These Different Times (Nick Clark FF)

32.

We couldn't do this.

We had only been walking for a couple of hours and I was starting to question our decision.
The horde of infected thinned out significantly as we pressed on through the night and before long, it was just the two of us.

Although it was scorching hot during the day, at night, the temperature seemed to plummet and I felt myself starting to shiver. "Nick," I whispered, placing my hand on his arm, "We need to find somewhere to sleep."

His face fell at the sight of my shaking body and pulled me in to his side, "I know. We're going to." He peered into the distance, "There. I see a light. Come on, babe. A little further."

We slowly made our way there and by the time we reached the door, we were both shivering and before Nick could knock, the door flew open.

"Sofia?"
I recognised her immediately, a member of Celia's 'extended family'. She looked surprised as we did to see each other.

"Nicholas." She looked over our shoulders, to where we had just come from, "Come on. Get in. Quickly."

I looked over my shoulder too as Nick pulled me in, seeing that where were we're maybe ten minutes before, there was a herd of them coming.

"Juan," Sofia whispered, "The lights."

It was then that I noticed that her son was there too, rushing over to the window where an oil lamp was sat, dimming it immediately.

"Remember what I said," his mother said quietly, crouching to his level, "We stay quiet. Until they pass, yes?" He nodded silently and his mom turned back to us, "You'd best find someplace to sit. I don't know how many there is. Oh and here."

She handed each of us an apple which I quickly took a bite out of, not realising how hungry I was until now, "Thank you."

All she gave in return was a soft smile before she went to go comfort her son, who was watching out of the window.

I looked at Nick when he pressed a kiss to my exposed shoulder, his forehead resting against mine, "We're going to be fine."

"Where are we going to go?" I whisper, "We can't just wander. We need to...we need to find somewhere safe."

"And we will." he promised, stroking my cheek gently, "I'm gonna find you somewhere safe."

"You can come with us." We both looked at Sofia as she and her son started making their way into another room, "We're going south. To find Juan's father. You're more than welcome to join us."

"Thank you." Nick said quietly as they left.

From outside, we could hear as the infected shuffled past, their groans filling the night air and I chewed on my bottom lip, "We could find a car. Follow her."

"Or we can go north," he whispered, "Find our own place."

"Nick, this isn't like we're picking our first house. We need people. We can't survive on our own." I argued.

He nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He gave me a soft kiss, "We should sleep. We'll need to get going at dawn."

"Okay," I said quietly and began shuffling around to try and get into a more comfortable position.

"Here, lay on me."

I gave him a quiet thank you before laying down on his leg, smiling up at him when he ran his hands through my hair, "Do you think your mom and Alicia will be okay? I mean, you didn't find Travis..."

"I did find him."

I was confused, "Wait, what? You told your mom that you didn-"

"He told me to tell her that," he mumbled, twirling some dark strands around his finger, "He had to go with Chris."

I fell silent again, a hand reaching up take his again, kissing one of the small scars on his skin, "We're going to be okay, right?"

He nodded, "We're going to be fine."

**

"Now you're sure you won't come with us?" Sofia asked, handing Nick a backpack which was full of food and me a jug of water.

"No. We're going to head north."

"Okay," she nodded, "Well, be careful. Your journey will be long. Watch out for Manas. They take full advantage of the lawless roads. Be safe." 

She gave the two of us kisses on the forehead, her son hugging us tightly before they climbed into their car. 

I pulled the backpack onto my shoulders, ignoring the scolding look Nick was sending my way, "We can take turns. Put the water in."

He did as I said and then after waving goodbye to Sofia and Juan, we turned and headed in the opposite direction. 

**

We didn't stop unless absolutely necessary, which was a couple of occasions so we could take a drink of water. 

The sun was beating down on us and it was horrible. I was sweaty, covered in dried blood that smelt completely vile and I had blisters on both of my feet. I definitely couldn't wait for night to come and the temperature to drop and when it did, it was a welcome relief. 

"We'll stop here tonight." Nick decided, pulling the backpack from my shoulders, "Okay?" 

I nodded and entered the open building. There were no doors to keep the infected out but with our bloodied clothes, I found no reason to worry. 

He made up a small fire to keep us warm and I dug through the bag to find us some fruit, finding two more apples, one of which I handed to him. 

"Thanks," he whispered, taking a bite while I grabbed the water, "This is nice, huh?"

"Nice?" I snorted, "Sure, if you call being covered in blood and god knows what, nice." 

He messed with a hole on his pants, "You could have went with the others. I asked if you were sure." 

"Are you serious?" I gaped, looking at him, "You really think I wasn't going to come with you? You think I was going to let you wander around on your own?" 

"You should have." he whispered, shaking his head, "I can't guarantee that we're gonna survive out he-"

I stopped him by covering his mouth with my hand, "Don't. Don't you dare." 

"I'm just stating the truth." 

"Well don't. If you're going to talk about stuff like this then I'd rather you lied to me." I muttered, turning away from him before I lay down, "We'll head for Tijuana tomorrow." 

I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax and get some sleep, listening as Nick shuffled around beside me for a couple of minutes before he lay down beside me, his arm hesitantly wrapping around my waist and I felt his lips against my probably burnt skin. 

"I love you," he breathed, "And I just...I don't want you to get hurt. I need to keep you safe." 

I smiled and rest my hand on his arm, "You've always kept me safe."

**

this chapter is very repetitive, which i'm sorry about