Kamille knew it was a dream. She knew it wasn't real. But the gun in her hand felt as heavy as it did the day she shot it on the yacht. Her memory was coming to life and haunting her in her subconscious, she also knew that. But that didn't make it any easier to live through a second time.
She tried to do something different, tried to warn Madison that the man who they thought was dead wasn't, and that he would leave her with an impossible fate if Madison didn't move fast enough. But it was to no avail because Kamille was trapped in a third person perspective, watching as she, herself, grabbed the gun and aimed it at the man.
The shot went off and rang so clearly that Kamille thought it was real. She woke with a start, her heart beating erratically and her skin glistening with sweat. Catching her breath and trying to steady her racing heart, Kamille looked around and realised that though that had actually happened, though she'd actually killed someone, the second time was a dream. She didn't spend much time losing herself in that tragic thought because her ears were still ringing from the gunshot and that's when she knew it was real.
Kamille pulled the covers off her and listened in, realising people were shouting and running in the distance. Something bad had happened and all Kamille could care about was whether Alicia was safe. She'd stayed with Madison tonight, the two aware of Chris' threatening behaviour lately and–
"Chris!" Kamille gasped with realisation, before jumping out of bed and pulling on her shoes quickly.
She tried not to overthink the worst possible scenarios – surrounding the idea of Chris somehow getting ahold of a gun – as she legged it to Madison's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar in the dark hallway which made Kamille rush forward uneasily.
"Alicia? Madison?"
"Kam, you're okay!" Alicia said with relief, before rushing forward and hugging the older girl briefly.
"God, I thought something had happened," Kamille said, glad that Alicia was safe. "Where's Madison?"
Alicia seemed shaken as she said, "She's gone to check what's happened."
Kamille saw the same fear in Alicia's expression that she'd seen before dinner. Cautiously, she asked, "Alicia, what is it? What's wrong?"
Alicia pressed her lips together as she ran a hand through her curls. "The gun went off and mom and I... he was here, Kam. He had a knife."
Kamille's eyes widened. "Chris?"
Alicia nodded, her eyes closed as she seemed to still be processing everything. "He was holding a knife over us. If we hadn't woken up... there's something seriously wrong with him."
"Shit, Alicia..." Kamille didn't know what else to say, so she moved forward and pulled Alicia in for a hug. The younger girl's tense body relaxed as she accepted the hug. "Thank God you're both okay."
Alicia squeezed Kamille's arm before breathing out slowly.
"We should see what's happening out there," Kamille said, motioning to the window. There were some people wandering about, candles and torches in hand. "A shot went off. It could've been one of ours."
Alicia nodded confidently before grabbing Kamille's hand and pulling her along, out the door. The two girls raced down the hallway, finding their way out of the house and in the courtyard. They would have moved on further, but they stopped when they saw the young boy who'd greeted them earlier – Juan – sat at the fountain crying.
Alicia and Kamille didn't even need to discuss it as they had already moved forward to comfort the boy.
"Hey," Kamille began gently, kneeling down in front of the crying boy. "It's Juan, right?"
Juan pulled his hands from his eyes and nodded.
Kamille offered a small smile. "I'm Kamille. And this–" she pointed to Alicia who waved, "–is Alicia."
Juan's cries calmed down a little, but he was still sniffling and shaking like a scared child. Kamille's heart ached at the sight. He must have been terrified with everyone running around like headless chickens in the middle of the night.
"We know you're scared," Alicia said, softly, carefully sitting beside Juan, who allowed her to, "but everything is alright. The grown-ups are sorting it out."
Juan frowned and played with his fingers nervously.
"Do you mind if we stay with you?" Kamille asked, looking up at the boy, who eventually looked down at her. "We would feel a lot better if we had someone else with us."
Juan took a moment to respond, but he finally nodded. "Okay."
Kamille exchanged looks with Alicia before sitting on the other side of Juan, on the fountain ledge. There was no talking between the three, but Kamille knew just from the way Juan's shoulders relaxed a little that he felt less scared with them there. That's all she wanted.
"You are both from the boat, aren't you?" Juan asked, surprising the girls.
Alicia nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, we are."
Juan nodded and said nothing else. That was okay.
More shouting was heard in the distance and Juan's head shot up with fear, even though nothing was there. Alicia and Kamille both had the same idea to rest a hand on his back and rub it calmingly.
"It's okay, you're safe here," Kamille muttered, a supportive smile on her lips.
Juan nodded and allowed the two girls to hold and comfort him. He seemed less afraid as they waited there (though they weren't sure what they were waiting for, maybe until someone came to tell them what was going on).
"Alicia! Kamille!"
Kamille turned around and saw Travis walking towards them, a concerned expression on his face.
He stopped before the two girls and said, "Have you seen Chris? I can't find him."
Kamille tensed her jaw and said nothing. Alicia just gaped at him, unable to believe Travis was acting so concerned for someone who'd tried to kill her. Kamille hoped Travis was just oblivious otherwise this would cause for a lot of fighting.
"Help me look for him," Travis said quickly. "I'm gonna check outside. Can you just–"
"No," Alicia cut him off, any trace of comfort long gone.
Kamille watched as she stood up and stared at Travis with shock. Kamille kept ahold of Juan, knowing Alicia could handle this. Travis seemed confused at Alicia's abruptness though, so Alicia moved in closer.
Quietly, so Juan wouldn't hear, she said, "Travis, he had a knife. The shot went off, he was in our room standing over me with a knife."
"Stop," Travis said with disbelief. "He would never hurt you."
"Do you think I'm lying?" Alicia questioned, a hint of anger in her voice.
Travis groaned and shook his head with dismissal before walking away, probably to search for his son. Alicia watched him go and Kamille squeezed Juan comfortingly, offering a small smile as he looked up, before standing up and beside Alicia.
"Alicia, he's–"
"He's what?" she interrupted, turning around and meeting Kamille's eyes with dark ones. "Sticking up for a killer?"
Kamille sighed, knowing Alicia had every right to be pissed. Heck, Kamille was pissed, too! But as much as she hated to admit it, she knew Chris was Travis' son and he was only concerned for his kid at the end of the day.
"I–"
"Juan!" A woman's shout stopped Kamille from speaking.
The two teens turned around and saw Sofia, the woman who'd gave them a tour the previous afternoon, standing in the distance and waving over Juan. Juan was quick to race towards her and the woman merely narrowed her eyes at Alicia and Kamille before leaving with the boy.
"We should head back inside," Kamille spoke up. "Wait for Madison there. We'll find out what happened."
Alicia didn't look in the mood to argue otherwise, so she just nodded and laughed bitterly.
"What is it?" Kamille asked, her eyes gazing at Alicia with concern.
Alicia shook her head, a bitter smile on her lips. "Nothing, it's just... so much for a fresh start."
Kamille frowned as Alicia met her eyes. Her smile was filled with sadness and her eyes were void of hope.
"We will work this out," Kamille promised, watching as Alicia's smile faded into a thin line. "We deserve this bloody fresh start and I'll make sure we get it."
Kamille held out her hand to Alicia.
"Okay," Alicia agreed, placing her hand in Kamille's, allowing her to take her back inside.
–
Kamille awoke when her shoulder was cramping up. She was confused when she found herself in Madison and Travis' room, but remembered how her and Alicia had stayed there last night, waiting for Madison to come and explain things. They must have fallen asleep though because Alicia was leaning on her shoulder and a blanket was covering them both.
A yawn escaped Kamille's lips as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and tried to sit up. Alicia stirred from beside her and the younger girl groaned quietly.
"Come on, darling," Kamille said softly, shaking Alicia gently. "Time to get up."
Alicia reluctantly blinked herself awake, licking her lips as she tried to sit up. She glanced around with confusion before her expression darkened and she probably remembered what happened last night, too.
Kamille moved her arm about to loosen the tense muscles in her shoulder as she said, "Let's get ready and find out what's happening, yeah?"
Alicia nodded and glanced at Kamille's shoulder. "Sorry."
Kamille tried to lighten the mood and smiled tiredly. "No harm, no foul, love. You slept well which is all that matters."
Alicia sighed and gave a small, tired smile. "You're cute."
Kamille felt her cheeks warm up as Alicia jumped out of the blankets to head to the bathroom. She breathed out, trying to stop her heart from fluttering at Alicia's comment. Now is so not the time, you plonker.
The two girls got ready that morning and managed to grab a cereal bar for breakfast before heading outside to find Nick sitting at a small table. He seemed troubled as he daydreamed, completely oblivious to their presence.
"Nick," Alicia called, sitting on a swinging bench.
Kamille sat beside her, pulling her legs up for comfort. Nick zoned back into reality as he smiled tightly at the two teens.
"Hey, guys," he greeted with a sigh.
Alicia stared at him expectantly. "...So? What the hell happened last night?"
Nick's voice was quieter as he explained. "Strand's boyfriend, Thomas... he was bit and dying. I think... I think Strand was supposed to die with him, but he didn't and..." Nick closed his eyes and breathe out slowly. "Strand killed Thomas to stop him from turning."
Kamille and Alicia remained silent as they allowed Nick's words to digest. Kamille knew how it was to kill someone you loved, so she felt for Strand. The pain never left, but he would get through it. He had to.
"Celia was really upset and she's making Strand leave, after a proper burial," Nick finished sadly.
"What? She can't do that!" Alicia exclaimed.
"She wants us gone, too, Alicia," Nick said, meeting his sister's eyes. "All of us."
Kamille sighed heavily. Of course a fresh start was too good to be true. As long as the dead were rising, nowhere would ever be safe.
"Good, you're all here." Madison appeared from nowhere as she stood before the three. Her eyes flickered to Alicia and Kamille as she added, "You girls dozed off last night. Were you waiting up for me?"
Alicia responded with a nod. "Mom, Travis has gone to look for Chris. You know that... right?"
Madison sighed. "Yeah... things aren't safe here right now. You all need to pack whatever supplies you can carry – food, water, anything you can get your hands on without drawing attention to yourself. And we need the truck to get back to the boat. Did you see where he put the keys?"
"I'm not going back to the boat," Alicia said stubbornly, shaking her head.
"Alicia, we don't have a choice," Madison spoke hopelessly. "That sun sets and they'll force us off the land."
"Mom–" Nick tried to reason, possibly believing Celia made a false threat because of the loss of her son, but Madison knew better. And so did Kamille.
"These people are not our friends," Madison interrupted harshly. "Get it through your heads. Both of you. This place is dangerous. That woman is dangerous."
Nick shook his head. "She's just upset. I can talk to her."
Madison moved in close as she gave Nick a threatening stare. "You stay away from Celia. Do you hear me?"
Nick reluctantly nodded as Madison moved back and glanced up, into the distance.
"Travis is coming over that hill. When he does, that's when we move," Madison stated firmly.
"What if he doesn't?" Alicia asked, raising an eyebrow at her mum.
Madison paused as she looked down at her daughter. Kamille usually saw a confident, sure-of-herself woman when she looked at Madison. But just for a moment, right there and then, she saw Madison's confidence waver and doubt take residence in her eyes.
"He is coming back," she mended, before leaving.
The three didn't speak, only exchanged looks nervously. Who knew what would happen now? Where they would go? Madison was adamant on leaving and Celia was adamant on kicking them all out. They were screwed.
"Where are you going?"
Kamille looked up and saw Alicia questioning Nick, who was stood up and walking away.
"I'm gonna fix this!" he called, not turning around.
Alicia seemed confused as she watched him leave, before she looked to Kamille and shrugged. "I don't know know what's going to happen now, Kam. What do we do? Everything has turned to shit so quickly. Chris is trying to kill me, Travis has gone missing, Strand is getting kicked out, Nick is off doing God knows what, I don't even know where Ofelia is, Daniel is–"
"Woah, woah, woah, woah," Kamille cut Alicia off, noticing how worked up she was getting. "We'll fix this. Madison knows what she's doing. Just focus on now."
Alicia smiled sadly. "And what exactly is now? Do we pack to leave? Relax and pretend everything is okay? Because I thought it was going to be, but now I'm second-guessing."
Kamille frowned and rested a hand on Alicia's. "Right now we think about how despite everything bad that's happened to us, we overcame it. So many things have happened, and we thought that was the end, but it wasn't. Just like now isn't."
Alicia reluctantly nodded and intertwined her fingers with Kamille's. "You're right..."
"Come on, let's go for a walk around here," Kamille suggested, tugging at her hand. "It'll help you feel better, I guarantee."
Alicia allowed Kamille to drag her off the swinging bench and the two began a steady stroll, side by side, a comforting silence between them as the morning sun shone down on them.
For a moment, life wasn't so scary.
–
Kamille, Alicia, Madison and Ofelia watched from the distance, as a funeral of some sorts took place for Thomas.
Gathered around his grave were half of the people living there, listening to Celia say some words for her adopted son. Strand was down there, too, watching silently. He had dug the grave for Thomas, despite Celia's harsh attitude towards him.
Kamille didn't know what was being said because Celia was speaking in Spanish, but the atmosphere was enough to tell her it was bittersweet memories being recalled.
"We're just going to let them throw him out? Alone?" Alicia asked, looking to Madison.
Celia was still adamant on kicking Strand out from there, but she had changed her mind about everyone else. Nick was to thank for that, since he brought back Celia's son, Luis, from the yacht, which she was grateful for. Kamille and Alicia were both unsure (and uncomfortable) with the idea of Celia "keeping" her infected son, but they weren't to argue if it meant they were safe for a little longer.
That didn't ease the guilt of watching Strand have to leave however.
"What do you want me to do?" Madison asked, a tight smile on her lips.
Alicia stayed silent as they looked back down to the funeral taking place. People were paying their respects until Celia seemed to engage in a small argument with Strand. Kamille assumed the older woman was trying to kick him out, but Strand managed to end the argument and stay a little longer to pay his respects. Kamille sympathised with him, with his loss.
Ofelia was the first to make a move to walk away, but Kamille caught up with her on the steps down to the funeral.
"Hey, how are you?" Kamille asked, though regretted how awkward she sounded. "I feel like I haven't seen you around much."
Ofelia sighed. "It's my dad."
Kamille furrowed her brows worriedly. "Daniel? What... what is it?"
Ofelia shot a look at Celia before saying, "She took him somewhere. He acted out and attacked someone with a knife. He's different, Kamille, I don't know... Ever since my mom left, he's been acting strange."
Kamille pursed her lips as she took in Ofelia's tired expression. "Do you want me to come with you? To ask Celia about Daniel, that is."
Ofelia gave a small, reassuring smile and shook her head. "I should be fine. I'll call if I need anything."
Kamille felt a little hopeless as she watched Ofelia head down down the steps and to Celia. If she couldn't help one of her friends, maybe she could help the other. She turned around and went back to Alicia. Madison was gone now, but Alicia was still stood there, watching Stand with a stoic expression.
"It's not fair," Alicia said when Kamille stood by her side. "He's getting punished, but he helped us. He did what he thought was right."
Kamille agreed with Alicia's words. Yes, he may have acted out wrong at times, such as with Alex on the yacht, or those helpless people in the raft, but he did it to survive and it worked because now they were all there safely. He was being punished wrongly. Why was it that Strand had to leave but Chris got to stay? Providing they even found him...
"I know...," Kamille mumbled, watching as Strand stared down at Thomas' grave.
Alicia sighed from beside her before turning around. Kamille followed her with her eyes and saw the younger girl heading back inside, seemingly upset. Kamille went in after her and noticed Alicia flopped on the couch tiredly.
"I'm sure Madison can convince Celia to let him stay," Kamille tried to look on the bright side. She joined Alicia on the couch and continued hopefully, "There's still a chance."
Alicia played with the tips of her hair and shrugged. "I doubt it."
Kamille breathed out dejectedly, at a loss for words. Strand had got Celia's son killed – there was no way Madison could convince her to let him stay and Kamille didn't know how to make Alicia feel better about it. Instead, she just watched as Alicia continued to curl the tips of her long hair around her fingers.
"Your hair has grown out pretty quickly since the first time I met you," Kamille commented, figuring a change of subject may help.
Alicia smiled sourly. "It's not like I can stop by the hair salon to get it cut, is it?"
Kamille inspected Alicia's hair closer and measured the length with her fingers to how much she would need cutting off. It was super long at the moment and even a few inches off would still leave Alicia with long hair.
"We have the time now and I don't mind giving you a little trim," Kamille offered, a small smile on her lips. "What d'you say?"
To Kamille's relief, Alicia smiled suspiciously. "Do you even know how to cut hair?"
Kamille playfully rolled her eyes. "Come on, how hard can it be? I'm sure someone around here will have some scissors and I'll just cut a few inches off so it's manageable."
Alicia raised an eyebrow and her intense eyes pierced Kamille's lighthearted expression.
"Do you trust me?" Kamille asked, standing up.
"Not really, so–"
"Perfect!" Kamille cut her off with a grin and yanked her off the couch. "Let's give you a haircut, shall we, darling?"
The momentary happiness on Alicia's face as Kamille dragged her through the house was enough to make the older girl feel like she'd succeeded in taking her mind of Strand, even for a little while.
Almost two hours had passed when Kamille finally dropped the scissors and stood back to admire her masterpiece.
"About time you finished," Alicia complained with a teasing smile. "It took you long enough to pluck up the courage to put the scissors near my head."
Kamille glared playfully as she passed Alicia a hand mirror that one of the residents of the house had let her borrow.
"I was just a bit hesitant is all," Kamille defended herself, before adding, "but I honestly think I did a smashing job, don't you?"
Alicia examined her hair in the mirror and seemed to be nodding with satisfaction. Kamille had kept to her word and with little difficulty managed to trim a few inches off and make Alicia's hair easier to handle.
"Wow, I'm impressed," Alicia complimented, finally meeting Kamille's chuffed expression. "If being a doctor didn't work out, you definitely could have pulled it off as a hairdresser."
Kamille narrowed her eyes as she suspected a hint of sarcasm. "I could have made you bald, Alicia. Remember that."
Alicia laughed a wholesome laugh that made Kamille's insides warm and tingly.
"I appreciate this," Alicia said seriously, smiling. She leaned forward and gave Kamille a squeeze before saying, "So, is it my turn to give you a haircut now?"
Kamille visibly shuddered and put her hands on her ponytail protectively. "Hell no. I ain't letting you touch my pride and joy."
Alicia shoved her in the shoulder. "Are you serious? Pride and joy, really?"
Kamille shot her a knowing look and all Alicia could do was laugh all over again. Like two teenage girls actually being teenage girls and not having to worry about death and safety all the time. Alicia seemed to be the only one making Kamille feel like this nowadays.
"At least let me do something with your 'pride and joy'," Alicia continued to tease and motioned for her to take a seat. "I'm thinking French braids, how about you?"
Alicia had already pulled out Kamille's bobble and was beginning to comb through her raven-coloured locks.
"I feel like I'll say no and you'll do it anyway," Kamille stated knowingly.
"You got that right," Alicia agreed and Kamille could tell by the tone in her voice that she was smiling.
Kamille stayed silent as Alicia ran her fingers through her hair. It was relaxing and a smile fell upon her lips as the younger girl got to work. Plaiting her hair, humming old pop songs as she worked, throwing out a compliment at her own skills every now and then. Kamille loved every minute of it because Alicia wasn't worrying about anything apart from the symmetry of the plaits in her hair, which was very amusing.
"And... done!"
Kamille accepted the mirror from Alicia's grasp and studied her hair. Two French plaits trailed over her shoulders in a neat fashion and Kamille smiled appreciatively.
"Wonderful, Alicia," Kamille complimented, but a little more dramatically to Alicia's distaste.
"Asshole..."
Kamille grinned childishly as Alicia rolled her eyes.
"In all seriousness though," Kamille spoke sincerely, "this has been nice. You make everything seem a lot..." She paused, searching for the right word. "You make everything seem brighter, I guess." A nervous chuckle flew from her lips as she added, "And that made no sense at all."
"No, it did," Alicia was quick to reassure. "I get it because you do the same thing for me... I mean, you make this world seem normal sometimes. Like, the last time I braided someone's hair was probably when I was thirteen or something."
Kamille smiled with amusement.
"This is gonna sound super cheesy so don't laugh," Alicia pointed out with a suppressed smile, "but you know that feeling at a sleepover when you know you're about to stay up all night with your friends talking about mindless things? That constant tug in your gut when you lay in your sleeping bag and your mom turns out the lights and heads upstairs after telling you to sleep, but you and your friends grin at the ceiling knowing you're gonna get back up?"
Kamille nodded to show she understood, though was a little confused to where Alicia was going with this.
"Well that's how I feel when you're here," she admitted, a sheepish smile forming on her lips. "All the time. Like before when were just messing around... it felt good. I felt good which is kinda hard to feel nowadays."
Kamille was honestly a little surprised to hear Alicia say all that. It was so spontaneous yet heartfelt and she just wasn't expecting it. She was speechless at first, staring at a nervous Alicia who appeared to be holding her breath. Finally, though, Kamille spoke.
"And here I was worried I was the clingy one."
Alicia released her breath and widened her eyes with disbelief. It took her a moment, but she finally reacted and moved forward to shove Kamille in the shoulder.
"Hey! I'm kidding!" Kamille laughed, grabbing Alicia's hands before she could shove her again.
"You didn't– I hate you!" Alicia shouted, though she had a smile on her face.
"Not according to what you just said," Kamille pointed out, earning a smack on the arm.
"I knew I shouldn't have shared that." Alicia rolled her eyes regretfully.
Kamille mirrored her smile and rested a hand on her forearm. "No, I'm glad you did. It means a lot to me that you feel that way. Really."
Alicia playfully narrowed her eyes. "Adding 'really' on the end doesn't make it any more believable."
Kamille laughed and pulled Alicia in for a hug. "I'm being honest, Alicia." When she pulled away, she leaned in and planted a gentle, almost non-existent kiss on her cheek. "Really."
It was only when Alicia's eyes flickered down and her lips curved into an embarrassed smile did Kamille realise what she'd gone and done. Too late to take it back now. Kamille, you're an absolute plonker.
"We should go find a brush and shovel," Kamille blurted as she stepped back. "To clean up this mess."
Alicia breathed out, a smile on her blushing face, before looking up. "Yeah... I think I saw one in the closet."
Kamille smiled awkwardly and was quick to walk down the hall and locate the brush and shovel. Why was she such an awkward gay mess?! It was a kiss on the cheek, not a marriage proposal! She shook her head with dismay and tried to ignore the fact that she'd so desperately wanted to lean in and kiss Alicia somewhere else...
–
Remembering why they were so sullen didn't take long when evening fell upon Alicia and Kamille. Strand was leaving and the two teens had followed to see him off. Kamille pitied Strand, but she mostly came as support for Alicia, who had taken great effect from his departure.
The fog was thick that evening, coating the deserted-looking land of Baja as Sofia and a group of armed burly men led Strand to the gates they'd arrived at the day before. Alicia lingered a good distance away from the gate and Kamille remained stood by her side, the two watching the gates open up.
The conman had a duffel bag to his name as he was being kicked out, but Kamille knew firsthand the supplies would run out if he didn't make it back to the Abigail quickly enough.
"He's going to be okay, isn't he?" Alicia asked quietly.
Kamille swallowed the lump in her throat as Strand walked outside the gate and turned around. "I hope so."
The gates were closing slowly and Kamille saw Alicia raise her hand in her peripheral vision, waving a goodbye. A tiny smile appeared on Strand's lips as he stared back at the two girls, raising his own hand as a goodbye. Kamille nodded and only just got the chance to see Strand return the gesture before the gates closed fully and he was officially gone.
Kamille prayed to Allah that He'd keep Strand safe before following Alicia back to the house. There was nothing they could do now.
"Can we stay out here for a bit?" Alicia asked, taking a seat outside way before they reached the house. "I just want to think."
Kamille nodded and took a seat, too. They stayed there for a while, not really exchanging words. Lost in your own thoughts was okay sometimes, Kamille figured. When there was just too much to say, saying nothing was sometimes the best option. So, that's what they did.
Something flickering yellow reflected on the table however, which caught Kamille's attention. She looked around and her eyes almost fell out of her head when she saw a massive fire had broken out in the distance, near the house.
"Oh my god!" Alicia was stood up now. "We have to go– mom might be–"
"Come on, Alicia, come on!" Kamille was up now too, and the two girls raced in the direction of the fire.
Kamille hoped nobody was hurt, though she knew that was a long shot. As they approached the area, they saw people running about mindlessly, attempting to put out the fire. It had spread rapidly in the few minutes it took them to get there and Kamille was momentarily shocked at the ferociousness of it all. The house was burning.
"NO!"
Kamille turned around and saw Ofelia running as fast as her legs could carry her. She was crying as she tried to run past Kamille and Alicia, but the two girls pulled her back and tried to stop her from going towards the danger.
"He's in there!" she cried, trying to fight, but she was shaking with fear too much to get anywhere. "I have to help!"
Kamille exchanged a terrified look with Alicia as she realised Ofelia was talking about Daniel. No... he couldn't be gone like that...
"Ofelia, you can't go in there," Kamille said over her crying, pulling her closer. "I'm so sorry..."
Ofelia's cries filled the night and despite the chaos, that was all Kamille could seem to hear. A lump formed in her throat as she tried to avoid crying alongside Ofelia. Not another bloody death. No. It wasn't fair. Not now. Not to Ofelia.
Kamille and Alicia both sighed with relief as they saw Madison running towards them from the fire. She saw Ofelia's state and mumbled several apologies as she pulled all three of them in for an embrace.
"I'm sorry. He's gone," Madison confirmed, to which Ofelia trembled in response. "It's all gone."
"Madison!"
Madison looked up and Kamille pulled Ofelia in, holding her, as they all looked and saw Strand out of all people pulling up in his truck.
"Get in, we need to get out of here!" he shouted, jumping out of the truck.
Kamille was grateful to see him and saw Alicia felt the same. Everything was happening so fast, but as always, he'd found them and was going to save them.
"Nick and Travis are coming," Madison said, her doubt evident on her face as she looked around desperately.
Strand hurriedly helped a reluctant, crying Ofelia out of Kamille's arms and to the truck as Kamille followed closely behind.
"We'll be dead before they get here," Strand shouted back in response.
"We'll find them, we'll find them, okay?" Alicia tried to reassure.
Strand didn't respond as he was too focused on trying to get Ofelia in the truck. "Ofelia, please, come on."
Kamille moved forward and wrapped an arm around her. "Come on, love, we need to get out of here. It's okay, you're okay."
Alicia helped Kamille help Ofelia into the back of the truck before helping her in, too. Kamille pulled Alicia in as Strand rounded to the front of the truck at the wheel.
"Madison, let's go!" he yelled as he got in the truck.
"Mom?!" Alicia called out, standing as she watched Madison walk away, distracted by something.
"Madison!" Strand yelled again, but Madison wasn't listening. She was still walking forward, as if taken by a ghost's attention. "Madison!"
"Mom, we gotta go!" Alicia screamed for her, hands holding the top of the truck tightly.
Kamille was still holding Ofelia securely, so she was unable to see why Madison wasn't listening, but the fear in Alicia's voice made her nervous.
"Madison, we need to move, now!" Strand yelled again.
Kamille craned her neck as she heard angry shouts in Spanish. She saw a small group of armed, angry men and didn't want to imagine what would happen if they got caught. Ofelia was still trembling in her arms and Kamille rubbed her arm soothingly, though her heart was racing at the urgency of the situation. The smoke from the fire was clogging her nose now and they would all be dead soon if they didn't move now.
"Madison!" Strand shouted for her again. "Come on! We need to move!"
"Nick! Get in the truck!" Alicia shouted desperately, banging her hand on the roof of the truck.
Kamille breathed out and thanked God that Nick was okay, but they needed to hurry.
"Come on!" Strand yelled, moving the truck forward slightly.
Kamille clenched her eyes shut as she tried to ignore the sound of snarling from the infected heading their way. Ofelia's sobs had silenced now, but she was still shaking and Kamille hated that she didn't know what to do. They needed to get out of there.
"They're coming, we need to go, come on!" Alicia screamed out.
"Madison, we need to move, now!" Strand moved the truck a little closer to get her attention. She must have been talking to Nick.
"NICK, GET IN THE TRUCK!" Alicia shouted impatiently, glancing behind her at the horde of infected every now and then.
Kamille saw Strand leave the truck and when she heard Madison pleading for her son to come with them, she knew he'd chosen otherwise. She sighed as Strand dragged Madison back to the truck and Alicia sat down looking dumbstruck. He wasn't coming with them.
Strand stepped on it as soon as he could and Kamille watched as the fire grew larger and larger in the sky, highlighting the terrifying silhouettes of all the infected crawling their way towards them. But they would never reach them.
Kamille looked forward and met Alicia's eyes, seeing the disbelief in them as she tried to accept that Nick chose to leave them. Once again, they were stuck in what seemed to be a never-ending loop of death and loss.
//
the amount of fluff in this was v fun to write, i must admit. I love watching you guys impatiently wait for them to get together - i promise it's soon 😂