Gummy worms weren't something Kamille regularly found herself snacking on pre-apocalypse, and it definitely wasn't something she figured she'd find during the apocalypse. But this truck stop was stocked to the brim with food and snacks, so when she decided she wasn't that hungry at dinner time, she settled in the corner of the shelves with a pack of gummy worms and a lamp to light up the small corner of the dark store.
She was growing tired, the day seeming to drag on for ages, but her worry for Mía was keeping her up. It didn't help that the gummy worms reminded her of the young girl as she would have loved the sweets like any kid would.
Kamille resorted to chewing on the gummy worms as she stared ahead at the stocked shelf before her. Getting lost in her thoughts was getting easier and easier nowadays; she just hoped she'd drift off to sleep.
She'd checked on everyone earlier, knowing Luciana was resting up and John and June were having some alone time between them. Al was reviewing footage from earlier that day, too distracted to talk to, and Alicia was still outside distracting herself by killing infected. Morgan had tried checking on her not long ago, but when he came back looking fed up, Kamille knew it hadn't gone so well.
She wasn't sure what to do or say to Alicia at the moment. Everything that had happened, all they had worked towards had been a lie. And though it pissed Kamille off that they'd got played, she knew she'd get over it. Alicia was different though. This was her second chance and now it was ruined. At least that's what she thought.
As Kamille grabbed another gummy worm, she heard footsteps approaching her and eventually looked up to see, to her utmost surprise, Alicia. She bent down and sat beside Kamille, leaning against the shelf and stretching her legs before her.
Kamille looked away and didn't know what to say, noticing the lack of words from the brunette. So, she offered the pack of sweets towards Alicia and shook the bag slightly.
"Want a sweet?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Alicia pursed her lips, nervous eyes flickering up to Kamille's. After a moment of deliberation, she accepted the offer and pulled out a gummy worm.
"Thanks," she muttered, before distracting herself by chewing on it.
"Anytime," Kamille said halfheartedly, before sighing and staring ahead again, eyes growing tired.
It was quiet between them as they chewed on their gummy worms. At least until Alicia tried to apologise.
"Kam, I'm sorry for earlier."
"We don't need to talk about it," Kamille said, shaking her head. "It's okay."
"But I–"
"S'okay," Kamille repeated, glancing to the green-eyed girl and offering a tired smile. "I get it."
"I shouldn't have snapped at you," Alicia insisted apologetically. "You were just trying to help."
Kamille chewed on her lower lip, eyes veering to the bag of sweets in her hand.
"I'm sorry," Alicia repeated genuinely.
Kamille released her lip and nodded. "Thank you."
Alicia's shoulders relaxed a little, grateful that Kamille forgave her. They both looked ahead again, saying nothing.
Kamille decided to lean on Alicia's shoulder, resting her head there comfortably, though noticing the hesitation on the other girl's end.
"Is this okay?" Kamille asked gently, before a yawn escaped her lips.
A pause, before: "Sure."
Kamille questioned it no further as she stayed leaning there, appreciative for the warmth that only Alicia seemed to give off.
–
Kamille woke up the next morning with a jacket folded under her head and a blanket covering her body.
She wasn't sure when exactly she had fallen asleep, and she definitely didn't remember going to sleep in a makeshift bed. But then as she stretched and forced herself to fully wake up, she remember falling asleep on Alicia's shoulder, which meant the younger girl had most definitely tucked her in.
Kamille smiled a little, but it was more of a grimace as the worry she felt for the younger girl returned. Alicia was really upset last night, whether she cared to admit or not. Kamille only hoped she would feel better today.
After freshening up in the toilets, Kamille found a cereal bar on the way to the front of the store where Luciana and June were. June seemed to be replacing Luciana's bandage when Kamille took a seat on a nearby chair.
"Good morning," Kamille greeted, before taking a bite out of her bar. "How are you guys?"
"I'm doing fine, and Luciana will be, too," June said positively, smiling at the concerned Mexican.
Kamille raised a brow as she looked to Luciana. "Luci...?"
"I was thinking of learning to play the accordion," she finally spoke, looking between Kamille and June. "What do you think?"
Kamille paused from eating her cereal bar and exchanged looks with June.
"Yeah, you need some rest," June said quietly, before finishing up her bandages.
Kamille looked around and noticed how quiet everything was. A quick glance out the window showed her they were alone, which was slightly confusing.
"Hey, er, where is everyone?" she asked June, eyebrows furrowed.
June seemed hesitant to respond and Kamille noticed.
Avoiding her eyes and distracting herself with Luciana's medication, June answered, "Al sneaked off in the night, presumably going back to the crash site. John, Morgan and Alicia went after her to bring her back and get the rest of our supplies."
Kamille raised her eyebrows with disbelief. "Al's gone? And they went back? What– why didn't anyone wake me?"
June glanced at her apologetically. "They have it under control, Kamille, don't worry. They should be back soon enough."
Kamille stood up, a hint of concern but also offence in her expression. "But I could have helped! They shouldn't have gone by themselves."
June offered a small smile. "They'll be okay, Kamille."
Kamille pursed her lips, worried for many reasons, but Alicia being the main one.
"Alicia didn't want to wake you because she didn't want to worry you," Luciana admitted straightforwardly, her medication clearly making her as blunt as possible. "It could have been dangerous, she said."
Kamille sighed, crossing her arms. "Of course she did..."
Knowing there wasn't much else she could do, Kamille hung around Luciana and June for a while longer until John finally returned.
"Finally," she said when she saw him walk in, shooting up out of her seat. "What happened?"
John set down a duffel bag on the counter as he cleared his throat. "No sign of Al. I scavenged what I could. Some bits of food, first aid supplies. And I found these." He pulled out two notebooks and showed everyone. "Thought Polar Bear might have a route or two in there." He set them down and pulled out another book, specifically showing Luciana. "I also found this out there. Figure any book that can survive a hurricane and a plane crash with just a few singed pages might be worth hanging onto."
Luciana nodded, offering a small smile. "Thank you, John."
He removed his hat and took a seat. "Sure."
Kamille couldn't wait any longer as she asked, "John, what about Alicia and Morgan?"
He looked up at her. "They, er, they headed north. See what they could see."
Kamille tightened her jaw as she crossed her arms.
"I thought we could head the opposite direction and do the same," John said, looking to June. He looked back to Kamille. "You could stay here and look after Luciana. Wait here in case Al comes back."
Kamille raised an eyebrow judgementally. "Did Alicia put you up to this? Tell you all to leave me behind? Because clearly I'm capable of looking after myself."
"Nobody is saying otherwise, Kamille," John was quick to defend, standing up.
"Well it doesn't feel like that," she retorted. "It feels like you're all listening to her. I have a right to help find Al, too, you know."
June seemed to catch on to John's glance as she got Kamille's attention, saying, "Kamille, I think John's right. We'll look for Al and you should stay here. If Al comes back, you'll be here for her, plus Luciana could do with the extra hand. Can't you, Luciana?"
"Yeah, of course," Luciana agreed, looking to Kamille. "Unless you want to leave me alone here and then I'll have to play the accordion by myself."
Kamille opened her mouth to respond, but wasn't sure how to.
Realisation seemed to cross Luciana's mind as she asked, "This is the drugs talking, right?"
June hid her amusement behind a smile. "Yeah."
Kamille breathed out quietly. "Fine. I'll stay back. But only because I'm helping Luci and waiting for Al. Not because Alicia basically said so."
"Of course, of course," June agreed, nodding.
John pulled out his revolver and checked it for bullets before handing it over to Kamille. "We're running low on weapons, but here. If anything goes wrong, you know what to do."
Kamille reluctantly accepted it with a nod. "Sure thing."
"Come on, let's pack a bag," John said to June, before the two hurried around the store and stocked up on provisions before bidding Luciana and Kamille a goodbye.
When they were both gone, Kamille looked to Luciana with a serious look. "Wanna play Go Fish?"
–
"I never thought I'd say this, but Go Fish is the most boring game ever," Kamille said with a sigh, setting down her cards.
"We may have overplayed it...," Luciana agreed, also setting her cards down, too.
Kamille nodded to Luciana's shoulder. "How is it? Still hurt?"
"Getting better," Luciana said, a little unconvincingly. "Sorry you got left with babysitting duty."
Kamille's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Luci, you know I didn't mean it like that... I just hate doing nothing." Her shoulders sunk as she leaned back into her chair. "Leave it to Al to chase a story without telling anyone..."
"I'm sure she's safe," Luciana reassured. "It's Al, after all. The others will find her or she'll come back."
"That's the other bloody problem," Kamille mumbled.
Luciana gave Kamille a knowing look, immediately knowing what she was referring to.
"Alicia thinks it's her fault that we lost Al," she explained to Kamille. "You know how she's been blaming herself. She just wanted to fix this without losing anyone else. Without losing you."
"I don't know how many times I have to tell her it's not all on her," Kamille groaned, before leaning her head in the palm of her hands on the table. "She's not doing this alone."
"You know how she is, Kamille," Luciana said sympathetically.
"Yeah, annoyingly I do," Kamille grumbled.
"C'mon, let's check in on them," Luciana suggested, before standing up and making her way to the radio, but not before patting Kamille on the shoulder on the way.
Kamille stayed sitting where she was as she sulked to herself, fingers playing with the cards on the table. She could hear Luciana from behind her, fixing up the radio and eventually speaking.
"Morgan, come in, Morgan," she was repeating, until he finally spoke.
"Luciana, just on time," he said expectantly. "I was just about to radio in."
"We wanted to check in," Luciana said.
"Well...," Morgan started, but paused before continuing thoughtfully, "31 north is blocked. Got more of those radiation signs."
"Copy that."
"Heard anything from Strand?"
Luciana sighed, but remained positive. "Not yet, but I'll let you know when he makes contact. Because he will."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I just know," she said with certainty. "And it's not from the drugs. The accordion stuff is from the drugs."
"The what?"
Kamille looked over her shoulder and Luciana seemed embarrassed as she mumbled something to herself in Spanish.
"Never mind," she finally spoke.
"Copy that."
Kamille saw Luciana put down the radio and release a deep breath.
"Like you said, Strand will call," Kamille said, earning her attention. She stood up and approached Luciana, sitting on the edge of the desk and looking down at her with reassurance. "Al told him to look for someone who can help, right?"
Luciana nodded. "Right... but he should have called by now."
"He probably got distracted by a bar or something, I don't know, you know how Strand is," Kamille joked to lighten the mood.
Luciana cracked a small smile in agreement.
"He'll call," Kamille promised. "I know it's worrying, everyone being separated right now, but we'll get through it."
At least that's what I keep telling myself, she thought to herself.
Luciana nodded. "Right. You're right."
"Always am," Kamille teased, cocking her head to the side as she smiled.
Luciana rolled her eyes playfully, but said nothing.
–
"I mean... it could be worse," Kamille commented aloud, studying the portrait she had drawn of Luciana. "How is yours coming?"
Luciana, who was sat at a different table, hummed proudly. "Looks pretty good. But I'm not finished yet so don't look."
Kamille rolled her eyes before getting back to her own. They'd grown bored since the last radio call from Morgan, about twenty minutes ago, and had resorted to drawing each other from memory. Kamille was beginning to learn that was a lot easier said than done.
"Luci, are you there?" Alicia's voice came through the radio, and both Kamille and Luciana perked up when they heard it.
Since Kamille was sat at the desk with the radio, she straightened up and answered it.
"Alicia, it's me," Kamille said, relieved to hear her voice.
"Kam, hey," Alicia said awkwardly.
"You sound surprised to hear me considering you're the reason I'm stuck here," Kamille said tensely. "Did you forget that you left me behind or...?"
"Kam, I can't get into that now," she admitted, before adding, "I just need to warn you and Luciana about the infected."
Kamille lost her bitterness. "What about them?"
"They could be contaminated. The radiation signs we saw... they're no joke."
Kamille swallowed hard, growing worried. "What do you mean? What radiation? Alicia, where are you? Are you safe?"
"I'm fine, don't worry," she promised. "Just stay put, okay? Both of you. I'm hoping you won't run into anyth– you'll both be safe if you stay where you are."
"Alicia–"
"Just listen, Kam," she cut her off. "If, for some reason, you do come across some infected, watch out for the ones with little cylinders hanging around their necks, okay?"
Kamille massaged her head, trying to relieve the stress. "Okay, okay." She cursed inwardly. "Alicia, you should have woke me."
"No... no I shouldn't have." Alicia paused, before sighing. "We're still looking for Al. I'll let you know if we find her."
"Okay. Just– just be careful. Don't be reckless. Please."
"Copy that."'
When Alicia was gone, Kamille closed her eyes momentarily, her left hand subconsciously going for the necklace around her neck, thumb and forefinger rubbing the pendant worriedly.
"You okay, Kamille?"
Kamille opened her eyes when Luciana called for her. She turned around and forced a small smile, hoping to reassure her, despite the constant worry she was feeling for Mía and now for Alicia.
"I'm good."
–
Kamille drummed her fingers against the table as she tried to focus on the book she was reading, but it was no use. The words were floating around in her head and she couldn't make sense of them because her mind was elsewhere.
"Right, I need the loo," she announced, standing up. Looking to Luciana, who was at the radio, she added, "You okay to hold down the fort?"
"Sure," Luciana said, adding, "I'm gonna try for Strand again."
It was the sixth time today that she'd tried for him, but Kamille wouldn't stop her. Maybe this time he'd finally answer.
Kamille shot her a hopeful smile before leaving for the bathroom. Truck stop toilets weren't exactly the most glorious things in the world, but it's not like she had to worry about strangers mucking the area up.
Whilst in the toilets, Kamille heard a very loud noise from outside and knew it didn't sound good. Hurrying, she had a quick wee and headed back to the storefront, only to realise it was empty.
"Luciana?" she called loudly, hoping to hear something back, but there was no response.
Trying not to panic, she checked the radio, but saw it was abandoned. Plus, the revolver that John had given them was gone which definitely couldn't be good.
"Bloody hell," she mumbled, before grabbing her knife and heading outside.
Surprisingly, she saw Luciana in the distance, near the radio tower that had collapsed – probably what that noise was. What was concerning was the half a dozen or so infected stumbling towards her, clearly attracted by the noise.
"Luciana!" Kamille shouted, noticing the injured woman running backwards and away from the infected.
Kamille met her halfway, noticing how exhausted she suddenly was, and took the revolver from her hand. After a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure the infected weren't following, Kamille supported Luciana's side and led her through the back door.
"You're okay," Kamille said, leaving her leaning against the wall and noticing the fine layer of sweat on her face. "You're okay, Luci."
She moved to the back door again, making sure it was locked from the inside, before turning back to Luciana, only to find her collapsed on the floor.
"Shit," she said with concern, before moving forward quickly.
Feeling for a pulse, Kamille was relieved to know she was okay and figured she'd passed out from overexertion. But why the hell had she left in the first place?
"Never mind that, Kami, just get her inside," she mumbled to herself, before hooking her arms under Luciana's figure and carrying her into the storefront.
After wetting a cloth, Kamille returned and began to dab at Luciana's face, hoping to cool her down and eventually wake her up.
"Kamille? Luciana?"
At the sound of June's voice, Kamille felt relieved. "Over here!" she shouted in response.
June found them in the corner of the store on the table, with John, Morgan and Alicia trailing behind her.
"God, what happened?" June asked when she took in the situation.
"She passed out," Kamille said, watching as June checked her out. "I left her for two minutes max. She was outside, I don't know why–"
"She was radioing us," John filled in the gaps. "She'd gotten in touch with Strand."
"Luciana? Can you hear me?" June said gently, shaking Luciana.
With a start, Luciana shot up and winced at the pain in her shoulder. Kamille breathed out with relief, resting a hand on her leg.
"You scared the shit out of me," she said to Luciana. "Don't do that, Luci."
Luciana looked like she'd seen a ghost though. "Where are they?"
"Who?" June asked.
Luciana calmed her breathing. "The dead."
June looked to Kamille, who nodded slowly.
"There's some infected out back," she told everyone what she'd seen. "We should really go clear them out. I didn't have time to. This all happened so fast."
"Come on," Morgan said in agreement. "The sooner the better. We have a lot to talk about."
Everybody was in agreement as they armed up and headed outside, only to find a sight they definitely weren't expecting. The heads of the infected were cut off and left hanging off the side of the billboard beside the truck stop. The heads were still moving though, jaws gruesomely chattering as they craved food they couldn't access.
"Somebody knows we're here," Alicia stated emotionlessly.
"They're trying to scare us," Luciana said with bitterness. "I don't know what I'm seeing."
"You know what I'm seeing?" June asked.
"Whole lotta effort when they coulda just left a note?" John tried to joke.
"This, the roadblocks," June answered. "Means we're getting close to something."
Kamille frowned. "Not sure I want to get closer to be honest."
"Strand's gonna get here with that plane," John reminded everyone, referring to the plane Strand was getting as per Al's instructions. "We're gonna find Al, we're gonna find those kids and we're gonna get home."
Everybody remained silent – in agreement, Kamille hoped, but she also knew how it was easier said than done.
"As lovely as it is watching tonight's entertainment, I think I'm gonna head back inside," she decided to make a move first, glancing between everyone before turning on her heel.
Everyone followed after her soon enough, making plans to turn in for the evening. Kamille was finding a 'comfortable' spot on the floor when she saw Alicia stop nearby, leaning against a shelf nervously.
Kamille straightened up and waited for her to speak.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Kamille raised an eyebrow. "Is this gonna become an evening tradition now or something?"
Alicia gave her a knowing look. "Kam."
Kamille mirrored her expression, copying her. "Alicia."
Alicia uncrossed her arms. "I know you're upset because of this morning. But I had to, okay? It was dangerous out there today. We met a woman, Grace. She's the one who told us about the contaminated infected."
"It's not your choice to make whether I go out there or not," Kamille told her calmly. "I appreciate you looking out for me, but we're all in this together, Alicia. I don't know how many times I have to remind you of that."
Alicia looked down at her hands which were fumbling with one another. Kamille licked her lips and breathed out quietly.
"How are you feeling?" she asked with a hint of worry.
"Huh?" Alicia seemed confused, probably expecting yelling or something of the sort.
Kamille almost smiled. "How are you feeling, you know, that thing that dictates your emotions?"
"I, er, I'm okay."
Kamille knew she was lying. "Okay, let's try this again. What I can do to help you?"
"Kam, I don't know–"
"You're not yourself, Alicia," Kamille deadpanned. "I just want to help. And for some reason, you don't want to talk about it. At least not with me. And for now, I guess that's okay. But I still want to help. So tell me how I can. Please."
Alicia smiled tiredly, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Unfortunately, I don't think you can."
Kamille pressed her lips together, brown eyes trying to make out green ones. But Alicia was excellent at keeping her true feelings hidden and Kamille was never good at puzzles.
"I guess that means I'll have to keep trying until I get somewhere," she said, before moving forward and pulling Alicia in for a tight hug.
Alicia was surprised at the sudden embrace, and barely got chance to react before Kamille had pulled away and met her gaze.
"I'm here for you," Kamille promised her, her hands burning where she touched Alicia. "You're not alone."
Alicia swallowed hard, offering a small smile, but her eyes fell to the floor which made Kamille think she didn't mean it. Kamille didn't want to make her feel any more uncomfortable, so she stepped back and gave her some space.
"Goodnight," she said to the brunette, hugging herself awkwardly.
Alicia cleared her throat and gave her a quick nod. "Goodnight, Kam."
When she left, Kamille released a deep breath, still wondering how she could help her. She was too tired to figure it out at that moment though, so as she tucked herself into bed that night, she read a kalima for herself and for the green-eyed girl laying on the floor between the shelves next to hers.
//
it's been a while since i last updated, i apologise for that. I needed to catch up with writing and also wait for the new episodes to come out all whilst balancing my uni work lol. But here is the next bit! I hope you like it 😊