Together We Survive

Crossing Paths

Alicia's POV

We were the first to reach the origin of the terror stricken scream and soon located the woman in question, one hand thrown up to her mouth to stifle the sound with an abandoned carton of water slowly leaking into the ground at her feet. 

The precious waste of resources was soon forgotten when my gaze drifted out to follow her wide eyed stare and my breath hitched in my throat at what I saw. Elyza was similarly stunned, her mouth falling open as she processed the situation. 

Octavia and Raven were quickly at our heels, their faces forming a shared sense of dread when they glimpsed the approaching danger. 

"Shit," Raven muttered, taking only a brief moment to assess the oncoming cloud of dust before retreating back to camp at a rapid pace. 

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the landscape, fixated on the horde of walkers that were surging purposefully towards our location. A small figure could be seen fleeing a fair distance in front of them, lurching desperately towards the campsite in hopes of rescue. 

Perhaps they had thought to outrun the walkers, to escape unharmed, but now we were all in danger. 

Voices burst into life over the radio as the imminent threat was reported to the camp leaders. There was no time to waste if the site was to be evacuated without sustaining casualties. There were too many walkers to even consider constructing some level of defence, retreating was the only safe option. 

"What the hell?" Elyza muttered softly, squinting into the distance with one hand raised to block the suns glare. "It can't be..."

I briefly glanced across at her, unsure what had caught her attention but it was Octavia who provided an explanation. 

"Is that Miller?" The dark haired girl hurried to retrieve binoculars and exhaled loudly as she peered through the lenses. 

"Miller? As in the Nathan Miller who was captured by the prison gang?" I asked uncertainly. 

Elyza nodded and retrieved the binoculars from Octavia to see for herself. "The one and only."

Hopes of saving Nathan had been virtually non existent after Elyza and Bel's disappointing adventure into the sewers. By all accounts the prison had been virtually impenetrable and any thoughts of saving the boy had soon dwindled in the face of such impossible odds. 

There were many questions regarding his escape but there was no time to dwell on them now. The whole camp was in danger. 

"...A horde? Damn it. I don't know if I can get these kids evacuated in time. I'll need some extra hands over here."

 Octavia lifted the radio to her mouth even before the sentence was complete. "I'm on my way, do what you can until I get there."

"We'll come with you," Elyza volunteered, retreating with Octavia back towards camp until she realised that I wasn't following. "Alicia?"

She paused and turned back to catch my eye, frowning to see that I hadn't even taken a single step. 

"We've still got some time. I'll pack our belongings and wait here for Nathan to make sure he's okay."

He would be in dire need of water and potentially medical aid when he did arrive and it would give me enough time to gather our belongings in the meantime. We would be joining the rest of the group without delay. 

Elyza considered my offer for a moment before nodding sharply. "Okay, but don't stay here any longer than you need to. We'll leave a vehicle for you in case he's injured. You know the rendezvous point?"