Finding Home | #Wattys2016

Chapter Fifteen: The Welcoming Committee

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, guys! I hope I can make up for it eventually. Work is whack. Enjoy! Comment/Vote! Let me know what you think. ~TGF

Spoiler: The next chapter is alllll about Alicia and Elyza, so look forward to that!

Chapter Fifteen: The Welcoming Committee

Alicia found Ofelia first. She was thankful it wasn't her mom, Travis or Daniel. But the three of them had been locked up in the captain's control room discussing the two kids they had rescued. Nick was up there with them, something Alicia wasn't at all comfortable with.

If he was allowed to be involved in the "adult" conversation, why couldn't the rest of them? Ofelia just wasn't interested, she was too busy holding a grudge against her father and nursing a slowly healing gunshot wound. But Alicia and Chris both deserved to have their opinions heard if they really wanted to.

None of this could be kept from them. They couldn't be forced to let the "adults" make decisions that could get them killed. The world had changed, kids were going to be growing up faster in a world that was kill or be killed. There was no reason for the "kids" to be left out of the conversation. It made her angry that they were trying to shelter and protect her, when what she needed was to be included.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Alicia asked.

Ofelia was on her way down the stairs from the main deck. She was walking slowly, with a weight to her step that transcended physical exhaustion and her face appeared to be permanently locked in a scowl. Her injured arm was clutched to her stomach to keep it immobile. She looked up when Alicia approached and let out a soul-wrenching breath, "Nothing, just wandering. What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be with those kids that you found?"

"Yeah, but I need some help. The girl woke up—"

"Alicia, you're supposed to tell the others when that happened," Ofelia frowned and grabbed at Alicia's arm to guide her up the steps.

The younger girl pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't want to tell them yet. You know how they'll react and I..." she hesitated, not sure if she wanted to bring it up but knew she needed to, "I don't want what happened to Andrew to happen to them."

Ofelia's face seemed to go slack for a second before she composed herself. It was like all of her emotions were sucked into some secret part of herself and all that was left was a bored, poised expression, "What do you want from me?"

Alicia sucked in a deep breath because she knew how much dredging up that memory hurt her friend. "I need some antibiotics and some washcloths. Do we have any left?"

Ofelia shook her head, "I finished those off a couple of days ago. Why do you need antibiotics? Who's watching them?"

"The boy, he's sick. Elyza said—"

"Wait, what?" Ofelia stepped forward and shook her head, conviction creeping into her voice, "You're listening to her? She's awake? Alicia, you can't go around trusting every person you meet. You don't know her." Her healthy arm clutched at Alicia's as she shook the younger girl, attempting to force the information into her head.

"Ofelia, please. Just let me do this, they aren't bad people. This girl can't be older than you. If you can't trust her, trust me." Alicia wriggled out of her grasp and stepped back, straightening her clothes.

Ofelia just stared at her for several seconds, a concerned frown creasing her forehead. She looked doubtful and maybe a little surprised that Alicia was the one going around trusting every person they picked up in the ocean. "Fine, I trust you. What do you need?"