"You can't go out there alone." It'd been a few days, Carol had dealt with Lizzie and now we were going to try and move on. "I'm gonna meet back up with you guys." I explain, we'd found a map and I was just going to take an alternate route to try and see if I could find anyone else.
"I will be fine." I say, I told the rest of them to stay together, it just makes more sense. "You're being stupid, at least let me come with you." Aelia was pleading with me but I wouldn't let her come with me because if something did happen I didn't want to leave Aurora without both of us.
"Please don't go alone Selene." Aurora joins making me sigh, "fine, Lia you can come with." We say our goodbyes to the others and assure each other we'd see each other again at our designated place.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
We start off our journey in silence, I don't really have much to say and I'm guessing Lia doesn't either. It's only once we stop to rest and have some water that she speaks. "Why are you so stubborn on this?" I screw my bottle closed and put it back in my bag before turning to her. "What?"
"Me you and Roo, we're fine and we were together. Why do you need to go and look for the others?" I just don't understand why she wouldn't want to find them. "What are you talking about? The three of us wouldn't have been able to survive for much longer if we hadn't found Carol and Tyreese." I say before I take a breath. "Daryl is out there somewhere Aelia, I know he is."
"But what if he's not?"
"He is."
"Daryl is a survivor, he will have made it out." I could not afford to think about if he had not made it out. "Is he worth risking your life? My life?"
"I love him. I love him and he is worth everything to me." I say as she stares at me expectantly. "I did not tell you to come out here with me, you volunteered so I'm not risking your life for him. Besides I'm not just looking for him, I'm looking for anyone from the prison." I say firmly before shutting my bag and slinging it on before I walk ahead.
Why was everything so hot and cold with her? She could apologise and then she'd just go and say or do something stupid a minute later. It's actually exhausting and I cannot wait until we can settle down somewhere and she stops acting like this. She had a problem with everything.
After a few hours Aelia starts acting as though nothing bad happened and engages in small talk with me. I oblige just to not give myself a bigger headache and we do end up managing to have an enjoyable time. "So what happened to everyone after I left?" I ask a question I'd been dreading. "Well you didn't have many friends." She says making me laugh. "Nice."
"What about Jasper?" She sends me a knowing a smile, "I always knew you had a crush on him." My mouth drops, how did she not know, "what?" She asks at my laughter. "Aelia you do know Jasper was my boyfriend." It's her turn to look shocked now. "He was not your boyfriend."
"Yes he was. He was my first kiss when we were thirteen and then we started dating after his fifteenth birthday." She starts laughing, "are you sure you didn't just imagine that because you wanted that to happen." I push her shoulder, "either way boyfriend or not he was my best friend." Her smile dims slightly. "He was really distraught. I mean we all were but Jasper took it really hard. He came by the house a lot, but he'd just cry a lot. He apologised to mom and dad a lot too. He always felt like it was his fault."
"He was fine though right? Still got the scholarship he was working for." She shrugs, "I don't know, he got really badly depressed and then his mom ended up sending him away, claimed that he'd never get better with the constant reminders of you around town." I nod, but my mind is reeling now. "You never saw him again?"
"Uh I didn't, I think mom kept tabs on him though, asked his mom and stuff. You know how much she loved him. He came to visit his mom a few times I think as well, I don't know I never really cared for him." Well that's a bit harsh. "He's probably dead now anyways." She shrugs nonchalantly making me nod.
"Okay, what about everyone else?" I ask eager to hear how everyone's lives had turned out. I'm very surprised when she tells me that our uncle George became a politician, a successful one too. "Gross, I can't imagine uncle George as a politician." She shrugs, "it was weird but he was weirdly into it and people seemed to love him so..."
"And what did aunt Anne think about that?" Aunt Anne hated politicians so no way she'd just let her husband become one. "Aunt Anne passed not long after you disappeared, drunk driver." I frown at the news, aunt Anne had been the best. "Oh." I don't really feel like asking much more.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
We walk along the train tracks for a few days until we see a sign. "Sanctuary for all?" I don't know if trust it, there's a little map here too showing how to get there. "I mean it's near to where we're going anyways," I think out loud, "if anyone saw this sign I'm sure they will have gone." Aelia nods quietly and then we're on our way.
"I don't know about this." She says as we're getting closer. "I think we should just go back to the others." I shake my head, "look I know it's suspicious, and these people are probably not as nice as they are making out but if any of my friends are there then I have to at least try." It's then we hear gunfire. We keep a safe distance away, but Aelia has a pair of binoculars so we pass them between each other as we try and get a look.
"Okay, we're going back." She says firmly, not handing the binoculars over. "Pass them to me right now." I practically growl, she grits her teeth but passes them over. "That's Rick!" I only see Rick, no one else. He's being told to go and get in a trailer or something, we can't hear them from where we are.
"We are not getting involved in this." Aelia says as I hand her the binoculars back. "We may not be but I am." She shakes her head and throws her hands up, "what is wrong with you?"
"I cannot just abandon him." Why can she not see my side? "You cannot go and save him all on your own, you're outnumbered heavily. Rick is gone." I scoff, "I can too save him, I'm going to at least try."
"Why? It might just be him, he is not worth it!"
"Shut up Aelia! He would do it for me, for you. He would not just leave us behind like this. Rick is my brother, I am going." She scoff and grabs my arm to pull me back as I try and walk past her. "He is not your brother, I am your sister. I am begging you to come back with me." I shake my head. "You get back to the others, if I'm not there in a few days, move on."
"I can't believe you." I ignore her, "get back safe, I love you." She shakes her head, tears already falling. "Please make it back." I nod and then pull my jacket off and hand it to her. "Before you go, punch me." She's taken aback and looking at me appalled.
"I am not going to punch you." I let out a laugh, "come on, you know you want to. You wanted to punch me plenty the other day." She shakes her head, "that's different." I shrug, "come on I'm giving you a free pass, punch me in the nose please, don't break it though." She rolls her eyes and curls her fist. "See you didn't need much convincing."
"Shut up." She mumbles before she socks me in the face. "Ow!" I say my hand going straight to my nose. "You said to punch you hard!" She defends making me laugh as blood runs down my face. "You we're perfect, thank you. Now be okay." She nods and winces as I spit the blood out of my mouth and onto the ground.
"I'll tell Carol and Tyreese, see if they found anyone and if we can come back you up." I nod and then with one last hug we separate.
