One day the east stops becoming a direction or a place always over the horizon. They are East.
“That’s their car,” Robin whispers.
Nancy frowns at her. “Whose car?”
“My sister’s. And El's.”
“So are you just gonna’ sit out here staring at it?”
“Maybe.”
“Park next to it, Robin.”
Robin looks over at Nancy with panicked eyes. “They shouldn’t have stopped long enough for us to catch up. They should never stop.”
Her frown softens out as she reaches across the console to take the taller girls hand in hers. “You know you have to do this, right? If you want, Lucas and I will check first and you can wait in the car. But you have to answer this question, one way or another.”
She tugs her hand from Nancy's and steers in beside the other car. She makes a point of slamming her door before turning back to them.
“Coming?”
Nancy and Lucas exchange a look before hopping out of their seats.
The motel is all tacky pastels and crumbling cement. They make their way up stairs with cracked, off-white tiles that cling to the concrete steps. As they move along the row of doors, they check for signs of life. Behind a lacy curtain Nancy spots movement.
She motions for the others to come over while twisting the doorknob. The door creaks as she slowly swings it open. She is only halfway though the door when a strong arm pulls her inside and wraps around her waist. She feels the harsh cold of metal against her throat and stills instantly.
“Leave now and we won’t kill your pretty friend,” a low female voice says by her ear as the knife presses harder against her neck. Lucas is frozen in place; one leg through the door the other still outside. He is suddenly thrown inside as Robin bumps into his back. The arm around Nancy tightens in shock and the knife presses deep enough to draw a thin line of blood.
“Rob?” the voice behind her whispers. They sound almost childlike.
“Max,” Robin sighs back and her face seems caught between disbelief and pure joy.
Nancy is roughly thrown aside as her attacker rushes into Robin’s arms. The pair are gasping and laughing and clinging to each other as Nancy brushes her fingertips against the line of blood that runs across her neck like a dark necklace. When they part, Robin holds the girl’s shoulder as she introduces her companions.
“Max, this is Lucas. And this is Nancy.”
“Sorry about the — y’know,” Max says to Nancy with a sweeping gesture across her throat. She doesn’t sound that sorry.
A brunette girl appears from behind Nancy.
“Are you okay?” the brunette, El asks Max as if she were the one bleeding from her neck.
Max nods as tears well in her eyes and her lips are pulled tight by a smile. She glances up at her sister who hasn’t taken her awestruck gaze off Max. “I’m better than okay.”
*****
Max, El and Robin talk in hushed tones around a small table in the kitchen while Nancy and Lucas have been effectively exiled to the lounge room couch. Lucas has dark bags under his eyes and Nancy lets him fall asleep on her shoulder as she cards her fingers through the magazine on the table. She tries not to think about how weird it is to sit and read a magazine.
She can’t shake the bitter feeling that hangs over her. Why didn’t Robin care when her sister sliced at her neck? Why did she, after all their time working together, think she should be excluded from their little strategy talk? Was this how it was going to be; Robin, Max and El calling the shots and expecting Nancy and Lucas to follow? If Robin seriously thought she would take a backseat the taller girl obviously didn’t know her at all. She would steal Robins fucking car and she and Lucas would go in any direction they wanted. North maybe. Or even south. Lucas squirms as Nancy shifts with tense shoulders.
“Sorry,” she whispers and forces herself still.
Fuck Robin and her stupid fucking sister.
*****
It’s past midnight when Robin comes over to Lucas and Nancy on the couch. Lucas is out cold with his head in Nancy’s lap. Robin’s bright smile could attract moths and she seems completely oblivious to Nancy's sour mood.
“Are you ready for bed?” Robin asks her. “We’re going to talk about where we go next tomorrow.”
“I’m more than ready for bed.” It doesn’t really make sense but she says it anyway.
Robins fingers reach towards the cut on her neck. “Are you okay?”
She slaps Robins fingers away. “It stopped bleeding six hours ago.” She slowly slides out from under Lucas and gently rests his head against a pillow. When she turns back to Robin her eyes are anything but gentle. “Where am I sleeping?”
“We were going to share the spare bed?” It comes out as more of a question than she intended it to. When Nancy doesn’t protest she leads the way into the dingy room at the end of the corridor.
“Goodnight,” Robin whispers when they’re under the covers. Nancy doesn’t answer back.
*****
Hours have passed and Nancy lies awake with her head tilted back. Above the headboard is an overly edited photo of a beach, all bright, garish colour. Along the bottom it reads, ‘Life’s a beach. Lose yourself in its waves.’ They’re meaningless words and they only serve to fuel Nancy’s anger.
Robin mutters in her sleep before throwing an arm over her. Even now she can't stop talking. Nancy smiles down at the other girl and then remembers she’s supposed to be angry. The thing is she’s not angry. Not at Robin. She’s worried that their team will be destroyed, that she’ll become an afterthought. That Robin won’t notice the cut on her neck until six hours later. It’s stupid and she hates herself for it.
Life’s a beach. Lose yourself in its waves.
What a stupid fucking quote
*****
Nancy is the last to wake.
“Finally,” Max mumbles and Nancy shoots her a glare that could ice over hell. Max ignores her as she starts talking. “Okay, so about two hours east there’s a boarder. El reckons that beyond the boarder there is a secret society of survivors—”
“If it’s so secret how do you know about it?” Nancy asks.
El is the one who answers and it’s the first time the shorter brunette has spoken to her. “I overheard two guys talking about it when were breaking in to a hotel.”
“Anyway,” Max continues. “I think our best chance of survival is if we get to them. Getting over the boarder, however, will not be easy.”
“Why’s that?” Lucas pipes up.
“It’s guarded.”
“By walkers?” There’s a crease between Lucas' brows.
“No. Humans.”
That sends chills along Nancy's spine. Walkers are predictable. They want to bite you, eat you. It’s the ones with minds they have to be wary of. They want to satisfy more than hunger.
“So, what’s the plan?” Robin asks.
“We offer them a trade. The cars for our passage.”
“And they will agree?”
“Hopefully. There’s no guarantee. So I would say you’re goodbyes tonight. I don’t know how many of us will make it tomorrow.”
Author note: one chapter left and then it's the epilogue by the time this chapter comes out I should've posted the first chapter of my other zombie ronance fic, all thats left behind, please take to time to read it :)
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i just wanna get lost with you - ronance
General FictionThe second time Robin ever met Nancy, Nancy was covered in blood holding a gun pointed straight at Robins head. The second time Nancy met Robin, Robin had a gun to her forehead and fear in her eyes. Maybe it was those eyes that made her finger hesi...
