Chapter Text
She saw the end of the alley. Ten more steps. Ten more steps and she would be on a wide road, able to run, safe (at least, as safe as she could be during those times).
Nine.
A few infected corpses lay on the ground, a bullet in the head or with no head at all. She wished she had a gun.
Eight.
She wasn't going to die here.
Seven.
She paused, looking around her.
Six.
She thought she had heard the roar of an engine in the distance. She shook her head and let out a small laugh at the rush of hope that had filled her lungs for a second. It's not like anyone's here to save you, idiot. The teenager took a step forward, not looking where she was going.
Five.
Her foot hit a beer can on the floor and it clanged on the pavement. She hardly heard the clang but what she didn't miss was the low grunt behind her. No fucking way. She didn't look back, she already knew what was coming her way.
Four.
The grunts were closer now, too close.
Three.
A scrawny hand tried to grip her wrist and she almost fell down. She started to run, she would not die here and certainly not get bitten.
Two.
One.
She was on the road now, just as planned. But the three infected following her, however, were not a part of her plan. She went to the left and saw a brick wall falling apart. She picked up a brick on the ground and turned around, ready to fight whatever she had to fight. The first one was missing half of its jaw, dry blood on its face. Her head started spinning when she thought about what she was about to do. You can do this, Alicia. Come on. She hold onto the brick, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and raised her arm, ready to hit that thing as hard as possible. When the brick met rotten flesh with a thud, Alicia raised her arm again, not wasting any time. She hit it, again and again and again, until her biceps burned. Then she looked at the mess on the ground and almost threw up. There was flesh on her arm, her shirt was stained with blood. She didn't have time to wipe her arm, the other two were coming her way. She couldn't do this, not again. Tears were menacing to roll down her cheeks. Don't you fucking cry. You've got this. But before she could do anything, the first infected fell down before her feet, a hole between its eyes. When a second gunshot resonated, she realized she hadn't heard the first one. She stared at the corpses on the ground for a few seconds, too shocked to move. Then she looked up at her savior to see a blonde woman on a black motorcycle, a leather jacket on, wearing a pair of worn combat boots which were more grey than black. She was maybe two or three years older than her.
"Need a ride, princess?" She shouted, a smug smile on her lips.
She had a low voice and a thick Australian accent. She got down from her bike, shotgun over her shoulder and walked up to Alicia, who didn't say a word, still processing what was happening.
"Hey!" She snapped her fingers in front of the younger girl's eyes. "You're okay?"
Alicia pushed her hand away and crossed her arms.
"I didn't need your help. I had it covered." She said harshly but her voice was still shaking from what had just happened.
The blonde woman raised an eyebrow, looking at the bloody brick in the hand of the girl.
"Clearly…"
She got past Alicia and admired her work, moving the head of the corpse to the side with her boot, letting the hole made by the bullet appear.
"Nice shot, Lex." She smiled.
Alicia observed her, disbelief filling her eyes. How could she be so calm? How could she look like she was enjoying herself? She huffed at the blonde's remark.
"Full of yourself much?"
The woman shrugged and her eyes caught the blood stains on Alicia's shirt. She looked back into the eyes of the teenager and tilted her head.
"So, tell me. What's a pretty girl like you doing by herself, in the middle of the city, unarmed?" She asked, with a genuine curiosity. Her smug smile, though, hadn't disappeared.
"Long story." Alicia sighed. "I got separated from my family."
"Sounds like a pretty short story to me."
Alicia rolled her eyes, annoyed. This one was something. She was already getting back to her bike, adjusting the shoulder strap of her gun before looking at the girl she had just saved with expecting eyes.
"You coming or what?" She taped the saddle behind her.
"Where are you going?" Alicia inquired. "And I don't even know your name. Actually I don't you at all, you could just want to kill me."
The woman laughed and smiled a genuine smile.
"Name's Elyza. Elyza Lex. And you look like you need to find a place where you can shower and wash off the rest of that thing you killed."
Alicia contemplated the offer for a second. She didn't know who that Elyza was but for some reason she had saved her life without thinking twice about it and even if she sounded a little cocky, she looked like a girl who handled the situation pretty well. Staying with her was the best thing to do, at least for now.
"I'm Alicia." She simply replied before sitting behind Elyza, circling her waist with her arms.
"Nice to meet you, Alicia. And by the way, if I wanted you dead, I would have let you deal with your little friends out there." Elyza said, hands on the handlebars, before starting the bike.
"For the last time, I had it covered." She replied through gritted teeth.
Elyza laughed again and before Alicia knew it, the houses passed quickly before her eyes. Soon enough, everything became a blur.
They stopped at a house at the top of a hill. Not too small nor too big, backup generators still functioning, it would do for the night. Elyza let Alicia get down before moving her bike close to the wall. Alicia immediately tried the door but it was closed. She looked for something heavy on the ground and a big rock caught her attention. She picked it up and got close to one of the windows. She knocked on the glass to test the resistance but the noise caught the other woman's attention, who understood what was about to happen.
"Hey, stop! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Elyza was beside Alicia in no time and carefully took the rock from her hand. "Let's avoid doing that, yeah?"
Alicia rolled her eyes. The way the blonde talked to her was irritating, she wasn't an idiot.
"The door's locked, smartass. What are we supposed to do? Sleep outside?"
"That." Elyza replied. "Or pick the lock." She whispered, making a bad impression of Alicia's sassy tone.
"Obviously, you know how to break into a house." Alicia sighed and went around the house, searching for anything useful. She kicked a stone on the ground. "Why am I not surprised?" She asked, loud enough for Elyza to hear from the other side.She found nothing outside. Alicia went to the edge of the slope behind the house. They had a nice view on the city down below. Empty houses, broken windows, abandoned cars… She had never felt so alone.
"Hey, princess! It's open."
She teared her eyes away from the city and made her way back to the front door. She looked outside one last time before going in and closing the door. The living room was small but cozy. In front her was an open kitchen with Elyza sitting on the counter, leaning back on her hands and swinging her legs.
"Pretty sweet, uh?" She grinned.
Alicia spotted two leather couches and a plasma screen on the left of the room. She only dreamed about throwing herself on a couch and sleep forever. She felt a smile forming on her lips and the feeling was almost unfamiliar. When was the last time she had smiled?
Elyza jumped off the counter and got close to a couch, starting to push the armrest.
"Mind giving me a hand? We need to block the door."
Alicia gripped the other end of the couch and pulled as hard as she could. They pushed it against the door, blocking the entrance. There wasn't much more they could do. They should be safe for the night. Alicia saw the stairs on the right of the room and decided to go check upstairs, praying for there to be a functioning bathroom. Elyza followed her. They found two bedrooms, an office and a bathroom. The bedroom they walked into was trashed. Drawers on the floor, clothes scattered everywhere, a suitcase left open... whoever lived here had left in a rush just like everyone else. Alicia looked for a towel and some new clothes, she couldn't wait to get out of this bloody shirt. Luckily, she found a black tank top in a drawer that should be her size and grabbed a flannel shirt that was too large but would do. She headed for the bathroom.
"I'll be downstairs." She heard Elyza say from the other side of the door. "Take your time. Maybe we won't be this lucky for a while after that."
She stripped out of her ruined clothes and then the only thing Alicia felt was hot water on her skin, too hot but she didn't care. Soon enough the water wasn't red anymore and the blood covering her arms was gone. She stayed under the water burning her skin for a moment, breathing in the steam that almost made her choke. She never thought burning could be soothing.
When Alicia headed downstairs almost an hour later, she felt way better. Her hair was still wet and her clothes were clean and at her size, even if the flannel was a little long and hanged below her shorts. She found the blonde half-sitting, half-lying on the couch, her leather jacket thrown at the other end of it, a cigarette in her mouth. She walked up to her but before she could say anything, Elyza blow a cloud of smoke and whistled appreciatively at her. Alicia rolled her eyes. Apparently that was all she was able to do in the other girl's presence. She couldn't stop the blush that tainted her cheeks and she knew she was caught when Elyza let out a small laugh.
"Who knew you could look that good during the apocalypse? Even if I have to say that shorts might be a little risky if you want to avoid a bite. But for the sake of fashion…"
"You can talk, it's not like you're in all-leather clothing and sunglasses all day, killing the infected with a badass attitude." Alicia huffed.
"You think I'm badass?" Elyza grinned and stubbed her cigarette out.
"Don't you ever shut up?"
Alicia went to the kitchen and open the cupboards, looking for something to eat. Crackers, cakes, pasta were all she could find. When she closed the cupboard, she heard Elyza's outraged gasp.
"What's wrong with you? Why didn't you take the crackers?" She stood up and joined Alicia behind the counter. "Give it." She asked, holding out her hand.
Alicia did as she was asked and gave the box to the other woman who ripped the package open and moaned the second she took a bite at the first cracker. She offered one to Alicia who refused and was met with an intrigued gaze. Elyza shook the box before the brunette's eyes as if she hadn't seen what it was. When she shook her head no, Elyza put the crackers down on the counter and gave her a questioning look.
"It's not gluten-free."
Elyza choke.
"Don't tell me you chose to be on a gluten-free diet. Please tell me it's a medical problem or something."
"Gluten isn't good for your health." She stated and Elyza stared at her. "Don't look at me like that, ok? It's true."
"I know but it's like the beginning of a fucking apocalypse. People are dying. Who gives a fuck about gluten?" She was flabbergasted and her usually low voice was almost high-pitched.
Alicia shrugged and searched for something else, letting out a small "ah!" when she came across rice. She filled a saucepan with water and placed it on the stove, waiting for it to boil.
"So I guess that is gluten-free?" Elyza raised an eyebrow and the brunette nodded.
Elyza hoped on the counter and watched Alicia preparing some rice. She wasn't going to lie, she looked magnificent. Her almost dry hair were pushed to the side, letting Elyza admire her features. She had light green eyes, cheekbones that anyone would dream of and her lips-
"Would you mind stop staring?"
Elyza smiled.
"You never told me your last name." She remarked.
"Why? You need a new one?" Alicia challenged her and the blonde laughed at the reply.
"Nobody ever proposed to me that fast."
"Whatever." Alycia sighed, annoyed.
Elyza grabbed the crackers and headed back to the couch, sat down and put her feet on the coffee table. She waited a few minutes for Alicia to finish cooking and when she finally did, the younger woman sat beside Elyza, a plate half full of rice and a fork in her hands. She sighed, content, and before taking the first bite, she turned her head to look at the blonde.
"It's Clark, by the way. Alicia Clark."
Elyza nodded and smiled. Alicia smiled back and started to eat. For the first time, both of their smiles were genuine, without a hint of mockery or challenge in their eyes.
Maybe they could get through this together after all.