Alice, have you seen Aeron?" I asked, my eyes focused on her.
Brenda shook her head. "No, Alice, unfortunately. Is there a problem?"
"Everything's fine, don't worry," I said, but something inside me felt off. "Swan, have you seen him?"
Swan turned her head and responded. "No, I haven't, Alice. But he's probably at the old caravan."
"Maybe," I replied. My inner voice quickly thought: He promised he wouldn't go back there… But I didn't care at that moment, I knew I had to go to the caravan. "By the way, your hair looks great, Swan. You look much better," I said with a small smile. "I'm going to the caravan, see you later."
"Thanks, Alice. See you." Swan replied, but something felt odd inside me. An emptiness... like a missing piece.
Aeron always went to the old caravan when his morale was low. Well, honestly, he was always down, so he was almost always there. But he had promised me he wouldn't go back there. Still, I was sure he was there, right now. Since he lost his sister, that place had become his refuge. And that troubled me.
When I got to the caravan, I found him, just as I expected.
"Aeron," I called out. He just turned his face toward me, his expression unreadable. He looked pale, drenched in sweat. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaky.
"Aeron," I said, stepping closer to him. "I understand. Really, I do. But I'm struggling to give hope to these people all by myself. I get it, I wouldn't want to lose Elsa either, but please… try to pull yourself together. It's been two years since we lost Elsa. Please… please…"
At that moment, I lost myself. I collapsed onto my knees, tears flooding my eyes. It was the first time in my life I had cried like that. Back at the orphanage, or even when the outbreak started, I couldn't cry for those I lost. But now… I was crying. And no one had ever seen me this vulnerable. The strangest part was that I couldn't even recognize myself in that moment. It felt like all my emotions had collapsed on me.
---
Aeron's Perspective
"Alice?" I called out, but she only responded with her silent sobs. It was the first time I had ever seen her cry—no, the first time I had seen her this broken. Usually, Alice, one of our leaders, was always the most positive one. Seeing her like this, it caused an immense pain in my chest. I didn't know what to do. I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her, resting her head on my chest.
She was crying so hard that she could barely breathe. "Alice, please, calm down," I said, but she couldn't. The more she cried, the more it hurt me. It was as if a dagger was lodged in my heart.
"Alice," I called out again, but she didn't respond. I quickly checked her heartbeat, and thank God, she was just asleep. But it felt strange. Since the outbreak began, this was the first time I had seen Alice like this.
I laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. She was shivering, burning with fever, and muttering incoherently. She kept repeating someone's name: "Lowell, no, Lowell, don't go, Lowell..."
It was the first time I had ever heard that name. Who was Lowell? And why was Alice repeating it? I had met Alice through my sister Elsa. She had stayed at the orphanage for a short while. After turning 18, she had found a job and left. From what Elsa told me, Alice had no family. She never spoke about it, and I never asked. But in that moment, I realized there was something more inside her.
---
I grabbed the radio and called Amanda. "Can you ask Bert for some fever medicine?" I asked.
Amanda, like Bert, was part of the pharmacy team. But she was also a nurse. When we rescued her from the raiders, she had been severely injured. But Alice never gave up on her, and now she was leading the pharmacy team, providing us with much-needed healing.
Don't worry, I'll explain who the raiders are, what this group is about... all in detail. But right now, I need to figure out what's happening with Alice.