Not The Same | Nick Clark | FTWD

Part 21

"Popsicle?" Alicia asked, holding a small cardboard box in her hand as I ran into her and Chris in the kitchen after coming out of the bathroom.

"That actually sounds so good right about now." I laughed, grabbing the small frozen treat she held out to me before discarding its plastic packaging and following them outside.

"What do you guys think about this Strand guy?" Chris asked as we all enjoyed the familiar normality.

I shrugged, "Haven't really gotten the chance to talk to him yet, but Nick did say he saved his life."

"And he let us come back here with him." Alicia added.

"I guess," Chris mumbled, "And I'm sorry about before-- back at the house."

"Don't be, really, I would have acted the same way if I was in your shoes." I admitted, honestly.

Alicia scoffed, taking the popsicle momentarily out of her mouth, "You would've been ten times worse."

"Ok, ok-" I jokingly defended myself as we all laughed, a moment taking me back to some of my happiest memories before, in an instant, they were gone again.

A gunshot rang out through the air, quickly silencing all of us as we paused in fear, not knowing what to do, before Chris bolted down the lawn and in the direction of the noise.

"Chris!" Alicia yelled before turning back to me, "Go find Nick and make sure he had nothing to do with this." She instructed before chasing after Chris.

There was no good outcome for this that I could think of-- no reason for anyone to fire a gun unless it was absolutely necessary, and if it was, we may not be as lucky as I thought we were.

"Nick?" I called as I pushed open the sliding glass door, making my way through the house, "Nick!"

"Who did that-- who shot the gun?" Daniel interrogated as I ran into him in the living room, "That's going to draw every infected for miles!"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out!" I defended, "Where's Nick-"

"Hannah?" Nick's familiar voice called as him and Strand made their way into the living room.

"Where the hell did that gunshot come from?" Daniel immediately asked.

"There seems to have been a bit of an incident." Strand began to explain calmly as we all exchanged glances.

"What sort of an incident?" Daniel probed.

Strand bit at his bottom lip, "I think it'd be better if you saw for yourself."

Weary glances were exchanged once again before Strand gestured us to follow, Daniel going ahead while Nick and I fell back.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, my tone hushed.

Nick let out a quick breath, anxiously folding his arms, "Liza's dead, Han."

"What?" I asked confused, my eyebrows furrowing, "She was- she- she was fine just an hour ago-"

"I think she was bit," Nick stopped me, "Strand has these high powered binocular things--" He explained, gesturing towards the back room, "We saw my mom and Travis heading down toward the beach after the shot went off."

"So it was like.. some sort of mercy killing or something?" I asked, confused and upset by the whole situation.

Nick shrugged, "Maybe she didn't want her family to see her like that."

"Well," Daniel breathed out as he came back into the living room, "Someone's going to have to go get the boy at some point."

"Chris.." I let out in shock, completely spacing the fact that him and Alicia went off to investigate after the gunshot went off.

"I'll go." Nick offered, making his way to the back door before I began following behind him, feeling like I owed it to both Liza and Chris to not sit back and pretend like something completely life altering didn't just happen.

***

"She really didn't look sick." I began, looking down at the rocky path we trailed, "Exhausted maybe.. but I never would have thought she was infected."

"Did she say anything to you earlier?" Nick asked, looking over at me.

"Just that she was sorry for the soldiers taking you." I shrugged before pausing for a moment, "Do you think that was her way of saying goodbye-- like.. mending the peace?"

"No way to tell now." Nick let out under his breath as we came upon a heartbreaking sight; Chris's body slumped over his mothers as quiet sobs filled the otherwise silent air.

My eyes were torn from the sight as Madison and Travis came into view from the trail below, both holding very somber expressions that fit the mood we were all feeling.
Madison quickly gathered Alicia, Nick, and I up as she gestured for us to head back to the house with her.

"We can't- mom we can't just leave them." Alicia protested quietly.

"They need this-- both of them, they need to be alone." Madison said lowly as I watched Travis kneel beside his son; a haunting memory that I'm sure will last a lifetime.

"Come on." Nick murmured, placing a hand on my back and pulling me away from the scene.

All this time, even with seeing death all around you and being seemingly threatened with it constantly, losing someone you knew.. never even seemed possible. The loss sent my thoughts racing at a million miles a minute, yet I was constantly stuck on one question; why? Could we have prevented it? Couldn't the infection have been cured?

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More of a filler chapter, but a chapter none the less