Travis returned from outside, balking at the idea of his son even touching the gun and demanding that Chris leave to get ready. Once they were gone, she turned back to Daniel, eying the weapon.
"Would you like to hold it?" he asked, catching onto her thoughts.
Jamie gave a stiff nod, reaching over to carefully take it in her hand as he passed it over. She kept the barrel pointed upwards, studying the mechanisms and running over his explanations in her head as her eyes roamed each part.
"You seem very familiar with guns," she pointed out, handing it back.
"And you don't."
"I don't. But it seems like it might be a good time to learn."
There was a long pause before he spoke again. "You and Madison and Nick. You are different from the others."
"How so?" She raised a brow.
Despite his civil manner, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that this man was dangerous. She knew that he wouldn't hurt them. Not unless they did something to hurt him or his family. But she could tell he was privy to many things that most people did not.
"You do not try to ignore reality. Instead, you learn from it."
Jamie pursed her lips, mulling over his words and trying to decipher exactly what he meant. But she didn't have time before Madison rounded up everyone to get in the vehicles so they could leave. She gave Daniel a nod in farewell before retrieving her things and bringing them to the car.
Alicia's things were already in the front seat, so she had to squeeze in the back with Nick, much too close for comfort. His skin was hot against hers and she couldn't focus on anything but the brush of his side as he fidgeted in his seat. While she did her best to ignore him as she fiddled with Candy Crush, his argument with his mother about his meds began to grate her nerves. She tried to understand that he was an addict and that the idea of losing his addiction caused involuntary anxiety. Still, his selfishness and disregard for others only pissed her off.
"I know you're a selfish prick but the world doesn't revolve around you. You're the one who chose to be an addict. Griselda didn't choose to get injured," she hissed under her breath, sinking back slightly when she saw Madison swivel to give her a warning glare. "Sorry, Miss C."
The two kept their mouths shut for the rest of the wait. Alicia finally joined them and they didn't hesitate to take off. She watched her house from the window as they turned down the road, hoping that her parents would get home soon so she could get to them again. Sensing her anxiety, Alicia reached behind her and held out her hand, which she gladly took. At least she was with her second family and not all alone.
As they were about to turn onto the main road, Madison spotted Patrick, Susan's husband, parking his car.
"Patrick! No, no, no," Madison muttered, immediately turning the car to go and chase him down.
She slammed the car to a stop, yanking the door open to get out, and the rest of them followed suit. The corners of her vision began to blur as she burst into the backyard, everything happening so quickly that she thought it might have been a dream.
Shots were fired, Susan went down, and soldiers were flooding in to take care of the situation. Jamie stared in horror as Patrick sobbed over his wife, holding her dead body until the soldiers pried him away. She was ushered back, along with the others. Despite having soldiers all around them, she didn't feel at ease. It made her feel more anxious. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that this was a lot worse than it seemed.
Everyone was pulled aside for questioning, and she was separated from the others since she didn't live at the Clark residence.
"Alright, kid, what's your name?" the soldier asked, writing down a few things on a sheet of paper.
"Jamie Monroe." Her eyes flitted over to where they were removing Susan's body.
"And where are your parents?"
"Canada. They were on vacation when everything happened…. I've been staying with my friend and her family, the Clarks down the road over there."
"And your parent's names?"
"Walter Monroe and Regina Monroe." She fidgeted, anxious to get back to Alicia's.
"Were you exposed to the infected? Their blood or anything at all?" The woman's eyes jumped up to wait for an answer.
"No. No, not at all," she said quickly. "We've been locked in the house mostly."
"Okay. Miss Monroe, I need you to stay inside your own residence until we get things cleared up. Then you can return to your friend's."
With a nod, she turned to head back inside, hoping the process wouldn't take too long. Her empty house felt alone and empty, and the last thing she wanted was to be alone right now. She sent a quick text to Alicia to let her know what was going on before she settled down on her couch.
Something told her that something far more sinister was going on than they would let them know.
A/N: Alright guys, it's been a while! I was having trouble getting access to the Fear the Walking Dead episodes to figure out exactly what dialogue I needed to include. But I got everything squared away and here we are! There's gonna be a little bit more freedom for me to deviate in the next chapter or two and I have some fun things planned and more interactions with Nick next chapter! Thank you guys for your patience and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)