by T. S. Frost
“Hey, Kate,” the rescuer–Gary–greeted back. “No, it's... it's looking for you, actually. It says it's name is... uh... Casey.” Casey's eye twitched just slightly at the repeated use of 'it' and the way the man seemed to stumble over the name, like he'd wanted to say something else and remembered just in time that it was wrong. “I'll leave you two to it, I gotta get back to work. Later.”
It wasn't until the man was completely out of the cave that Kate turned her full attention to Casey. “It, hmm? You don't look like an i–“
“Don't say it,” Casey snapped immediately, the last of his nerves frayed. It was one thing for complete strangers to give him that treatment; he really didn't want to hear it from somebody he considered to be important, even if it was only via association to Alexa.
Kate blinked in surprise, but unlike the others she didn't react as though intimidated. In fact, now that Casey thought about it, she hadn't sounded awed or alarmed, the way everybody else did. It had been much more casual–like someone making an offhand observation.
Casey hesitated, feeling a little confused, and Kate must have caught on to the expression because she said softly, “I'm sorry. I didn't realize that would strike a nerve. But it's probably unfair to you, isn't it?”
Feelings are hard, Casey grouched in his head. Emotions were stupid and difficult to understand and he had a feeling he'd just been a colossal jerk without realizing it–and she'd tried to save face for him anyway. “Sorry,” he muttered after a moment.
Fortunately she seemed to get what he was apologizing for, and her nod was a clear acceptance of it. “Greg said you were looking for me?”
“Um... yeah. I need your help with some things. Finding people.” He pulled out the photos again, and said, “These others. Are they here too?”
Kate took the photographs, blinking momentarily at her own before shuffling it to the back. Her eyes fell on the family portrait next, and her expression immediately went sad. “Oh... this is... Ryan and Martha, and their daughter, Alexa. They... no. They're not here.”
Casey frowned. There was a tremor in her voice that probably wasn't perceptible to most, but he heard it regardless, and was almost afraid to ask. “Do you know where they are? I'm looking for them, too. Ryan and Martha, I mean.”
Kate looked very tired all of a sudden, and sat down on a rickety crate of supplies, still clutching the photos. It seemed like she wanted to cry, but had done it often enough long ago that she was too exhausted to manage it anymore. She looked like she was trying to compose herself, and Casey suddenly had a very bad feeling about what she was going to say.
Her voice wavered as she spoke, and her hands and the photos shook slightly, but all things considered she was surprisingly calm. “They're dead. They... it happened almost a year and a half ago, for Ryan. We'd heard about the settlement and were trying to get to safety in the mountains, but... there's been zombies. A lot of them. My brother... he did his best to keep them off of us, but he'd been bitten, and... well. You know.”
“Yeah.” It didn't feel adequate, but Casey wasn't sure what else to say.
“Martha... she made it to the settlement here with me. I helped her keep going. And she tried, I know she did, but...” Kate sighed. “I don't think her heart was in it anymore, to be honest. She watched her own husband turn, and Alexa... We don't even know what happened to her. We wanted to believe the best–I still do–but I think at some point Martha just figured that there was no way she survived, and... I don't know. I guess she just gave up. She passed away here in the settlement less than a year ago.”
Casey felt ill inside. He didn't even know these people beyond their photos, and yet the news horrified him. And Alexa, this would crush her. After so much searching...
Kate shuffled the photos again so the one of Alexa and her grandpa was visible, and smiled down at it fondly for a moment before her expression went sad again. “I... don't have any news on Dad or Alexa. I don't know what happened to them. I just remember taking this picture not too long before Z-day happened...”
Her expression turned into a confused frown, and her finger ran over the photo, gently touching the smiling faces of her father and niece. “I took this picture and gave it to Alexa,” she said suddenly, looking up at Casey again. “Why do you have her things?”
“Because I'm tracking people down for her. Alexa's a close friend of mine. I've been traveling with her–she's alive and she's fine.”
Kate' eyes went wide at the revelation, and Casey couldn't help but grin a little as her expression shifted rapidly from that exhausted sadness to exhilaration–she really was related to Alexa, no doubt about that.
“Alexa's alive?” she gasped, leaping to her feet again. “Is she really okay? Where is she, did she come with you? I want to see her, it's been so long.” She looked a very confusing mix of anxious and excited that baffled Casey more than a little as she added, “We were so worried we'd never see her again after that field trip she took, especially when we heard about the child protection camps being swarmed by zombies...”
She trailed off, so Casey hastily reassured her before it could dip into uncomfortable territory again, “She's fine! Really. She couldn't come with me, I had to leave her back at the medical facility at the Base in Indiana–”
“Medical facility? What happened?”
“She's fine,” Casey said, wishing he was better at this whole reassuring thing, because so far all he'd done was make her worry even more. “I promise. She just got a little sick when we were traveling from New Avalon to the Base. But she's making a full recovery, I made sure of it before I came out to find you...”
He explained as briefly as he could about their journey from New Avalon to central U.S., based on a tip that they might find Alexa's family in the mountain range. Casey was careful to leave out most of the gruesome details, and toned down the severity of Alexa's illness considerably–there was no use worrying Kate now that all was said and done.
He added that Alexa had never stopped searching for them since the outbreak hit, and that it was her obvious disappointment at being forced to break her search for the winter that had prompted Casey to come looking for people he'd never even met in the first place.
“I figured I had a better shot at it than she did, and now I can bring her back some news about you,” he finished.
“This was a very noble thing to do, Casey.” She smiled, although her eyes looked suspiciously wet. Oh no, don't cry, Casey thought in a panic. I don't know how to deal with that, that's Alexa's department, not mine!
But Kate was apparently made of much stronger stuff than that, because she didn't actually start crying and when she spoke next, her voice was full of determination. “I'm going back with you.”
“What?” Casey had not been expecting that. He'd just sort of assumed he'd scout everything out, figure out where the noteworthy settlements were, and head there directly with Alexa in the spring, instead of spending months searching the mountains.
“You heard me.” Kate gave him a firm look, and Casey wondered vaguely if this was what it was like to get stared down by a mother with a no-nonsense attitude.
“That's a bad idea,” Casey said, frowning. “Alexa got sick from traveling in bad weather, and it's way colder now. Moving around is already tricky for me–it's going to be harder for you. No offense.” But he wasn't going to risk getting Alexa's aunt killed from a treacherous slip or from the cold after going through all this trouble to find her. Especially after learning she was basically the only family Alexa had left.
Kate shook her head, crossed her arms, and said firmly, “I know the risks. Winter in the mountains is dangerous. But I haven't seen my niece in three and a half years, Casey, and I've worried about her every day since the Z-plague started. I'm not going to sit here until spring thaw when I know exactly where she is after all that time. One way or another, I am going to be out of this settlement and heading towards that base before the week is out.”
Casey shook his he
ad in exasperation. Well, now he knew where that stubbornness of Alexa's came from–it was clearly in the blood. He didn't doubt for a second she'd set off on her own if she had to. And after that stunt Alexa pulled when she was sick, Casey was absolutely not willing to let Kate out of his sight until she was back at the Base safely.
“Okay,” he growled, still exasperated and not even bothering to try and hide it, “fine, have it your way. I'll take you with me, but you need to listen to everything I say, okay? If you live here I'm guessing you're not familiar with zom travel, and it's not easy. I'd like to get you back in one piece and it'll be easier if you cooperate.”
“You're an expert, are you?” Kate asked, raising an eyebrow. It didn't sound mocking, strangely enough, just curious.
“No,” Casey said truthfully. “Alexa is. She taught me everything I know. I'm just a fast learner.”
Kate smiled fondly. “She always was brilliant, even back then... I'm not surprised in the least to learn she mastered zombie travel. They'd be so proud of her.” Her face fell for a moment, and Casey didn't have to ask who 'they' were.
Then she shook her head, and said firmly. “Alright, Casey, you have yourself a deal. I'm smart enough to know when to listen to somebody who knows what they're talking about. You tell me what to do and I'll do it, and we'll make it back to Alexa as quickly as we can.”
Casey nodded in agreement.
He insisted on staying in the settlement for a full day in order to resupply and get Kate ready for the trip, and was thankful that she didn't argue the point. Kate, it seemed, had far more patience then Alexa did, and was willing to concede that time was necessary for preparations–unlike his friend, who was much more likely to try and rush into things. When he pointed it out, Kate merely laughed.
Kate also proved to be determined and, much like Alexa, did her best to carry her own weight and earn her keep. Over the course of the day she traded in everything of worth she possibly had in her possession for travel supplies: food, warmer clothing, and half a dozen other things that Casey suggested after racking his brain for things Alexa'd used in the past.
There was no need for a weapon, at least; by this point the weather was cold enough that zombies would no longer be a problem, and Casey was positive he could protect her from any other potential dangers out there.
Casey checked and rechecked all their supplies at least two or three times before he was satisfied, but finally determined they were ready. Kate spent the rest of the evening saying her goodbyes to the other settlers before finally settling in for a good night's rest.
Casey insisted on it–he wasn't sure when they'd be getting it again. Zoms wouldn't be an issue, but he wasn't sure how much rest Kate would be able to get with the cold like this. But I am not going to let Alexa down, he promised himself. I'm going to get her aunt back to her if I have to wade through a field of zombies to do it.
And with that familiar stubbornness to reassure him, he fell into a restful sleep.
They were off at dawn, seen off by most of the settlers, and Casey spent most of their next few days of mountain travel carrying all their supplies and frequently Kate as well. The footing was frequently too slippery and treacherous, or the snow piled too high, for a normal human to make any headway, and Casey wasn't about to take the risk.
Fortunately Kate didn't whine and moan about being carried “like a baby” or “like a damsel” every thirty seconds the way Alexa did, which made things a little easier. Without having to wander all over the mountain range he pushed straight through at a steady pace, and halfway through the second week of November they were finally out of the Saint Francois Mountain Range.
From that point on things were a little easier. Which was not to say that getting back was easy; it wasn't. By now the snow was thick, it was very cold, and they had to be very careful to take it slow so that Kate didn't get sick or have her strength sapped away by the weather. She never complained, and was always determined to keep going, insisting she was fine.
However, Casey had learned his lesson with Alexa, and kept a vigilant eye on Kate to make sure she really was fine, because he was not going to be the one explaining to his best friend why he was hauling her aunt into the Base with a case of pneumonia or hypothermia or who knew what else due to his negligence a second time.
It was a little better than his last trip to the Base, at least. Casey was extremely glad he'd marked safe-zones for himself on the way in, because they were a blessing in disguise now. He was able to stop them at safe intervals regularly to let Kate get some much-needed rest, food and shelter, and since he'd reinforced most of the areas already they were also decent for providing warmth once he started a fire.
If Kate was irritated with their frequent stops and slow but careful travel she didn't complain, and appeared to be adhering steadfastly to her half of the deal–to listen to the expert–without fail. Casey reminded himself to have her give Alexa a sound lecture on that later, when they got back to the Base.
It was slower going back than it had been getting to the mountains with the weather and an unexpected travel companion, making a week-long solo trip stretch into two with an extra person. But they did it, and it was with no small degree of triumph that Casey marched up to the Base's gates in late-November, giving the guards–the same ones as before–a cool look. “I'm back, with another friend. Let's get this over with, fast this time.”
To their credit, they had the zom dogs there in under a minute, and silently let him back through without a single argument. Casey smirked, and blatantly ignored the newly patched and discolored stone on the wall as he strode past it with Kate trailing after him.
A quick stop by the medical facility told Casey that Alexa had long since officially recovered and been released to make room for newer patients. The nurses directed him to one of the large buildings that had been converted to sleeping quarters for travelers, though, where Alexa had since been given a bed.
It was close to nightfall by now, and too cold to hang around outside after dark, so Alexa would probably be in by now. They made a beeline for the traveler's dorms without a shred of hesitation, and Kate even had a new spring in her step despite being exhausted from walking all day.
Finding Alexa wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be. Travelers weren't as common at the Base as they were at New Avalon due to being smack in the middle of central U.S.'s zom swarms, meaning the building wasn't packed with visitors wintering there for the season.
He found Alexa by herself on the second floor of a classroom converted into a dorm room with half a dozen cots packed into it, flipping through Casey's book. She looked up idly when Casey barged into the room, but tossed the book aside immediately and jumped to her feet when she recognized the newcomer.
Casey frowned. “Hey, be careful with that book–”
“Where the hell have you been?” Alexa interrupted, nearly screeching the question. Casey blinked at the blatant anger and worry that saturated Alexa's voice, and at the expletive–Alexa was prone to none of those things, and it sounded strange coming from his friend.
Seconds later Alexa was rambling a million words a second, gesturing wildly to emphasize her point. “I've been worried sick! Hunting trip, yeah right, you've been gone way too long for that, it's been almost two months, I figured you'd left or something or maybe you just found a convenient mine or whatever to fall into, and you lectured me on stupid stunts LS and then disappear for this long, did you think I wouldn't worry, I swear–”
Casey actually backed up a pace at the verbal onslaught, uncomfortable, and glanced over his shoulder. “Help?”
“Yeah, you'll need help when I'm done with you, maybe I can't punch you without breaking my hand but I can chew you out with the best of them, I mean I learned from the best, but seriously what were you thinking–”
“Alexa,” Kate interrupted, stepping through the doorway. Her tone lecturing, but the way she was grinning, it was obviously joking. “Is that really the way to speak to your friend,
after he's gone though all this trouble for you?”
Alexa froze, and slowly her stare shifted away from Casey to the woman behind him. Her eyes widened, and her jaw worked, but her steady stream of rambling words had suddenly dried up, and for the first time in many years Alexa was struck speechless.
Epilogue
For a long time–past seconds; it had to be minutes, hours, years–Alexa could only stand there and stare at the newcomer. It wasn't–it couldn't be–it was just too impossible, her brain couldn't process it, she just couldn't–
But she knew her. And then Kate smiled–it was tired looking and a little bittersweet but also oh so happy and she knew that smile, she'd known it for her whole life–and Kate said in a voice that she heard constantly in her memories and knew all too well, “Oh, Alexa... look at you, you've grown so much in just three years... you just had your birthday, right? Sixteen now?”
She found her voice enough to whisper softly, “Aunt... Aunt Kate?”
