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What Do You Fear? [randomname98766789 and Amaranthine]

Checking out the ranger station was a good call on Bryce's part and one that Alicia herself would have made. With everyone else occupied it only made sense for the pair of them to check things out up there; there would be safety in numbers and they were the really the only pair of people available. She loved having a chance to check things out with Bryce and she really hoped that the pair would find something that would be of use. With San Diego gone, they needed to find a new destination - they couldn't stay on the water forever. Not only that but they needed to find stability in order to help Chris. Alicia wasn't blind to her step-brother's deteriorating state. She remembered what it had been like after her father's accident several years ago - she would have fallen to bits if not for Bryce, and that was with a world that at least kind of made sense around them.

She was going through pages left in a desk when Bryce approached her, she met his eyes and it took her a moment to realize what he was offering out to her. As soon as she realized, a grin lit up her face like fireworks and she lept from the chair she was sitting in to hug him. "Thank you!" She basically squealed as she took the book from him, quickly flipping through it to see if any of the pages had been touched. Luckily enough, it was clean from start to back. Alicia had already been starting to miss her art supplies, so this was an amazing find to the seventeen year old. His remark gave her an idea and, because she felt like they would have enough time for her to sit and sketch something, she sat back down with her feet up on the desk and her knees supporting the notebook. She wasn't sure what to draw at first, but after tracing the marker in the air over the paper a few times something quickly came to mind.

"I was thinking of you," she said shyly as she turned the page so he could see what she had drawn better - a heart drawn with spiral of lines from outside to the center.

----

It was strange that such a simple greeting made Anna want to smile, but at the same time Nick merely acknowledging her existence was more than she had been offered the last couple days. She was trying to be polite, respectful, everything she should be - she knew that realistically she was the intruder here, and a cause of pain for what had once been the most important person in her life. Every time she saw him, had to be around, her heart welled with guilt and she wished that somehow there was a way to undo her mistakes. Looking back, when she tried to take the blame off of other people and accepted it was her own burden to bear, Nick had been good to her - better than she had ever deserved. She probably would have been homeless and in an even worse state without him there beside her, and once upon a time their relationship genuinely had been amazing.

So she gave him a small, tense smile and returned the greeting before walking off and wondering what to do with her day now that they appeared to be sticking around the island a little longer and everyone had dispersed. Eventually she found herself wandering towards the house though, and after asking the adults there if it was okay she had settled down in to a secluded corner with some book she had never even heard of. Anna had never been the biggest reader, hell she probably hadn't touched a novel in five years now, but that's what there was to do... Everyone else was off doing their own thing which leave her on her own. Being alone was never something that had worked for her; time and time again not having one around had led her in to someone's arms just to keep her from having to face the reality of an empty existence. She felt that now, though - had been feeling it for days and each moment made it harder and harder for her to keep herself from seeking something to take the edge off.

It wasn't long before she found herself in the bathroom, though she had planned to use it for its original purpose until she saw the medicine cabinet. Her fingers twitched at the edge of the sink as she tried to keep herself from prying.
 
While Alicia created a sketch, Bryce continued searching the station. A rifle was found hidden away in a storage room. There were a couple boxes of ammunition as well. Nobody was using it, so Bryce helped himself. Knowing that Alicia knew nothing about guns, Bryce thought it was a perfect time to teach. Contrary to his girlfriend, Bryce grew up on the shooting range. His father was a police officer that taught him about guns, stressing safety but also showing how guns were not a bad hobby. His father was a gun collector, and his deep knowledge certainly stimulated a wealth of knowledge for Bryce as well.

Returning to the front, Bryce placed the weapon against the door before turning his attention to Alicia. Inspecting the drawing, this ridiculous smile spread on his face. It was simple, but it was adorable. Even though the male was not quite artistic, he had taken the required art courses throughout high school. This symbol looked like something Bryce could try. Feeling comfortable around Alicia, Bryce simply reached down to snag one of the markers from the box. He sat down beside of the girl and pulled her left arm onto the table. Rolling up her sleeve, he spotted an area on her forearm.

It was obvious at this point, Bryce intended to give Alicia a tattoo. It was their symbol, after all. Bryce was patient and took his time. The finished product looked nothing like Alicia’s because she was so talented, but Bryce was proud. After finishing, the male offered her the marker as well. The smile was still on his face while propping his own arm onto the desk. His free hand gently drummed across her leg, his head tilting cutely at his girlfriend.

“I love it, Alicia. I think this is a perfect symbol for our relationship. I think it would be cute to have this for a matching tattoo.” Of course, Bryce knew this was not a permanent decision. Even if it was, Bryce was happy to do this anyways. Still, it was a cute idea. Bryce thought this was something that Alicia might adore. He hoped she did, anyways. If she derived so much enjoyment from drawing it on a piece of paper, he assumed she would enjoy giving him their little mark on his arm as well. This was like their little slice of paradise right now. Even with the world falling apart around them, the little things were growing even more important.

----------------------

Not long after watching Anna head inland, Nick joined her. However, his walking pace was slower than usual because he wanted to give the woman as much space as possible. When he reached the house, Nick spotted Chris busy with Seth. They were down the coast clearing infected off the fence. Sure, Nick already knew it was important to kill these things. They were not people anymore. For some reason, Nick and the others did not feel fully comfortable killing them. To Chris and Seth, it was almost like a sport. It worried Nick to see this, but it was not his place to intervene.

Travis and George shared a moment doing the same things as well. The family was simply having difficult time adjusting to this new reality. Death and killing were commonplace. It was the new norm. After spending time outside, Nick suddenly walked back inside of the house and started to kill time. That killing time led him into George’s office. Out of curiosity, he started to rummage through everything that he could find. There was nothing important other than a bag of pills. Whatever it was, it looked tasteful. However, Nick was afraid these were more poison pills. As much as he wanted to have anything, he put them back.

The main reason for wanting to get high now was trying to forget about Anna. When he was high, nothing else mattered. There was nothing that could hurt him. His mind was on a different plane of existence. If he could reach that state, then the pain of being near Anna would have been horrible. Even though he literally just finished the worst part of his withdrawal, Nick was going right back for the drugs. He finally just left it alone and thought checking the bathroom was a better idea.

It was unlikely anything deadly was in the medicine cabinet, right? This was something everyone accessed. When he walked into the bathroom, he saw that Anna must have had the same idea. He saw her twitching hand and cursed himself for putting himself into this situation. Playing it off, he just leaned against the door and cleared his throat. Offering her a tight smile, Nick just relaxed.

“So, what’s goin’ on?” He started, just kind of casually making conversation. Whatever she answered with did not matter because Nick blurted out his jealous comment without even thinking about it.

“Have you talked to Jack lately?”
 
Alicia didn't hesitate to let him pull her sleeve up and bring the marker to the underside of her forearm, where he drew exactly what she had just made on the paper. She was in awe as she watched him with a loving gaze filled with nothing but infection. He handed her the marker and she took a moment to look at the mark now on her arm - it wouldn't be permenant but he was right. It was a perfect symbol for them, and she loved the idea of sharing that mark with the love of her life. With an eager grin she pulled his arm to her and took a moment to pick the perfect spot before she began to draw. She started light, gentle - she wanted to get it just right and she took her time. Delicate lines first, then filling in - but before she knew it she had replicated the design almost perfectly on to his flesh. She stepped back and put the marker down, admiring her work, and then placed her arm next to his.

"It's perfect." She killed him and it was gentle but at the same time so much more, an acknowledgement that the little moments counted in life and she saw this as near perfection. Her fingers met his chin and she kept herself there, almost losing herself in him.

They couldn't kiss forever, though, and she had to pull away to breathe. As Alicia stepped back she noticed the gun leaning by the entrance, and she looked over to Bryce. "I think we may end up needing that, did you find it?"

----

Had anyone else walked in to the bathroom in that moment, Anna would have felt guilty being caught red-handed, one hand moving towards the medicine cabinet as the door she didn't completely close pushed open. Only Nick appeared, though, and she didn't have to guess that he had shown up with the exact same intention that she had. Her hand pulled back though and she pursed her lips as she took her other hand from the sink and crossed them below her breasts. Her hand scratched at her arm and she stepped back away from the counter top to face him.

"Just, y'know." She didn't know, not really. Here she was trying to act innocent when they both knew what she was up to, what he was going to be up to. It wasn't either of them's first time trying to raid a bathoom - hell, they wouldn't tell anyone else but they'd done it together more than she wanted to admit. Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all - she'd be happy with anything that could take the edge off. Oxy, Xanax - even some old fashioned pot would help her feel better, but she doubted she'd be finding any of that here - none of these people seemed like they were the kind to enjoy such things.

The hand that was scratching at the inside of her elbow raised to her neck and supported her chin, index finger scratching there too and Anna swore she heard a hint of jealousy in Nick's voice as he brought up Jack, the man she had been talking to recently. She hadn't heard from him in a little bit though and frankly, she was getting worried that something had gone wrong. Anna cared a lot for other people even if she didn't come off that way at times. "No, what's it to you?" She raised an eyebrow as she asked him, and she moved so that her back was against the sink and her hands supported her weight against it.
 
“Yes, I did. We can always use the extra guns and ammunition. Plus, I wanted to teach you how to use a gun. I want to be beside you every second of the day. I can’t guarantee it, though. I need to know you can defend yourself. I don’t doubt you, but the training helps. I don’t ever remember you telling me you knew how to use or handle a gun. I think we should change that.”

After proposing the suggestion, Bryce waited for a response. This island was massive and they had bullets to spare. It was important to help Alicia practice. There were so many things they could find to use for target practice. If Alicia was willing, Bryce wanted to teach her. Even if she was hesitant, Bryce wanted to convince Alicia otherwise. Sure, Bryce could defend her. Never did the male foresee a time where they were not side-by-side. However, if the apocalypse has proven anything so far, it was that nothing was predictable. Plans meant nothing. If anything, they were a waste of time. Therefore, Bryce realized the chance of either of them getting caught in a mess and separated was high. It did not matter how hard they tried to avoid it.

“Before we do anything though… I-I just want to say something.”

This was coming from somewhere deep down. These words have been on the tip of his tongue for days. Just looking down at the symbol on his arm was enough to spark a desire to say these words to Alicia. Before they started training, he needed to say something to Alicia. Thinking about how plans got ruined made him realize just how often things went south. If he wanted to say something to Alicia, he needed to say it now.

“I love you. I love you, so much.”

----------------------

“I-I don’t think you should be talking to him. People are dangerous. You don’t know what he is or who he’s with.” Yes, there was jealousy in Nick’s voice. Maybe it was not obvious in his first question, but it became more obvious with each word he spoke. Of course, that ego of Nick’s disallowed him to accept that was the case. Instead, Nick rationalized it this way: He had a point about something. Talking to a stranger on the radio was less than ideal. If she gave away their location, then they might be in for a world of hurt. Shit could go wrong and leave them sitting ducks here in the ocean. “You didn’t tell him anything about this yacht, did you? I don’t care if you’re talking to him out of spite for me. Just don’t fuck us over again.”

Here was the catharsis. Not being completely blind or deaf, Nick could easily tell that Anna was talking to Jack out of spite. At least, most of it was out of spite. The way she acted with him on the radio while Nick was around, the way he managed to somehow always walk by her room or on the deck at the perfect time when they were chatting and laughing. That was not fine by Nick, but he knew better than to feel like she owed him anything in that regards. Instead, Nick did not want her pettiness to screw them over. It was not the first time it would have happened.

Besides, his mother and sister were on this yacht. If someone looking to harm them found the yacht because of Anna, Nick would lose his shit. That would also mean they found the yacht because of his past relationship with Anna. Plus, he cared about the others on this boat as well. “Maybe you should stop talking to him. You’ll have plenty of guys to flirt with soon enough. You don’t need to put us at risk.” Not only was there still jealousy, but there was fury.
 
Alicia had in fact never touched a gun - and Bryce's suggestion made her nervous. He was right though, as the world's change meant that she had to be prepared to handle whatever came her way. While she could hope to always have Bryce to protect her, she couldn't expect to rely on that. He spoke again before she could give him a hesitant nod, and she found herself speechless.

He loved her - that shouldn't have come as a surprise but his words left her in awe. She looked at him with a lovestruck grin and everything she didn't know how to say came through in those bringt green eyes of hers. She had to take a moment to just look and him and breathe him in before words came to her lips once again.

"I love you, too." She held on to him and leaned in and kissed him. This was so muxh different, so much more than anything they ever had before. While their unspoken bond meant the world to her, for it to be tangible in words meant more than she had ever imagined.

"Come on, uh, let's try out the guns. I'm warning you though, I've never even touched one before." She pulled away from him before she spoke and held him an arm's length away with one hand on each side of him.

----

"Do I come off as a complete idiot to you or something? As nice as it would be to get off this boat I'm not interested in getting anyone hurt in order to do so." Anna exhaled through her nose, a sharp gust of air as she shook her head. There had been times that she had fucked up and screwed them over, he had a point there and she got that was at least partially where he was coming from but damn it she didn't always ruin everything she touched. So what - she wanted to find a distraction and she just happened to find someone to talk to who wasn't related to all this madness?

"Is there really any difference between him and some boy on land though, Nick? Seems like in this world everyone could be dangerous, on land or sea." She cocked an eyebrow and stepped closer to him, one foot in front of the other with a sway in her hips as she did so. The way she looked at him with partially narrowed eyes was almost taunting and she wasn't afraid to get a little too close. They had memories - and the good ones had outweighed the bad until they just didn't any more. She would be lying if she said she didn't think about him sometimes, didn't wonder what he would look like standing in front of her in a place that reminded her of the first time they had met. This was that moment and while it was nothing like she imagined, she couldn't have expected anything less.

"Besides, I'm just having fun." False, she was at least partially acting petty. "You tell me you're not itching for something to keep you busy."
 
“We don’t have any time constraints. I’ll work with you all day if needed.” Building her confidence while handling a gun was key. If Bryce took one lesson away from his father regarding guns, it was that the shooter must leave no doubt. If he was pulling the trigger, he had intent of shooting something and confidence in his aim. Walking towards the gun, Bryce had another cute idea. Thinking back to their younger days, Bryce often offered Alicia rides on his back. Sometimes, in elementary school, they were scolded for walking around like that almost all day.

The frequency had diminished over the teenager years, but it was still existent. Besides, it always seemed like Alicia got a nice giggle and smile out of the rides. In one hand, Bryce carried the rifle. In his other hand, Bryce carried the two boxes of bullets. This was problematic because – where the hell could Alicia and Bryce hold hands?! Thankfully, Bryce decided the idea of a piggyback ride was perfect.

“I did promise you that I’ll always be at your side. I promised you to always hold your hand. Now, both of my hands are full so I think the best alternative is one of my signature piggyback rides.” Playfully, Bryce wiggled his eyebrows at the girl he loved.

Even if this might have seemed childish, this was everything to Bryce. Hoping she would accept another trip down memory lane, Bryce just watched the brunette with curious, hopeful eyes.

-----------------------------

Truthfully, almost every syllable from Anna’s lips went in one ear and out the other. Nick made his point. As she always did, Anna replied with some bullshit that made Nick feel annoyed. Nonetheless, Nick made his peace with the current situation. Whatever she does to him, he did not care. However, if her path of pettiness took her down a road that endangered the people he cared about, she would have more to deal with than his sarcastic, crude remarks. One thing did catch his attention, though. It was the very last question she asked. Keeping busy. Nick rolled his eyes.

“No, I honestly am not. I have people that I care about that I’m trying to take care of. I don’t care about being busy when their lives are constantly in danger. It must be nice to not care about anyone except yourself. I bet I’d want to keep busy then.”

Nick meant for this to sound harsher than it did, but he found it difficult to outright insult Anna. This was not a problem he had with anyone else. Around Anna, it was difficult to belittle her. Damn these feelings! As much as Nick tried to fight those emotions, the dark-haired male knew better than teasing himself with the belief that he was over her.

“You know what’s ironic? I once went to a party where I met a girl in a bathroom just like this. I shared a bong with her. We talked all night long. I thought she was special. I let myself become trapped into nothing but years of wasted time. As much as I’m trying to distance myself from her, here I am again: with her, in a bathroom, and we’re both looking to get high on something.”
 
Alicia couldn't think of a better solution to get out to where they were heading - with a goofy smile on her face she nodded. "You know, I think that's a fair exchange. I'll settle for a piggyback on the best person around.

It felt like ages had passed since they last fooled around like this and maybe it was childish but Alicia didn't care. She would give anything to be close to him and well.. This just happened to be the only viable option, of course. She barely waits to climb aboard, to wrap straddle his abdomen between her legs and wrap her arms loosely around his neck. Their bodies were so close she could feel his warmth and while the action was old there was a new life to holding him like this - she wanted to melt away in it. All of the little things that had once meant the world to her were taking on a new meaning and a new intimacy and Alicia was loving every second of it.

"Okay, let's go." Up there the gun was so close that worried about getting shot but at the same time she knew Bryce well enough to know he would be safe with her, and safe with guns. She leaned her head in and kissed his neck as she awaited the ride out. "And then maybe never put me back down..." She tacked on with her lips still close to his neck, barely separated from the flesh.

----

"I'm so sorry that being stuck around your family isn't exactly motivational to me, Nick. You guys aren't exactly friendly and the last time I saw Madison she literally wanted to kill me." Ah yes, that was a flashback - one of the few times that Anna had spent in the Clark household and definitely the last after the family matriarch had caught her in Nick's room while he showered with a needle in hand and a rope held tight around her arm with her teeth. Madison hadn't known that Nick was using again, or that she used at all, and a shit storm had ensued, one that she had snuck out the back door to avoid - even she would admit that was a dick move on her part but it was no surprise, really. Parents didn't like her, especially mothers. (In her defense, she hadn't been the one to get him using again - he'd already reached that point again when they met.)

She had to laugh when he said he wasn't trying to occupy himself - if that was true he wouldn't be there with her, and he wouldn't have admitted to the fact that he was there seeking a high just like she did. Whether he considered that keeping busy or not it was finding a distraction from the reality around them. She didn't push though - she was too tired and desperate to be up to fighting and frankly she was getting bored with the way everything he said always came back to one thing - she sucked and couldn't be trusted. It felt like any time he talked to her he was getting angry and hey, she can't blame him for that but fuck. Even she could only keep a fight going for so long.

"It sounds like you need to stop thinking about the past." She said it like she didn't think of the exact same things and didn't find herself replaying all the moments that she had fucked up over and over again. She said it like ruining him hadn't been the worst mistake she had ever made in a series of bad mistakes. "As nice as it would be to be able to go and un-fuck things, I can't. So you're just kind of stuck with the piece of shit human being that I am and I'm getting tired of having the same argument over and over again. I get it, you hate me and think I exist purely to ruin everything I touch."
 
Safety first. The gun was unloaded and pointed downwards. Nothing Bryce ever did would put his sweet Princess in danger. Smiling at her words, a light chuckle left his lips.

“Be careful. You just might get what you wish for.”

These past few days have also shown Bryce something else: Alicia was about as clingy as he expected. Sure, she was clingy enough when they were just friends. Now? Alicia had barely let go of him since he admitted his feelings. The same went for Bryce as well. He tried to give her a positive reinforcement when she started clinging to him. For example, yesterday morning, Bryce tried to get up but Alicia literally pulled him back down. Instead of telling her they just needed to get going, he stayed in bed with her for another fifteen minutes.

So, clinging to him and pulling him into bed earned her a fifteen-minute session of cuddling before starting their day. Positive reinforcement. He hoped it increased those same behaviors. Just like he promised, the piggyback ride was given until he found a nice spot. The male set up targets with mannequins from a nearby clothing store. Using his eye, Bryce marked off about a ten-yard distance. It was an ideal starting position for a rifle. Unfortunately, she did have to jump down off his back now.

“Alright, Princess. Hop down here and I’ll teach you. I’m going over how to handle it first and load it before shooting. I’ll show you how to load my handgun as well, but I don’t have much ammo for that. Target practice will just be with the rifle.”

------------------------

Nick rolled his eyes when Anna presented her with evidence about his family not liking her. It was true. They liked her even less because of what she did to break Nick’s heart. Of course, Madison had always favored Nick. Even though she would never admit it, a person would have been blind to miss the skewering of attention given to Nick over Alicia. Therefore, hearing that someone had dumped her precious boy pissed Madison off like only a few things did. To her, Anna was trash and she did not belong here. Unfortunately, Madison was not the type of person to make Anna leave when they first got the chance. She only hoped that she left as soon as possible. Everything come back around to that one fact. Nick was beating a dead horse, but that happened when he never talked about Anna or their relationship with anyone. He refused to talk to his mother or other friends about his feelings, insisting that he was “over” Anna. Everyone knew that was a lie.

Rolling his eyes again, Nick found himself growing agitated. “You want me to stop thinking about it? God, why didn’t I think of that? Don’t you fucking think I would have stopped if it were that easy? It’s fucking not, Anna. We had something and I hate that we did. I wish we never had anything. Ever since you’ve screwed me over, I’ve tried so hard to hate you and I just can’t. You can’t even give me a real fucking apology over it. I don’t know how I’m supposed to make peace with something like this. I’m glad to see you moved on with your fucking life like nothing happened. I couldn’t do that. I was stuck in a pile of shit worse than ever before because you couldn’t keep your legs closed for five minutes.”

It must have been nice, living without feeling or emotions. Anna was acting like what she did had not bothered her. How did someone move on like this? Of course, Nick was blinded by rage and sadness with a tinge of jealousy now that Jack was involved. Honestly, Nick kept himself in check for the most part until the incidents with Jack. He knew she was doing this shit just to piss him off. Yet, what could he do? “I don’t get why you couldn’t have just told me you weren’t interested anymore. The only way I could un-fuck the past is if I left you in that cell.” Nick tried to avoid arguing but he was knee deep at this point, so he kept going.
 
Time felt like both forever and no time at all when it was with the one you loved more dearly than your own life and Alicia had a half a heart to just stay up there as he tried to say it was time to get dow . She peppered soft kisses on his neck, hoping to distract, but when Bryce wanted to look after her he did - and right now looking after her involved teaching her how to look after herself in case the moment ever arose where she needed to.

She hopped off his back and watched witb a careful eye as he talked about their plans for the day. While she was nervous, Alicia knew he would let her take all the time she needed to get comfortable with the guns before they even considered doing any shooting. She stuck close to his side, so close that her fingertips pressed gently against his back. She enjoyed the closeness and being over his shoulder, and for the first little while the pair focused on going over gun parts and working towards getting her comfortable. Alicia was quiet but not in a worrisome manner; she offered mhms and acknowledgments that he had her full attention the entire time.

After a while she finally felt psyched up to the task at hand. "Okay, I'm ready to handle it myself I think," she said during a pause after he had finished loading and unloading it in front of her.

----

He had it bad, she wouldn't try to deny that, but there was no way that she had moved on like he meant nothing to her. She had lost herself after she lost him, more than she had already and to know she had ruined the best part of her life killed a part of her. She let him get angry though because for once it felt like he actually cared about going on instead of keeping that stoic poker face that made her want to scream.

"Have you said what you needed to say yet?" Anna stepped back away from him and she spoke seriously, a tinge of annoyance lacing her tone as being called out like he was doing made her want to snap, and a moment passed before she spoke again. "How the fuck am I supposed to do good by you? I could give my all in trying to make things right and you'd still hold the fact that I just can't do enough against me. Please, tell me. What do you want? You want me to tell you I'm sorry? I am - royally. Does that help at all? You want me to tell you how the guilt ate me up after you left and how terrible I felt knowing I'd caused you pain? Both happened. But those aren't going to make today any different so what's the point? Why do the words gotta matter, you know I'm no good at them."

She wasn't, never was. She expressed her feelings in the way she acted, in gentle touches when her mood was light and trying to stay calm in the moments when she knew her anger wasn't justified. Now she looked at him with both fear and a tiredness in her eyes - fear for what the specific words she had just said would mean, what the future would bring. Her body wanted to shake but she fought it and he might have liked to ignore it but she was struggling. She had never come to terms with what she had done, and without understanding why she had to go and ruin things she didn't know how she could give a genuine apology. She didn't want to yell and fight with him, she just wanted to try to find a way to finally move forward but didn't know how.
 
Before placing the gun into Alicia’s hands, Bryce explained EVERYTHING. No stone was unturned. Loading the gun, cocking the gun, releasing the safety, reloading, proper stance, and just about everything else under the sun was mentioned. Since she was learning, Bryce talked slowly and repeated movements until she had seen everything enough. He finally handed her the empty rifle before stepping a couple feet behind her. Of course, he should have been further away with someone handling a gun but even with a gun in hand, Bryce needed to be close.

He waited patiently until she went to work on loading the gun. If she needed help, he actually refused it. Well, not directly, but he made Alicia figure things out largely on her own, only offering her minimal guidance to get her on the right path. After a few minutes, it was time to teach Alicia about aiming. This was the fun part for Bryce. When she had the gun pulled up to her eyes and looked down the barrel, Bryce pulled a cliché move. It was cliché, but he found it adorable.

Countless movies had shown the man teaching his woman about shooting a gun stand behind her, wrap his arms around her, and help her adjust. It was always a dreamy scene, and it felt that way. With his strong arms securely around her body, the male helped her aim, his hands right over hers as well until it looked like she was aimed up accurately. Then, it was now all up to Alicia to fire.
------------------

It was selfish of Nick. The young man assumed she had gone on with her life without a hitch after he dumped her – or whatever that was. Nick never said it was over, he just left and refused to speak to her again until the other day when he had no choice. He knew better than to think she bounced back like it was nothing, but Nick did not have a high enough level of cognitive functioning in that moment because his common sense was clouded by a myriad of emotions that caused an immense deal of chaos when combined. He could hear the annoyance in her voice as she asked how she did good by him. She did have a point against him that no matter what she did, he would probably be pissed. It did surprised him to hear her admit that she had guilt and felt terrible, but the male did not let her catch him too far off-guard. By this time, Nick was almost fighting mad but he managed to calm himself down as much as possible.

“I doubt you felt guilty about anything. I know the only person you ever care about is Anna. You must not have felt too guilty when you were getting a good fuck. I don’t know what I can say. I don’t know what you can say that will make me feel better. You can’t say shit to do that, honestly. I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what I’m accomplishing with this. I don’t want to fight, but I do want to fight. Nothing here makes sense. Everything’s all fucked up and complicated but I guess that’s normal for us. I thought I’d seen the last of you forever. I had for a while, but then you happen to be there at the end fo the world. I didn’t think it was true. I thought I was seeing shit but you looked at me and I couldn’t help myself. The only thing I want is to stop feeling something for you, but I can’t do that either. As long as I feel this way, I can’t ever get over you. I fucking hate you but I can’t hate you at the same time. You ruined my life more than anything else has but I can’t push you away for too long. Fuck…”

Now the outpour of emotions and feelings were running. He was not really talking with a true point in mind, he was just running his mouth and saying whatever he thought about.
 
Alicia appreciated how hands on and thorough Bryce was; knowing that he would be checking her work every step of the way and not let her do something potentially dangerous helped her feel significantly more comfortable and confident. He also understood that she needed independence in trying to learn - that she would do better if he let her figure out how to do things on her own rather than having everything spoon fed down her mouth. She was careful with the rifle and took it seriously even when unloaded, and the first thing she did with it was adjust herself to the feeling of it and keep in mind whay Bryce had said to her - consider it loaded even if you know it isn't, that way you don't point it at something you don't mean to shoot.

She hadn't been expecting him to come up behind her while she attempted to aim the gun, but when he did Alicia had to fight to avoid melting right in to his arms. Bryce was strong, careful - while he may have been holding on to her his priority was still helping her aim and the way he carefully helped her adjust brought a smile to her lips. Once she comfortably felt like she was on point, thanks to him, she was ready to fire. Alicia took a moment to prepare herself for that first shot; she took a deep breathe and double checked her posture and then... well, there was no point in holding back.

Bam! A loud crack echoed through the air and experiencing a gun shot from such close proximity was a new experience for her. While she had psyched herself up for how loud it would be, Alicia still hadn't been quite prepared for that. In the distance a mannequin's shoulder flew back - not quite the target they had been aiming for (the middle of the chest, as it was the most open area) but still a hit! She placed the rifle gently to the ground, barrel away from them, before she took Bryce in to a comfortable hug.

"Not quite right but hey, I hit it!" Alicia was all smiles now, quite pleased with herself and with Bryce's work in teaching her as well.

----

Nick was right - she hadn't felt guilty in the moment, because she had gone from being a lifeless drone to a stoned one who barely even knew what was going on around her until it was too late. He was wrong about the after effects, though. After she had given up trying to call him, leaving voicemails, texting, everything she could... Well, if Molly hadn't come home when she did Anna would have been dead. She had come to hate herself so severely for what she had done and without any clue how to fix herself and what she had broken, she had basically given up. An overdose became a hospitalization which became the second but not last time she had landed her ass in rehab. Plain as day she had come out the other side just as she was, though. She came out more angry though - more reckless, more dangerous with herself. Anna had never really recovered after that - it wasn't easy when the one person who had made you want to keep yourself together was gone.

So Anna sat down on the toilet, held her hands clasped together loosely between her knees and all she could offer him was an unsure look. "I want to try, Nick. Try to make this a little less fucked up for both of us. Dunno how or anything but I didn't think I'd end up here either, it's not exactly ideal for me too. You want me to go and I'll go, as soon as that's a viable option. I'm not fond of being stuck with you either, last thing I wanna do is have to face my biggest mistake as the world literally ends around me. That's what we got right now though, and who knows how long it'll be until we find somewhere safe?"

She doesn't like fighting, she never has, but there was this part of her that lit herself on fire, dragged her deeper and deeper in to her own depths. Sometimes she just didn't know how to make it stop and other times she'd already given in so she may as well see it through, right? She never came out the other side feeling good about herself in any way and Nick just wasn't someone that she wanted to be fighting with. He would believe what he wanted to believe though and Anna knew that she was in no position to try and force him to do anything. If he wanted the anger and tension to stop he would help her help him; if he didn't she would do what she did best - walk away once the chance was there and let him go back to living his life without her around.
 
It was almost like a proud parent moment. Well, in this case, a proud boyfriend moment. Maybe Alicia did not shoot the mannequin square in the chest, but she absolutely hit the shoulder. If it were a person, that could mean the difference between running away and escaping or being captured. After the girl dropped the gun and turned to him for a hug, Bryce happily accepted it. The smile grew wider on his face because he felt so much better knowing that Alicia was learning to defend herself. Although he’d likely have to be dead or incapacitated to not defend Alicia, Bryce knew things could get sticky.

If they did, he wanted to know Alicia could make it on her own until he found her. This made him feel so much better. After the hug, Bryce decided to show a little flirty side because why not? It was always fun to flirt. “You did an excellent job, Princess. Besides, I always found it hot to see a sexy girl holding a gun. You might be my Princess, but now you’re becoming my badass princess.” Indeed, she looked quite badass holding the gun and it was sexy. What man did not enjoy seeing women and guns combined? Of course, this was not done with the intention of looking hot – it was for survival. That did not mean he could not have some fun with it though, right?

Pulling back from the hug, Bryce nodded back down to the gun for Alicia. “Even though you did well, I need to see you give it a few more tries. This time, I will let you aim and adjust yourself on your own. We have some bullets to spare so you can shoot five or six shots if you want. If you can hit the target again, I might back you up a little further.” It was time for a bigger test. Bryce was not going to stand behind her and he was not going to help. This time, it was all on Alicia. This would tell him a lot whether she learned anything or not. Bryce hoped she did, of course. Bryce wanted to ensure that Alicia could do this all on her own.

----------------

If someone told Nick that Anna felt so bad about herself that she was on the brink of death at one point, Nick would laugh. It honestly did not matter what Anna said or did now. It would take some miracle if Nick dever changed his opinion of the woman. What was that opinion? Well, he saw Anna as a self-indulgent, self-centered, bitch – for a lack of better words. He was still upset about everything and he could not move on from it. It was holding him back. Sure, many relationships ended in breakups and the person being cheated on always felt horrible. It just felt like Nick was taking things way too far. Believe it, if Nick could make himself stop feeling for Anna and if Nick could make himself not care, then he would. It just was not that simple. All that time with Anna, Nick actually gave it his all. It was the one time in his life where he gave a damn about someone other than himself and where he cared about something other than just drugs. Sure, that was a big part of their relationship but Nick was confident that even if they both got clean, he would want to be with Anna.

All of that was thrown down the drain and flushed down the toilet. Here they were in an impending argument that could not end well for either side. Madison would probably get pissed. Here they were, guests in the Geary home for the day. Yet, Nick was letting his personal problems involve him into this argument. It could be a distraction and it could cause some ruckus. Thankfully, it did not sound like anyone was onto them yet. It would only become worse if it was found out they were looking for something to use here. There was no stopping one another. Everything appeared to take a different tone when she sat down onto the toilet. She was not yelling or screaming. She was just quiet. Watching her curiously, the male bit his lower lip as she asked about leaving the chance she got. Okay, maybe Nick regretted saying that. If she actually did leave, the chances were high he’d chase after her even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“Alright, lets just… I don’t know. I will do my best to tolerate you. I won’t bring up the past anymore. We’ll only interact when we need to. I think that’s all we can do.” Nick knew the more time he spent around Anna, the worse it would get. However, he was still being pulled to stay in that bathroom for some reason. The male could not bring himself to just leave her there. He felt bad for some damn reason. Even though nothing was his fault for their relationship ending, it was impossible to feel any different. “What do you think we should do?”
 
Bryce's remarks brought a smirk to Alicia's lips and she couldn't help but lean in and kiss him softly before she stepped back to try again. With five or six more shots, she was hoping that she could at least land a couple. Was that a reasonable goal? She wasn't quite sure, but it was hers - especially with Bryce's thorough training and his dark eyes focused on her in a manner that made her feel hopeful rather than nervous. She moved slowly and carefully as she attempted to work through a mental check list of steps she had come up with while listening to Bryce just moments earlier. Her actions seemed to be flowing without a struggle though she did struggle not to look back at Bryce in hopes of having him confirm she was doing things correctly.

The nerves did hit her as she raised the gun up and began to take aim, but Alicia calmed herself with several deep breaths as she attempted to line herself up with the target. The steady weight of the butt of the gun against her shoulder was new, unfamiliar and she had to force herself to pay attention ahead instead of to the pressure. As she lined up the gun her fingers danced near the trigger, never close enough to hit it, and once she was ready her hand curled forward to bring her index finger to the trigger. A quick press later and she was lucky that she'd managed to hold the correct stance, allowing the rifle's recoil to simply push her slightly rather than knock her down to her feet as it would have if she was not prepared.

She missed so she readjusted, refocused. The second shot sears against the neck of the mannequin and she's not quite happy with that - the third does much better and fires through the chest. It's not 100% on point but it's the closest she's got so far and Alicia's proud of herself for that.

"Like that?" The safety clicked on as she turned her head to look over at Bryce and she was trying to sound cocky but her words came out more like she needed validation.

----

Anna knew quite well that nothing she could say would change his mind about her, not to mention so far on their adventure she hadn't really given him much reason to. Because of that she just felt relieved when Nick relented and agreed to end their near constant squabble that seemed to continue even when they wouldn't even look at each other. It was a cycle that wouldn't end on it's own and it also wasn't feasible in the long run - before long everyone else was going to get sick of the way they acted with each other too. She couldn't deny that part of her wanted to keep being petty, keep getting angry with him solely because he was angry with her but really... where was it going to get them? They both knew nothing was going to change the position they were in or what had happened between them.

"I don't know Nick, I really don't." One of her hands moved to the opposite knee and the other to her chin. Anna scratched at the side of her nose as she looked up towards the one person she regretted hurting and all she could offer him was a shrug. If anything was going to make things amicable between them it would be a lot of time and her managing to not stuff everything up but that wouldn't do much, if anything, for them right now. She had always wanted to be able to find that thing - something, anything she could do to be able to just fix things between them. There was no miracle cure, though. If there was she would have shown up at his door a long time before this (not that she would admit that). "Just... leave each other be, I guess. Whatever works best for you."

If it was anyone's turn to suffer, it was hers this time. She had hurt the one person who had actually mattered over all of these years and if anyone deserved to be pained by their relationship, it was Anna rather than him.
 
“Like what? Did you shoot? I didn’t even see it. I just can’t take my eyes off you.”

Of course, Bryce was teasing again. Even though the point was already clear that a girl handling a gun was hot – Bryce decided to reinforce the idea with Alicia. Besides, what girl would not like being told they were just too damn sexy for their boyfriend to even concentrate on the result of her practice?

“Yes, just like that, Princess. You’re making me so proud already.”

Yes, he felt pride. More importantly, he felt relieved. Her aim was not perfect, but it would improve with time. This was something they could work towards daily. Soon enough, Alicia might be a better shot than him!

“I guess it is only fair you get to celebrate with a little victory kiss, yes?”

Stopping in front of the brunette, Bryce leaned down to cup one of Alicia’s cheeks in his hand before pressing their lips together firmly. A soft sigh left his lips as he just enjoyed the feeling of her mouth against his own. After the kiss ended, Bryce decided she could practice for a couple minutes longer. To his knowledge, there was no infected on the island to attract. Little did he know the surprise waiting for him around the next corner in less than five minutes or so. Without a care in the world, Bryce grabbed one of her hands, pulling her about ten yards further away from the target.

Sure, maybe he could have done this without holding her hand, but he loved touching Alicia so it seemed like a no-brainer. After releasing her hand from his grasp, he decided to give her some motivation, planting another kiss on her cheek.

“You can do it, my love. I know you can. Just remember everything I taught you.” His words of love and encouragement were given, so Bryce just stepped aside and waited for Alicia to take her shot at this distance. Of course, infected and real people would be moving but this was the best practice she could have in preparation for the real world. Standing close to his girlfriend, Bryce just waited in anticipation of her next move.


---------------

Very well. That sounded like the best option – just leave each other be. Nick looked to Anna one time before looking back down onto the ground. “Yeah, I think you’re right about that. I think that is the only thing we can do right now. I guess, just try to keep distance from each other starting now. That’s probably for the best.” It was tough to say that this was a goodbye. The last time he tried to get rid of Anna was the last time he intended to say anything to her. However, this felt like another goodbye. He felt confident Anna would bolt the first second she got. He hoped that was for the best. Maybe they were both just too toxic for one another. This was just too much to deal with right now so Nick decided to return to the ship. There, he did not find peace and quiet like he hoped.

Instead, Madison had a wild idea. Melissa wanted the family to take Harry and Willa. George was on a destructive path as was their oldest child Seth. These end of days made him talk crazy. She wanted to give her two youngest children a fighting chance to survive and live. She did not think they had the opportunity here. Hoping that they would obliged, she practically begged for this from the family. Madison was met with stern resistance, though. Neither Travis nor anyone else, specially Strand, wanted to take the child.

However, Madison ended up convincing and basically forcing everyone to go along with it. It was the right thing to do, it was the humane thing to do. With that thought in mind, Madison, Travis, and Nick were returning back to the house. They were preparing to leave after getting Harry and Willa. They also needed to get Alicia and Bryce to return as well. Before that, however, they needed to secure the children before exploring anywhere else on the island.
 
Bryce knew how to make her feel good about herself, that was for sure. As much as she loved to think that he was so entranced by her that he hadn't even noticed her shots, Alicia knew he cared way too much about her safety to miss what she had done. When he kissed her she didn't want to seperate but he was right - it was best to keep working while they had the relative safety of the island wouldn't have to worry about finding themselves attacked.

Alicia was all smiles as he took her hand and stepped her back, stopped her another ten yards off. The increased distance would mean she would have to be even more sure of her aim and she was rather worried she wouldn't be able to take the shot. Once his hands were off of her she got ready to try, though. She raised the gun to her shoulder, removed the safety and steadied both her body and the gun itself. After lining up the sights on the mannequin to the best of her abilities, she was ready - and the bullet flied in to the air and scraped off the outline, she hadn't watched her breathing quite as well as she should have.

She mentally cursed at herself but at the same time she still had a couple shots left, so she could afford to give it another go. There wasn't even time for her to see how she had done after the crack of the rifle boomed off before a low grumble caught her attention from behind her. She spun faster than she thought possible and yelled to Bryce as two of the dead moved in on them.

----

As much as walking away would be the right call, that didn't make it any easier on Anna. The only time she hadn't thought about trying to make up for everything was when she was too high to even think straight, so to be faced with Nick and watch him walk away once more felt like a defeat. Part of her knew that she should never have expected things to go any differently, but that didn't change the hope she had that one day maybe she would be able to make up for the pain she had caused. Was this it? There would never be another chance after this. Was the best she had to offer him a peaceful existence without her? While the thought dreaded her, she knew it was true.

He walked away and she closed the door behind him, did what she had originally come to the room to do. When the medicine cabinet had nothing worth her time she wanted to slam the door of it closed. Instead she shook her head, grasped at the sink so hard her knuckles turned white. That cigarette in her pocket wouldn't be lasting much longer. Anna didn't return to the boat after she left the house and instead sat on the grass with nothing but the sea in sight. She brought the cigarette, crumpled from being in her pocket, to her lips and after lighting it she looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. Inhale, exhale, repeat. Not only did she regulate her breathing and help keep herself calm, the nicotine took a bit of the edge off.

When she watched everyone walk back to the house she found herself nosy; while she kept enough of a distance to not be interfering she still walked close enough to catch the jist of why everyone looked so serious: they would be taking the children with them. They were also looking for Alicia and Bryce - Anna wasn't deaf to the gunshots in the distance and had an idea where they were, so she quietly said she would go find the pair and bring them back.
 
“Alicia, stay back. Be careful.”

Bryce’s dominant side was showing. There was no room for interpretation and the overprotective personality was kicking in. Of course, Bryce was confident in Alicia but these were only two infected. Bryce handled more than two back on the coast at Strand’s place. Approaching the infected, Bryce removed his knife and quickly attacked the closest undead. A knife was driving through the skull.

Problems started now. When trying to remove his hunting knife, it became lodged into the decaying skull. The momentum of the infected falling onto the ground pulled Bryce down as well. Managing to flip onto his back, Bryce quickly kicked the second away, finally pulling the knife from the other infected. When reaching the second, it was still on the ground from the kick. It looked like an easy kill so Bryce crouched down and stabbed it in the head.

Easy work, right? Not so much. Five yards behind him, a third infected appeared unknown to either Bryce or Alicia for this time. It popped out from behind a corner and was barreling towards the young man. With adrenaline pumping, he did not even hear the low growling from behind him until he felt the dead hands onto his shoulder. Cursing loudly, Bryce tried to flip over but the knife had fallen from his hand. He jabbed his left forearm into the zombie’s throat, trying to keep the mouth away from his flesh as he struggled underneath the undead enemy. This was a close call and Bryce was certain he was dead. Yeah, he might have been strong but these things had superhuman strength. It was nothing Bryce could outmatch by pure will and strength alone. He truly needed help.

-----------------

Returning to the house, Nick did not spy Anna anywhere. It made him wonder if she decided to simply leave now. Was she going to try and stick it out on the island? Nobody paid attention to the gunshots because when they rang out, everyone had entered already. Downstairs, Melissa was rushing her children around and talking to Madison – reminding her about various medications and quirks that she needed to know. Right before they were able to leave, George reappeared and was clearly upset about what was going on. He and Melissa began arguing until Harry ran into the room and said something was wrong with Willa. He led them towards their room and showed that she had gotten into the “power pills”. Melissa was heartbroken and crouched down beside of her dead daughter. Though everyone tried to warn Melissa to get away, she refused to listen. It did not take long before the young girl reanimated. The first thing she did was take a chunk out of her mother’s neck. George looked on with such sadness in his eyes before giving the go-ahead for taking Harry away from here. George had seen the destruction that happened and he wanted to try and protect Harry, at least.

Eventually, Nick helped his family gather Harry and take him back to the boat. When they were running for the boat, Nick could look over and see Alicia, Bryce, and Anna all running towards the yacht. Nick was worried, hoping that his sister was alright as well. Thankfully, she looked fine from here but he was worried about getting to the boat. As soon as they reached the docks, Strand started bitching at them about not taking anymore passengers but Madison did not give him a chance to refuse. They all reached the yacht and were ready to leave.

Before they could leave, though, Seth – the older brother, reached the yacht with a loaded gun aimed towards anyone in his way, demanding for the return of his brother.
 
Alicia had been as surprised by the third that approached as much as Bryce was, and with how easy he had taken down the first two she had been sure that everything was fine - until it wasn't, and she was standing there with a gun in hand and no knife as the walker took Bryce to the ground. There was no time to react - if she hesitated he would be dead and the thing would be coming straight at her. With her gun still raised she only saw one option - and as much as her body wanted to shake and shiver she had to do whatever she could to save Bryce. She could hit him, she knew that; if she missed the rotting corpse he would be dead anyways. She couldn't think about it, she could only take fire.

Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through her veins, demanding she did everything she could to keep him by her side. Maybe it was sheer luck. Either way with a loud crack the dead one collapsed lifeless on top of him and Alicia spared no second thought to running towards Bryce, pushing the thing off of him and pulling him close. As her knees hit the ground the reality of what had just happened settled deep in to her bones and she felt like she was about to faint as she rambled and ranted a series of shocked words to Bryce. "I could have killed you, you could have died, oh my god..."

Anna had spotted the couple just as Alicia had shot and after seeing Bryce on the ground, still alive, made her damn glad she hadn't had the time to run and try to pull the thing off of him. She didn't know guns, at least no more than "pick up the gun, pull the trigger", but she knew that was one lucky strike even with her minimal knowledge. Getting in the way could have cost either her or Bryce their life, or even the both of them.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked as she reached them and slowed her pace, quickly scanning the area around the trio in hopes of catching sight of any more of the dead that may have been summoned to the area. It took Alicia a moment to respond, to stop kissing Bryce like her entire world depended on it, but after she was done the younger of the women looked over at her and gave her a nod.

"What are you doing up here?" Alicia asked as she finally fell back so that she was sitting straight on the ground rather than on her knees. She wasn't blinking and Anna found that unnerving but hell, she'd probably be pretty out of it too had their situations been opposite.

"We're, uh, we're leaving now. Taking the kids with us." Little did she know there would only be one kid, she still thought there would be two. "I came to get you while your mom and them grabbed the kids. I saw what happened, that was..." Her voice trailed off and she just shook her head - Alicia also seemed minimally interested in conversing and after she had a moment to calm herself back down the three of them made their way back to the boat. They reached the area just in time to see everyone else getting there with Harry, and catching sight of Nick again just made Anna feel hurt again.

They were about to head off when Seth showed up, demanding his brother back with a gun aimed towards the group. Anna thought it would be best to just give the kid back, but at the same time she couldn't imagine what it would be like for Harry to be stuck here. Seth was obviously off the walls and his father didn't seem to be much better.... Eventually they had to give in and let Harry stay. Someone would have died if they didn't.

They pulled away as one of the dead, who the girls recognized as the mother Melissa, began to shamble down the dock towards her sons. Neither could look as the loud bang of a shotgun went off and they could only assume that the family matriarch had fallen for good.
 
Everything happened quickly. One second, Bryce was struggling on the ground with an infected. The next second, right before his imminent death, a gunshot rang out across the island and the formerly alive being collapsed onto his body. Even though the male would not have been heavy in his living days, all the dead were heavy as fuck. Even with Bryce’s power and muscles, he could not move from underneath the infected until Alicia helped him. Once he had been freed, Bryce wrapped his own arms tightly around Alicia, putting the puzzle together. “Thank you so much, Princess. You saved my life.” He whispered into her ear. It was almost ironic considering it was just last week he had done the same for her when the soldiers tried to kidnap her and steal their supplies.

It was excellent, having a person Bryce could rely on so heavily as Alicia and vice versa. Thanks to one another, Bryce felt he and Alicia could survive for a long time. They were an excellent team. After Anna arrived, Bryce returned to the moment and basically pried Alicia away from his body because they needed to get the hell out of dodge. Lacing hands together, Bryce ran with Alicia back to the yacht.

The closer they got, the more Bryce feared something was wrong. Only seconds after they entered the Abigail, Seth arrived. Since he had a gun, Bryce immediately went into protection mode. He pushed Alicia behind him until the threat was neutralized. Seth returned to the dock with Harry. Thankfully, he allowed the families to leave without any harm once Harry returned to him. It was difficult for everyone to look at the scene, so mostly everyone looked away. The entire scene was somber because the young kid was set for a defeated life back at the island where basically nothing was left.

After Madison checked to see that everyone was alright, she just frowned softly and told everyone to get some rest. They had a new day to face tomorrow – hopefully it was better than today. Still holding Alicia’s hand, Bryce pulled her with him down towards the lower level of the yacht where they were alone. It was perfect that he chose a room down here. At first, he and Alicia were in separate rooms but that did not last. “I’m going to clean up, Princess. You go on into our room.” He commented, entering the room long enough to grab clean clothing and towels, having no idea he accidently pulled forward a bag of certain goodies that he had not intended to show on top of his clothing bag.

----------------------

It did not take long before the situation with Seth dissipated. The teenager finally allowed the family to leave after retrieving Harry back by his side. Nick tried to watch Harry when the yacht pulled away but the scene was too horrific. This was not something a child as young as Harry should witness. Hell, it was not something any child should witness. It pissed Nick off they were unable to save either Harry or Willa. George was likely dead, too. How else could the infected version of Melissa escaped this far? It left Seth and Harry all alone, which was a recipe for disaster. Just looking down at the ground, Nick waited until the island was no longer in sight before returning inside.

He was too depressed with what happened to deal with Anna right now. He just glanced her way once when he walked past her before checking on his sister and his sister’s boyfriend. They were both safe and they were both okay. Bryce had blood on his clothes but it was not his own. After ensuring everyone was safe, Nick returned to his own private cabin. Not bothering to jump into one of the working showers or anything, he just stripped his shirt off and tried to sleep.

It was difficult, though. Not only was his mind busy thinking about the two children he could not save. His mind was also busy thinking about Anna. Their conversation today left a bitter taste in his mouth. However, he figured that the sooner Anna got away from him, the better off things were. Nick tossed and turned all night making sleep nearly impossible to come by.
 
Alicia had meant to just lay down, maybe doze off a bit as she waited for Bryce to return. It had been a long day and now that everyone was safe, exhaustion from the day was starting to kick in. She was still surprised that Bryce had been able to walk away from what happened, and even more so that she had been the reason why. She liked that idea - as much as she liked having him to rely on she wanted to be strong enough to hold her own or even protect him if the need arose. In this world being able to fend for yourself was mandatory and after being up close and personal with the dead ones for the first time had really made her come to understand that.

She walked in to their room as he dashed back out and their hands brushed each other just momentarily before she offered him a little smile. "Go, get clean. You smell," she joked as he walked off, and she was left to her own in the bedroom. Alicia hadn't been laying on the bed long before something caught her eye, a bag near Bryce's stuff. Normally she wasn't too nosy, she had a great deal of respect for privacy, but in that moment her curiosity was winning - what would she find in there? She basically fell off the bed from how lazily she moved to get up, and sat cross-legged in front of his stuff before curious eyes and grabby hands got a hold of it.

The first thing she did upon opening the bag was freeze - she may have been a virgin but she wasn't clueless... were those handcuffs in there? The only reason someone who wasn't police would have those would be.... Her mind trailed off as she continued to dig through the bag, even more curious now than before. Was this the kind of stuff Bryce was in to? She found padded wrist and ankle restraints, a couple things that confused her originally and then she realized were gags... Going through all of this stuff was giving her an idea and she grabbed a couple items from the bag before closing it back up.

Bryce was in for it when he got back from his shower, that was for sure.

----

Going back to a situation in which she had time to relax just put Anna on edge again - once more she found herself pacing the deck unable to sleep, watching the stars above her until exhaustion won out and she passed out on the lounge chairs with her head propped up against the back and her knees pulled in towards her chest. Anyone who saw would think it was rather uncomfortable but when she got tired, she could sleep any time and anywhere.

Morning brought an ache in her lower back and being blinded by the sun. She couldn't have been out more than a few hours, and after checking out the ship it seemed that no one else had woken up yet so she had the place to herself. The quiet was deafening - Anna wasn't the type to be alone and she never was. Being here was a drastic change from the constant hustle and bustle of the apartment she had lived in, whether it was Molly keeping her distracted or another friend or even, long ago, Nick himself. She couldn't shake the thought of him no matter how much she wanted to, and she imagined the lack of her people around her didn't help at all. As much as she didn't want to go anywhere she couldn't see anything coming from her sticking around - this wasn't some fairy tale where an apology would make things better.

By the time that she had finished her shower others had also awoken, and she did her best to keep to her promise and just leave Nick alone. It was hard, trying to act like he wasn't there when all she wanted to do at this point was try to make things better. The last few days... Well, there had been a lot of back and forth and a lot of hard emotions that weren't necessarily reasonable on her part.

When attention was called to a plane wreck on shore, Anna had been talking to Ofelia. The hispanic woman had been talking about her mother and while Anna hated any sort of conversation involving family, she didn't have the heart to try and end the conversation after the way Ofelia had lost a part of hers. She was grateful when an excuse to walk away came, though - until Nick said that he would be going with the group to the shore. Was she even welcome to at this point?

So she approached him despite saying she wouldn't. "Is it cool if I come check things out too? I'll leave you alone, just really need something to do and the more hands the better right?"
 
Unaware, Bryce returned wearing his boxers and short, sporting a shirtless look for the night. The second he stepped into the cabin, however, his entire demeanor changed. His blue eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped when he saw the four cuffs and pink ball gag that Alicia had on the bed. Oh. No. This was bad.

“Alicia. Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I must have left that bag out accidentally. I’m sorry. I swear that I’m not psycho. I didn’t plan to do anything with them. I just… have them. I don’t- I don’t know what to say. I’m- I can just toss them out.”

If anyone knew Bryce, then he or she knew the young man was talkative. Hardly ever was he speechless – and this was one of those times. His face grew pale as a ghost and it looked like he was going to throw up. Was he ashamed of liking bondage? Of course not. Bryce embraced his kinky side. The thing he did fear though was freaking out Alicia. Besides, they had only been officially dating for no longer than a week.

“I’ve never used them, I swear. I just… I’m just into bondage and I think it’s… hot. I bought them once… in case I was ever in a relationship… where my partner was okay with it.”

God, that sounded so stupid. They were truly purchased “Just in case”. The last thing Bryce wanted was for a girl to agree to bondage but they had to settle for using a silk scarf or something else corny. No. Bryce wanted real bondage, real cuffs – rope would be great, too. He worried this made him sound psychotic. Besides, people were tied up when they were hostages or needed to be restrained. Bryce also knew that Alicia had no experience so that made her wanting to try this even less likely.

He hoped to whatever god existed that she was not going to be upset with him. This would be so fucking miserable to push her away just because of that stupid bag. What if she saw him differently now? What if there was nothing he could do to convince her that she had no worry around him? Not for a second did Bryce think Alicia might actually want to try this.


--------------------

Just minding his business the next morning, Nick was on the deck when the yacht suddenly stopped. The engine hum had ceased and they were not moving. This was not ideal. Strand, somehow, did not have a clue about what to do. This was his own yacht but the man was clueless. Thankfully, Travis was a sort of handyman that could fix things. Mechanics of ships and automobiles seemed to be his forte. The older male immediately set out, climbing down to the bottom level so he could assess the situation. It was not long after Travis left when Alicia pointed something out.

They were close to shore. On a beach right beside them, Nick spotted something Alicia called their attention to. It was a plane that had crashed into the coast. There looked to be no survivors there walking around. Instead, this part of the plane appeared to carry some cargo or their luggage. This was perfect. If they could reach the island, they could look through the luggage and find items that they could use to survive. It might have been a long shot, but it was worth a try, right? Madison was refusing at first. She did not want either Alicia or Nick to go out. However, Daniel quickly compromised with the blonde, saying he could take Alicia, Nick, Chris, and Bryce on the zodiac inflatable. Thankfully, Daniel knew what he was doing and Madison realized that. Therefore, she reluctantly, but finally, agreed to the terms.

While they were getting ready to leave, Nick heard Anna’s voice. Even though they promised not to bug each other, here she was again. “Sure. There’s room for one more on the zodiac.” The male responded in a quiet tone, not even looking at Anna. He did not want to have a reason to get pissed or upset, so looking at her would have ruined that for sure. Before anyone else boarded the floatable, Nick climbed in first so he could take his seat near where Daniel would sit to steer. Nick just hoped Anna would get the hint and not bother him on the ride or when they arrive to the island.
 
He's shocked, stunned in place. Watching Bryce freak out just made Alicia feel bad about the teasing little move she made... She wasn't going to let that phase her too much, though. She dropped the material she had been holding up in one and beside her on the bed and then stepped forward until she was close enough to put her hands on his hip. She leaned in, kissed him sweetly because she found this pretty endearing, despite how weird that probably sounded. There was no need for him to be nervous.

"What if you could try them out?" Alicia asked before she gently bit at the corner of her lip and looked up at him, trying to act sexy but her words came out more rushed and nervous than planned. One of her hands trailed slowly and slightly up his side in a deliberate, careful motion. "I mean... With me. You and me, I'd like to try it if that's something you want to do."

Sure maybe this was fast, they had only been together a week or so but did time really matter in the end of days? Besides, this was someone she had loved her whole life and she had no doubts that she would feel the same way for the future. Big green eyes looked up at him nervously as she wondered what he would have to think about her offer - she genuinely was interested, especially if it was something that Bryce would enjoy.

----

Anna got the hint - she wasn't there to bug him, and had been just trying to make sure she wouldn't be pushing any buttons by wanting to join. When everyone boarded the boat she was the last to climb on and she made sure to stay as far away from him as she could. When they arrived the goal was simple - getting some antibiotics for Ofelia's wound would be top priority, followed by whatever else could be useful.

While Nick explained to the others what they were looking for she was already off in her own, breaking in to suitcases. She didn't wander far, not yet at least. If she found anything good she would want to be able to let the others know - the only drugs she was finding were nausea meds and other stuff that wouldn't be useful. (She was disappointed for more than one reason because of that.) There were clothes though - so many clothes, and if there was another thing she missed besides being high it was being able to wear different clothes. Unlike the Clarks she hadn't had time to pack up when everything happened and had been settling with washing the one set of clothes she had in the sink and hoping the lack of proper laundry soap wouldn't become a problem. Was it selfish to waste space on a couple tank tops that were probably too big for her and a pair of jeans that would probably fit if she wore her belt? Maybe, but she was going to have something to look forward to.

Every once in a while she glanced over in Nick's directions but, fighting her own urges, she left him to his own devices. It wasn't as easy as she wished it was. She also noticed Chris walk off as she searched through a suitcase, and after she gave the news to Daniel he began to look for the boy. It was shortly after that she found something that would be useful - at least to her. "Thank you Emily Farrow," she said as she read the name off of a pill bottle and then put it in to the bottom of the bag she had brought with her.
 
Slowly, the corner of Bryce’s lips twitched upwards. “Really?” The male closely resembled a child entering the living room on Christmas morning and spotting the packaged goodies underneath the tree. “Thank you, Alicia. This is incredible.” Breathing out a sigh of relief, Bryce pressed a firm kiss onto the brunette’s lips.

“I will admit it: I’ve wanted to try this for a long time. This is a kink I developed ever since I started exploring sex.” Yes, he was that teenager in the dark corner of his room looking at videos and pictures online. What young boy did not? At that point, Bryce discovered a desire for bondage. It grew stronger the older he got. Recently, it had been a burning flame that could not be doused.

Clearly, he loved bondage because he purchased a handful of related toys and restraints just in case the opportunity ever arose. Bryce never expected Alicia would want to try this. It was especially surprising that Alicia was willing to do this on their first sexual experience together. It must have meant Alicia trusted Bryce to the fullest extent. She was willing to give up total control of her body and needs to Bryce.

Guiding Alicia back to the bed with both hands, he placed her down onto the bed. His hands started tugging at the clothing that Alicia had on her body. “Let’s get you comfortable, Princess.” Bryce reached down to start with her shirt, pulling it up and over her body. If she was wearing pants, Bryce moved the material down her legs as well. Lastly, he worked with the undergarments on her body until her clothing pooled in the floor.

Bryce made sure every material was removed slowly, giving him time to gaze and worship her body with his eyes. “Are you okay, so far?” Bryce questioned in a soft manner, hoping that Alicia was comfortable so far.

------------------------

During the short ride, Nick watched his sister and her boyfriend. Their relationship was something he wished to emulate one day. Even if himself and Anna worked out, Nick knew their relationship would have been different than Bryce’s and Alicia’s, but Nick knew he could have been this happy as well. For that reason, Nick glanced at Anna only once before they reached the shore. The “what-ifs” and “what could have been” situations were running through his mind right now. Reaching the shore, Daniel reminded the young people about their objectives: antibiotics were important. Other than that, they should search each bag of luggage and compile any pertinent supplies.

After hitching the Zodiac, Daniel also reminded the young people about staying within his view. Daniel understood the importance of keeping Madison’s and Travis’ children safe. They trusted him with their lives. Even though this information was presented itself, Chris ventured away from the group. Nick noticed that the young boy exited the group as quickly as he could. There was something off about Travis’ son. Nick always had an uneasy feeling about him ever since Travis was involved in Madison’s life. The two boys did not exactly have a strong relationship or friendship.

Inside a suitcase, Nick found a pocket knife. One could never have too many weapons in this world, so Nick folded it up and slipped it into his pocket. While searching through the luggage, Nick found a couple pairs of pants and shirts along with some bottled water. Honestly, the search had not been too fruitful. Nick knew that Ofelia needed either Amoxicillin, Oxycodone, or something similar. Nick would have been lying if he claimed to not look for a fix, either. He half wanted to say fuck this search and look solely for drugs or pills.

Even though things like this were not allowed on board of an airplane, it was possible that someone smuggled drugs onto a plane, but it was unlikely. More likely was finding someone with a medical condition that needed prescription medication. Just about this time, he rounded a corner and saw Anna looking down at a pill bottle. Even though everything told Nick he should not say anything, it was impossible to keep quiet. “Find anything… interesting?”
 
Before Bryce had a chance to kiss her that first time, Alicia nodded once and held her hand out for him. Once he was close enough to take it she pulled him in and cleared the distance between them. It became quite obvious to her that he really wanted to do his and, while she was nervous (losing your virginity was a bit nerve wracking even when it was vanilla) she had a complete trust in Bryce and that she would be safe under his control. Had that not been the case she wouldn't have even offered.

She moved with him, unsure in her own actions but taking cues from Bryce to figure out what she should do - she helped remove her clothing when it caught on her, arched in to his hands as they ran down her sides towards her jeans. Alicia breathed slow and carefully while at the same time her body wanted to give in to the newness of having someone else touch her. There had been times she had caused her own pleasure, yes, but having Bryce slowly work her clothes off was already infinitely more arousing than her own hand had ever been and she couldn't even imagine how great having sex with him was about to be.

"I'm amazing," she replied in an equally soft tone, her body bared to him and she had no urge to hide it. There was no shyness, no worry - she knew that she was in the best hands possible.

----

Anna almost laughed as Nick came over to her, almost like he had a nose for anything potentially recreational and just knew if he came over at that moment she would have something in hand. She debated lying and saying it was nothing important for a moment, after all she knew that in the scheme of things her desire to find something to take wasn't the top priority. However, she knew that she would be heading back to the boat with her find and there was no doubt in her mind that she would have at least offered Nick some. Any time she had ever found herself with something potentially high worthy she had always shared with him, even if that happened to be something that probably wasn't even worth the effort. She'd spent a couple weeks popping codeine pills even though they made her nauseous because she couldn't get what she wanted before, and she didn't even really like uppers that much but she'd never said no when offered some cheap.

"Seems like the owner of this bag had an anxiety disorder, and right about now I'm really thanking her for that," she explained as she looked over at him, still crouched by the bag. Benzodiazapines, Xanax, alprazolam - all names for the bottle she had in her hand and based on what the label said just half of one of these fuckers would be enough to at least take the edge off. Benzos weren't her top choice, and Xanax at that hadn't proved to give any kind of real high but it would have its uses if she found herself needing to chill out - or just pass out. With no tolerance to them, a whole bar probably would put her to sleep.

"Not the best find but I'm not going to argue." She shrugged as she continued to rifle through the bag, hoping maybe she would find something else that would be useful. Shampoo, conditioner - little bottles but they were something and she tossed them in to the bag she was taking with her as well. "How about you? Got your hands on anything good?"
 
Speechless, Bryce admired Alicia’s body. Clearly, his emotions were not driven purely by lust. However, he sure as hell was not ignoring the girl’s physique. No, maybe she was not the head cheerleader or even an athlete – but she looked the part. The first thing he did was cup both of her breasts and squeeze them, kissing each nipple once. After that, Bryce lowered his head, kissing down her abdomen and onto her thighs. Around her nether lips, his tongue teasingly peaked out and rubbed over her sensitive nub a couple times.

The time to explore her body in-depth would come. Before that, Bryce wanted to jump into the bondage. “I will make things a little fairer now.” Softly, he spoke this before hooking his fingers into the shorts and boxers he wore. Within a mere second, both cloths were shoved down his legs and their bare bodies were matched. Bryce’s erection was growing rapidly and it was obvious. Even if Alicia was a virgin, it would have also been easy to tell that Bryce was much longer and thicker than the average male. This was another quality about Bryce that the girls adored – his cock was huge.

Despite that, he knew having a good size was not enough. He still put in work during sex. “Now, can you open your mouth for me, Princess? I want you to kiss me, but then I want to gag you.” He whispered, no longer feeling ashamed about his desire. Gags were his favorite, so he wanted to use it first with Alicia.

-------------------

Fuck. It was mouth-watering. Nick looked down at Anna’s stash. Even if it was not the best stash, it was better than nothing. The apocalypse forced Nick to become clean. It was not by choice. Simply, the male could not access the drugs like he could before. There were little options since the world fell apart. Now? This was like a gold mine. “Damn, that looks tempting.” Nick regretted the words almost as soon as he said them. It was not the best choice of words but Nick had said them. His pleasure-seeking functions were firing rapidly now because he saw the drugs. Not only that, but he saw the drugs AND he saw Anna. When he combined those two things together, most memories were positive. It was difficult not to think that way now.

“It’s better than what I found, anyways. I found a few pants and shirts. I was hoping to get a fix on something, though. Looks like you beat me to it.” Nick almost smiled at her, but he remembered who he was talking to. He was talking to the Anna that cheated on him, not the Anna that he knew before that. Damn her. Damn her for being so easy to talk to even when he was pissed. Just for that little five second span, Nick forgot about the past and forgot about what she did. It was almost like old times again. He was relaxed and just talking with the woman like they usually did.

Clearing his throat and trying to get over his mishap, Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I shouldn’t have. You shouldn’t. This can’t end well.” This was Nick half-heartedly telling her to put it back. Plus, he was trying to stay away from the pills since he survived withdrawal already. The craving was heavy but it was not physiological anymore. “We can’t deal with this shit now. We need to stick to the strategy.”
 
Alicia wasn't used to having such attention paid to her body and each of Bryce's touches made her shiver and squirm in a way she didn't know was possible. No one had ever touched her like he was - no one else had ever touched her before in general but she couldn't imagine anyone could feel better than he did. She didn't want anyone to touch her like he did.

She was nervous as he bared himself, stripping his clothes from his body and revealing every inch of a toned, beautiful body that made Alicia want to scream for him. She didn't need experience to tell that he was well endowed and part of her worried that may be a problem but she also knew without a doubt that he wouldn't risk hurting her - if she had any qualms trying to adjust he would placate her, work with her to make sure this was the best experience possible. As he stood over her she gave him a nod and opened up for him, keeping her eyes locked on his the entire time.

----

"Hey man, I never said these were for now. I'm not an idiot, that would be asking for trouble." She was surprised that he had enough self control to tell her to put the bottle back, but if it hadn't already become obvious self control was one thing that she lacked. If she had any, she would have been quite a different person - probably for the better. A bit of self control would have kept her from following in Molly's footsteps, kept her from trips to rehab, kept her from hurting Nick which would have kept her from the way she had hurt herself after that.

"Not gonna stop me from keeping these just in case unless you pry them from my cold, dead hands though." There was no tension in the way she spoke, and for the first time since the cells she was actually feeling relaxed. It was hard not to with how easily she fell in to the familiarity of the situation. Not to mention with Nick standing right there her mind couldn't help but wander - unlike heroin where sex could be fun but good luck getting off, benzos made things interesting. Lowered inhibitions, trying new things. She knew just the right dose to make things interesting without numbing herself or risking a black out and they'd ventured down that road many times before.

"But hey, if you don't want any I'm not going to force them down your throat." She raised her eyebrows, offered him one of her little toothy smiles as her tongue ran against her upper incisors.
 
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