Madison
"How long will I get the silent treatment?" Tris asked.
"Until I'm good and ready to speak." I turned to my side, staring out the window. I had much to say and intended to say a lot but lost all my thoughts. I didn't want to tell Tris how I felt with Felicia sitting in the car with us.
In a distant voice, "do I count in the 'ignore her' department?" Felicia asked.
I ignored her question knowing she was teasing me. I could pretend I didn't know what happened at the backside of the building. Leaving the Amtrak station it was all over Tris's face that they'd shared a passionate kiss. I wanted to distant them from another but rashly put them together in the same vehicle. My smart moment of the week. it was early evening. Since still summer time, the heat in Santa Barbara made for sweaty days. As of now, All I wanted was to roll the window down, but the aroma of foul odor from the dead made my desire for fresh air seem unrealistic.
"We should slow down." Felicia pointed straight ahead. Most of the walkers were sparse, making it easy to pass.
Tris put her foot lightly on the brakes, noticing a few walkers taking a stroll in the middle of the street. All they needed to go was several more blocks before turning right on Junipero Plaza.
"Stop," I said abruptly just as someone ran in the middle of the street. She looked in her late forties. Her brown hair covered with more gray.
I was about to roll my window down when Tris put her hand on my arm. "Don't. I can smell her. She's turning."
"But she needs help now. We can worry about that later."
Walkers were taking notice to us. I shook my head. "Tris is right. We can't risk us." The woman waved her arms out frantic. The fear in her eyes were evident. As much as I wanted to help I had to think about my daughter.
"Are we seriously considering leaving her here?" Felicia asked as Tris was back the car up. The woman was walking toward them but stopped when she realized we weren't going to help. A look of total defeat seeped through her like emotional pores opening up. Felicia looked to both Tris and I waiting for a response.
"We can't help every person," Tris explained.
"You don't have any you need to protect," I shot out. The moment the words left my mouth I regretted it. I saw the look of pain and betrayal pass through her eyes. "Shit Felicia..." I sighed. Felicia had more compassion than Tris and I combined but it didn't mean she hadn't lived with loss. We were still trying to hold onto someone, where as she lost everyone she knew. "Stop." I rolled my window down and waved my arm out for the woman to come.
Hope came back into the woman's posture as she straightened and ran toward the back driver side end.
"We can switch seats," I offered.
"I have it handled." Felicia did not look my way. She popped the door open for the woman to climb in.
The door slammed right as a dead hand slapped into our window. "Time to get the fuck out of here," Tris pointed out.
"Oh, thank God," the woman cried out.
"How long ago were you bitten?" Tris asked, sternly.
The woman stuttered, caught off guard by Tris's question. She looked down at herself, checking to see if there was proof visible.
"How long?" Tris asked.
"I swear, I won't be any problem for you. please don't--"
"I'm not planning on killing you. But, I need to know?" Tris said in a softer tone.
The woman was silent for a few heartbeats. "Yesterday. And I was scratched."
By each block, the walkers seemed to double in size. A few walkers turned into a few dozen. Tris slowed again, drumming her fingernails onto the steering wheel. "We should turn around."
I agreed, lifting my hand outside and gesturing a spin for Christian to make a U-turn. They backed up, still at a corner block. She waved her arm for them to turn right. We re-routed now following Christian.
The woman we picked up groaned and i automatically snapped my eyes back to make sure Felicia was safe. The woman hunched into the door, hissing from some internal pain.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Becky," she panted out. Sweat coated her forehead. I twisted further around to visually see if Felicia was comfortable.
By the look in her eyes, it was evident that she was not. Why help this woman only to fear her? I wanted to say something but knew Felicia would admit to nothing.
"We are coming up on Mission Rose garden," Tris announced.
We pulled up along the side of the garden. There were walkers coming our way, but all manageable to handle. I took out a few with my ax, Tris doing the same along with everyone else. We kept the girls in the car. No sense in having them come out until it was safe. Once they'd put down all the walkers, Tris reached for their walkie talkie. "Keep your eye on her," she'd told Felicia. She wanted to save the woman, it was Felicia's responsibility to watch her. On the proper station, Tris began to speak. "A team to Crimson, come in."
There was radio silence. I thought of a better idea, and waved for the girls to come over. "Let one of them try." I wouldn't respond to a strangers voice.
Kylie took the walkie talkie, speaking in a hopeful voice. "Uncle. It's Kylie. We want to come home to you. It's me and Katheryn." She paused looking up to Tris with ready eyes. "He isn't answering," she whined.
Her sister Katheryn leaned into her sisters back, sucking her thumb. A habit she'd made over the last few weeks. "Try again, Kylie," she whispered.
I smiled wryly to Tris. It would be painful to come all this way and their uncle be gone.
Felicia knelt down to Kylie and Katheryn. "You to will be okay. And we will not stop until we reach your uncle." She brushed her fingers one at a time through their hair. "Go on. Try again."
I watched as Felicia continued to show the girls affection. Her soothing tone made me relax as well. I smiled, Felicia looking up to catch me.I averted my eyes, looking off to a random direction.
"Please uncle. It's us. Kylie and Katheryn."
Kylie talked on the radio for the next few minutes. Tris smiled weakly at the girls. "We can go to his address. Though I don't want to be some random stranger who goes on his property. He might shoot first."
"Let's just wait. He could be out." Felicia advised wise.
The girls held off on radio talk for the next thirty minutes, eating a snack bar. We were running low on food. Too many mouths to feed.
Felicia held out a fruitbar to the woman shivering uncontrolled as she say on the curb. "Here."
The woman shook her head. "No pain. I wouldn't be able to hold it down."
"You need to eat something," Felicia pushed.
"We can't waste what we have," I intervened.
"We can't let her starve," Felicia retorted.
"And we shouldn't waste what little we have," I shot back.
"Right. Because I wouldn't understand," Felicia said bitterly, reminding me of my regretful words esrlier