Kamille Ali's breathing was raggedy and uneven as she raced through the wooden doors of the what-appeared-to-be abandoned garage. She paused, leaning against the door frame as she tried to steady her breathing and heart rate, as well as look back from where she ran from. Not too far was the sight of her twin brother, Adam Ali, running sloppily towards her, his footing going all over the place; she was surprised he didn't face-plant the ground before joining her side.
"They are around the corner," he got out in between his heavy panting. He was bent down, his palms pressed to his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "We can hide out here and they should hopefully move on."
Feeling a lot better, but still feeling that sense of panic that was permanently fixed inside of her since this new world took over, Kamille nodded and patted his back reassuringly. Even if he was only a few minutes younger, she still took the responsibility of acting somewhat older and comforting.
"Find a way to barricade the doors and I'll check out this place," she told him, following their usual strategy for whenever they found a new, temporary place to hideout.
He nodded and began to shut the large wooden doors. She knew she could trust him not to mess up, so she turned on her heel and began her own little adventure. She pulled out her trusty dagger and raised it, feeling slightly better knowing that she had some form of defence.
Cautiously, she moved forward, inching her way around the shelving that was there. The smell of the oil filled her nostrils, and now that she wasn't running for her life, she was aware of how weird it smelt, causing her to twitch her nose with distaste. The garage itself was about the size of two school classrooms put together, but with a vast church-like ceiling. The sun from outside peeked through the skylight above, casting a golden glow throughout the whole room. The golden glow lit up Kamille's dark hair as she moved about cautiously.
Moving a little quicker this time, she searched the first corner she saw, checking behind a pile of wooden planks for any signs of the infected.
Nothing.
She turned around, still acting swiftly to search the perimeter thoroughly; the last thing she needed was another surprise attack. However, when she moved forward, further into the centre of the garage, she lowered her dagger and defences with surprise.
There, leaning against a broken car, was a girl with a pool of blood forming around her left leg.
"Kami, I've–"
"Finish checking the area," Kamille cut Adam off as she heard him approaching where she was stood. He always was clumsy with his walking.
The raven-haired girl tucked her dagger back into the belt loop of her jeans before rushing forward to help the wounded girl. She heard her brother behind her, his short sword being unsheathed once again. His footsteps retreated, presumably to check the rest of the garage.
As Kamille neared the limp-looking body, the metallic smell of the girl's blood was more noticeable, making her wrinkle her nose slightly. She was used to the smell of blood, but still, she couldn't help but react.
She knelt down beside the stranger, spotting the small pool of blood. It looked fresh, having not dried, which meant the girl had only recently been injured. Kamille chewed on her lower lip as her gaze raked the area, trying to find the source. There were shards of glass, scattered around the girl's bleeding leg. Obviously she'd been impaled, but to what extent? Blood was everywhere, but that could have been for show. From Kamille's experience, it was never as bad as it seemed.
Kamille looked back to the girl's face, noticing that she was quite young, probably a bit younger than Kamille herself was. Wavy brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing her face, and as Kamille paid closer attention, she saw that her eyes were closed and lips were slightly parted, releasing small breaths of air. That was good. She wasn't dead, just unconscious. Most likely from too much blood loss.
Kamille threw her backpack off her shoulder just as she saw Adam's dark mop of hair in her peripheral vision.
"How is she?" he asked, kneeling down beside his sister as he studied the sight before him. Seeing as he wasn't running around in panic mode, Kamille presumed that the area was clear of infected, and any other unknown exits had now been covered. "Can we help?"
Kamille unzipped her backpack, instantly rooting around in it before pulling out a small red bag with a white cross on the front: her first aid kit.
"Yeah," she said, already getting out the relevant equipment needed in order to fix up the stranger's leg. "Can you clean up this glass whilst I stop the bleeding?"
He nodded and got to work, as did Kamille. It wasn't hard for her to stop the bleeding and remove the piece of glass that was stuck in her leg. It was actually much easier compared to other procedures she had done. Both Adam and her knew how to deal with situations like this because their parents were doctors, and rather than teaching them how to ride a bike when they were younger, they instead taught them how to treat a burn, or how to disinfect a cut.
Once the two of them had done their part, Kamille was sure to make her and her brother comfortable in their short stay at the garage. She saw as he was unpacking a few of their things – just enough for them to go to sleep, as they didn't want to get too comfortable, for fear of a quick escape if necessary.
As he was doing that, Kamille laid down the unnamed brunette on the floor, placing her folded jacket underneath her head to act as a pillow. She dug a small blanket from her bag and placed it on top of her, hoping it would provide some sort of warmth despite its thinness.
As the older girl stood up to sort out her own bed for the night, she spotted a shotgun just behind the unconscious brunette, tucked underneath the car she was laying against. She assumed it was the unnamed girl's, and knew that if she woke up before they did in the morning, she wouldn't hesitate in using it against them because they were, after all, just strangers.
Kamille considered taking it away from her, just until she could convince the girl that they weren't the enemy, but then she realised that by doing that, it may just make the situation worse. So, after removing the three shells from the gun and checking to see if she had anymore on her (she didn't), Kamille left it by the unconscious girl, hoping she would ask questions first and shoot later, not that there would be anything to shoot with.
"I know the world's falling apart an' all, but do all Americans really need to carry guns everywhere?" Kamille heard her brother ask from behind her, a hint of amusement in his voice.
It was a recurring joke between the Ali's to bring up American stereotypes for a bit of a laugh, seeing as they weren't American themselves, but in fact British.
Kamille stifled a laugh as she stood up and made her way to her own sleeping bag. "I don't know. I guess now they have a valid reason to, but I get your point..."
Kamille tried to get comfortable in her sleeping bag as her brother shrugged his shoulders in response. She removed her boots but kept everything else on, knowing pyjamas were a luxury for this new life without a home. She didn't have the extra space to carry them, so she had to go without.
"What if she's racist?" Adam asked, pulling off his own boots. Kamille couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "What if she, I don't know, tries to kill us?"
Adam was always on edge when it came to meeting new people in this post-apocalyptic world. Understandably, too. Being a British-Pakistani Muslim living in America had its own set of problems that made him fear certain aspects of life. Kamille remembered when their parents told them they'd be moving to America when they were hitting their teenage years... Adam was absolutely terrified, having heard things about the foreign states. She was too, but she'd grown used to it now. He probably never would, but she didn't blame him.
Since their world was falling apart, people became more impulsive and reckless. Especially because there was no more authority to punish those who committed crimes. Kamille expected no less, which was why she understood Adam's nerves towards helping this stranger. A stranger who could want to hurt them and get away with it. Kamille didn't care about the difference between her skin colour and everyone else's, but this new world meant people who did care could do something about it. The world always caused for caution, but now it was different. Unexplainably different.
"She won't be able to get very far with a hurt leg and zero bullets," Kamille pointed out, her voice soft and sympathetic. "Don't worry about it."
He nodded slowly, but Kamille could see him glancing at the young girl thoughtfully. She shuffled about in her sleeping bag before looking back to Adam. She expected to see him settling into his sleeping bag, but instead, she saw him sat cross-legged. His eyes were closed and his hands were overlapped and cupped towards his chest – a praying gesture.
Obviously realising that he was praying, she waited patiently for him to finish before saying, "You've not read a du'a in a while..."
Adam met her gaze, seeming a little confused with himself. His eyebrows were scrunched up, unsure of himself. "I know, but... I don't know. It just felt right to read one before I go to sleep. We used to read before we went to bed all the time with dad, remember?"
Kamille nodded, looking away from his eyes as she recalled the many times their dad would pray with them before they went to sleep. Or at least try to when he wasn't too busy with work. He said it would help them to sleep better and ensure they wouldn't have bad dreams. It didn't always work, but it was a nice thought.
"Yeah, I remember," Kamille replied, her voice quieter. She missed Dad. And Mum. She missed when they were all together and safe.
Losing their parents in this messed up world had kind of steered Kamille away slightly, from her religion, Islam. She'd noticed the same amongst her brother, too, but it wasn't something they spoke about. They were never really very religion-oriented to begin with anyway, but now they didn't pray regularly or really have time to think about anything like that.
That's why it was strange of Kamille to see Adam finding some sort of connection with God again. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected at this moment in time. Maybe now was a better time than ever, who knew?
"Goodnight, Kami," Adam mumbled, and she realised how lost in her thoughts she was, because she hadn't even realised he was now laying down in his sleeping bag, ready to fall asleep.
A sigh escaped her lips as she laid down too, brown eyes cast to the ceiling. "Goodnight, Adam."
–
"I'm gonna go check our whereabouts outside," Adam announced, standing up from his position. He was previously packing his sleeping things back into his backpack. "Think you can finish packing your things away?"
Kamille nodded as she continued to stuff things into her own bag. "Yeah. I'll open up a can of beans for breakfast, too. I think we have some chocolate bars as well. Sound good?"
He shot his sister a sarcastic smile. "What, no eggs, toast, hash browns?"
Kamille rolled her eyes playfully as he took his weapon with him as he left. She did her own thing, deciding to finish packing afterwards and instead wanting to eat something.
Just as she was pulling out a can of beans, her stomach rumbled on cue, and she rolled her eyes at the coincidence. She dug out a can opener that she brought with her and attempted to open the slightly-dented can. As it opened, she turned around casually and found herself staring at the unconscious girl.
When Kamille woke up that morning, she had anticipated the girl waking up, only for her to still be unconscious. A bit of colour was beginning to return to her cheeks, which meant that the night had been successful, and luckily, last night hadn't been too cold, so the blanket she had had sufficed. Kamille just had to wait until she woke up so that she could give her some painkillers, and she was now considering whether to give her some food, too. It had slipped her mind until now.
It would be selfish not to, Kamille thought as she tilted her head to get a better look at the girl. I mean, she's alone and hurt. I can't not give it her.
"Adam won't mind," she muttered to herself, before turning around and using a spoon she had to scoop out some beans.
She ate her own third of the can, scooping it up in three spoonfuls. The tangy flavour of the tomato sauce made her taste buds come back to life, and even though she hated the taste, she appreciated having it in the first place. Finding food was difficult nowadays, and hers and Adam's stash was running lower and lower each day. She had to make the most of what she had.
The click of a shotgun sounded, startling Kamille. The raven-haired girl straightened her back as she licked her lips. She could imagine the once-unconscious girl now sitting up, directing her shotgun at her head. She kind of understood that reaction though.
"I'm guessing you're awake," Kamille spoke aloud, noting the stranger's lack of vocals. "Lovely, really. How your first reaction is to grab your gun."
It humoured her, to know Adam's stereotype of Americans and their guns was proved correct in this instance, even though she had told him many times to stop stereotyping things.
There was a few seconds of silence. Then: "Who are you?"
Kamille turned around carefully, only to see the brunette sat up, her blanket sprawled beside her. Her injured leg was spread out before her whilst the other was tucked underneath her, and she was trembling slightly as she held out the shotgun, it aimed directly between Kamille's eyes. Her eyes were now open, and because of the light seeping through the window, Kamille could see from where she was sat that she had bright emerald green eyes. They were currently filled with fear and confusion, though she was trying to appear confident. Kamille understood why.
"Please can you put the gun down? I'm not harmful," Kamille said, hoping she sounded convincing enough. She glanced down at herself, seeing the jeans and hoodie she was wearing. She didn't look very rough; at least she liked to hope she didn't.
"I will put four bullets through your brain if you don't answer my question," the green-eyed stranger threatened, though it was hesitant by the way her voice wavered. Her throat was obviously dry because she hadn't drank anything, and that was evident within her raspy voice.
"That would be pretty hard to do seeing as you only have three shells left," Kamille pointed out, her eyes darting to her gun before meeting her eyes again.
Kamille refrained from smiling as she reached into her pocket. She pulled her hand out and spread out her palm, where the three shotgun shells sat. The stranger's eyebrows knitted together, causing her forehead to crease with confusion. She was obviously unsure what was happening here, so Kamille took this as her cue to speak.
"I'm Kamille Ali," she introduced, offering a small smile. "And I understand why you're on edge. You don't know who you can trust, I get it."
The girl placed the gun next to her, though her left hand still rested on it, obviously still trying to understand whether she was safe or not. Her eyes trailed down to her ripped jeans and bandaged leg, before meeting Kamille's eyes again.
"Sorry for ripping your jeans," she explained, chuckling a little to lighten the tension. "I had to get to the cut somehow, and it was either that or take your pants off. Considering I don't know who you are, I think cutting your jeans was the safer option."
The girl licked her lips once Kamille had finished speaking, not the slightest bit amused with the Brit's attempt at a small joke.
"Why did you help me?" she questioned curiously. "You don't even know me."
Kamille nodded, humming in agreement. "Very true. However, when I stumbled upon a girl surrounded by a puddle of her own blood, I couldn't not do anything."
The girl pursed her lips, considering something, evidently. "How do I know that you didn't just make my leg worse?" she asked, obviously still on edge. Kamille didn't blame her one bit.
"Well, does your leg hurt too bad?" Kamille asked, quirking an eyebrow.
The brunette glanced down at her bandaged leg, then shook her head. "I guess not."
"Then no, I didn't make it worse," Kamille reasoned, snickering slightly, trying to lighten the situation. "Also, my parents were doctors so I know how to deal with stuff like this."
The stranger tucked her lips into her mouth as she thought carefully to herself. Her eyes were still trained on her leg, and for some reason, Kamille couldn't read her expression. It was blank of emotion, and suddenly, a million and one questions rolled into her mind. Who was she? Where was her family? Why was she by herself? Did she have anyone with her?
However, to calm down her thoughts, Kamille grabbed a spoon and the can of beans, and hesitantly inched closer towards the unnamed girl; she didn't want to get too close for fear of her discomfort. The girl looked up immediately as Kamille was crouched down before her, a spoon and can in her hand. Green eyes lowered from brown eyes to the food in her hand, and as much as she tried to hide it, Kamille saw her eyes light up.
"This is for you," she explained, holding both items out to her. "I don't know how long you were unconscious for, but some food in your system should help with the sickly feeling you may have. I also have some painkillers to help with your leg."
Conspicuously licking her lips, the girl looked up and met Kamille's eyes, silently asking for confirmation. The Brit nodded slowly, her lips twitching into a friendly smile. Reluctantly, the stranger reached forward, but had troubles because of her leg. Kamille moved closer, hoping she felt a little more comfortable, and the stranger was now able to easily grab the spoon and can.
"Thank you," she said before clearing her throat to rid the dryness. She used the spoon to scoop out some beans and tomato sauce, and ate it, taking her time as she savoured the flavour. Kamille wondered what the last thing she ate was, and when she ate it.
"No problem," Kamille brushed it off, before smiling slightly.
As she swallowed her second bite, the girl rested the can with the spoon inside on her lap, and looked up to Kamille. Using her right wrist, she wiped the slight drip of tomato sauce that, in Kamille's perspective, was adorably stuck to her lower lip, before speaking.
"I'm Alicia," the stranger introduced with a clearer voice, now that she had digested something. "Alicia Clark."
Kamille stood up, grabbing a bottle of water and some painkillers from her backpack, whilst replying, "That's a lovely name, Alicia." It matched her perfectly.
She returned by her side, leaving both the bottle and painkillers by her leg, ready for whenever she wanted to take it.
"So is Kamille," Alicia responded, her lips turning up the slightest.
Kamille grinned cheekily. "Cheers. I got it for my birthday."
Her attempt at getting Alicia to smile worked, and in fact, a short chuckle flew from her lips, instantly making Kamille smile and lighting up the whole room. Even if it was small, her laugh was adorably contagious.
"If you don't mind me asking, Alicia," she began, sitting cross-legged in front of her, "how did you get here?"
Kamille regretted asking that when a frown appeared on Alicia's lips and she looked down to the can in her hands.
"All I remember is going on a search with my family, then I got chased by some infected and ended up here... I cut my leg on a broken window or something and– wait! My family!"
At the mention and reminder of her apparent family, she pushed herself from the ground and attempted to stand up, only to stumble over because of the lack of support from her leg. As a reflex, she tried to lean against the nearest thing to her, which was an unstable tool cart. By now, Kamille was standing up, and immediately grabbed ahold of her waist, hoping it would steady her stance. Alicia was now still, taking a small breath as she held onto Kamille tightly, probably afraid to fall.
"Are you okay, Alicia?" the Brit asked with concern, hoping Alicia's sudden reaction didn't affect the condition of her leg.
Alicia was focused on the ground, wide-eyed with surprise. "Yeah, I think. Thanks."
Before Kamille could make a move to let go of her, or respond, the sound of footsteps was heard, and they both looked up to see Adam walking in. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was almost laughable.
"Uhhh, erm..." he seemed stumped for words as he looked between the two girls. Finally, though, he said, "I take it she's not racist, then?"
Kamille straightened up Alicia so that she wasn't holding her by the waist anymore, and so that she was now only leaning against her shoulder for support. Kamille facepalmed internally at her brother's comment as she felt the brunette tense up with confusion.
"You're a literal idiot, you know that right?" she asked rhetorically, only for Adam to smile sheepishly.
"Sorry...," he apologised, before stepping forward and holding out a hand to Alicia. "Hi, I'm Adam Ali. This loser's twin."
Kamille rolled her eyes at his comment. Alicia was the first person they had bumped into in a while, so of course he would return to picking on his sister in front of her.
"I'm Alicia Clark," she introduced with a small smile, leaning forward to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you." She glanced at Kamila as she added, "both."
"You too, Alicia," Adam returned with a friendly smile. As annoying as he could be, he had manners, so Kamille could give him that. "How's the leg doing? You had a nasty cut before Kami fixed you up."
She bit her lower lip as she looked down to her leg. It was bent slightly as she couldn't put weight on it, and Kamille noticed the disappointment flash in her eyes.
"Here, let's get you sat down," she said, helping Alicia take a seat on the hood of the car. Kamille grabbed the bottle of water and two tablets and handed them to her, saying, "This should help with the pain."
Grateful, she swallowed the two tablets with a gulp of water, before holding out the bottle for Kamille take. There was still a lot left, and Kamille appreciated the fact that she didn't want to drink it off and waste it. Kamille reached forward to take the bottle before replacing it in her bag.
"I need to find my family," Alicia said, a determined look in her eyes. "I'm grateful for what you've both done, but I need to get back to them. We were on a search for something and I must have travelled too far from the group because next thing I knew, I was chased by infected all the way to here."
"You won't be going anywhere with that though," Adam pointed out, as well as literally pointing to her bandaged leg.
Kamille rolled her eyes, raising an eyebrow at her idiot of a brother, before softening her expression as she looked back to the pretty green-eyed girl. Did she mention how beautiful her eyes were up close? Because they were very beautiful.
"What Adam means is that you need to let your leg recover before you can begin to put weight on it again," she explained more clearly. "I understand how desperate you must be to get back to your family, but I'm afraid you won't be getting very far when you can't walk."
Alicia frowned as she realised the truth to her words. "But I need to go now. If I don't, I'll never make it back to them." Her voice wavered at the end of her sentence as her eyes widened, possibly realising she may not reach her family. Kamille could sense the change in the girl's attitude. Panic to fear in an instant.
"Do you know where they are heading?" Adam asked, stepping forward, his teasing voice turning serious as he too was aware of the frightened girl before them. "What their plans are?"
She pinched the bridge of her nose for a few seconds as she tried to collect herself, before nodding her head. Her eyes met his as she said, "We were on our way to find 'Abigail'. Strand... I was told... he said it was safe up north, by the ocean front."
Kamille didn't know who this 'Strand' guy was, but she was certainly surprised to hear about a safe destination near the ocean. She would have never thought to reside there.
"Surely they will wait for you," she finally spoke, trying to offer some light to the situation. "It will be no problem to get you there once your leg is a little better."
Alicia blinked a few times, then looked to Kamille. "You would help me get there?"
The twins shared a look. They had no other plans. They were just wandering. They had no home. No route. They went wherever the roads took them. Or, as Adam liked to joke quite regularly, wherever the infected chased them.
"Of course we will," Kamille told her confidently, a smile to match. "We have no plans or anything. It will give us something to do, if anything."
Alicia's smile mirrored Kamille's for a moment, sending a bubbly feeling in the Brit's stomach, before she frowned a second later, chewing on her lower lip. "The thing is, I don't think you can come with me and all. When we get there... I don't think you can stay with us. I don't want to promise you now, only for it to change."
"That's fine," Adam reassured, giving a half-smile. "We don't want anything in return. Just your company will do, Alicia."
Alicia smiled toothlessly, making the crinkles by her eyes become prominent and enhance her green-gold irises. Now that Kamille thought about it, she was really pretty. Like, a lot.
//
hope you guys liked the first chapter 😊 x