A Candle in the Dark

He’d come so close to kissing her. She’d been in his arms, staring at him with those wide blue eyes, like she wanted him to just as much as he did. Then his sister just had to ruin it. Ezra pulled on his shirt, ignoring the way that it stuck to his wet torso, and ran his hands through his hair. He was about to put his jeans back on when he looked at Astrid and saw an expression on her face that he’d grown accustomed to in their infernal reality.

“What?” he asked, and Astrid waved at him to be quiet. Eden was dressing at a rapid pace, but Astrid hadn’t moved to put on her shirt or shorts. He wanted to admire her beauty, the way her pale skin reflected the sunlight, but there was no time for that.

Monroe’s ears twitched as she picked up different noises. Slowly, Ezra made his way over to Astrid. He did his best to avoid disturbing the rocky beach, but a few pebbles rolled toward the water anyway. With every soft splash, the three of them winced. Ezra picked up Astrid’s clothes and silently handed them to her.

She looked first at the fabric in his hand, and then her eyes moved up to meet his. They were serious, but he detected a flicker of worry there too. She took her shorts first, buttoning them up, and then slipped on her shirt. Instead of thanking him verbally, she just nodded and knelt down to put on her shoes.

Gesturing back toward the camp, Ezra indicated that they should leave before whatever was on the other side emerged from the trees. Eden was the first to dash, sending a slew of pebbles into the water. They rattled against the other rocks on their way, causing a ruckus that none of them wanted to make. Ezra swallowed, meeting Astrid’s eyes once more. Her knuckles were white as she gripped her crossbow. He wanted to reach over and ease her fingers into his own, but instead he slowly and silently started walking after his sister.

They gathered the ‘leaders’ of the group when they reached the camp; Jack, Bill, and Maddie all stood next to the Jeep with expectant looks on their faces. Eden had disappeared into her tent almost as soon as she got back, but Astrid stuck by Ezra’s side as they prepared to tell everyone what had happened.

“Something is on the other side of the river. I don’t know what, but Monroe was fixated on it.” he explained, gesturing toward the German Shepherd that sat obediently by her master’s side. “It’s only a matter of time before it crosses.”

“You think Walkers can swim?” Bill asked skeptically.

“I’m not sure if it is Walkers. Could be Snatchers, for all we know.”

“This isn’t their territory,” Maddie interjected.

“Maybe they expanded their territory,” Astrid said softly. “Phillip still hasn’t shown up, and he couldn’t have gotten all the way out into Snatcher hunting ground.”

She was sounding more and more like one of the group. It made Ezra smile inwardly. He wanted to pick her up and spin her around, however ridiculous it was. She would probably hit him until he put her back on her feet, but he would enjoy every second.

“And you didn’t see anything?” Jack asked, and Ezra was forced out of his imagination. He chided himself for letting his thoughts get away from the present.

“No. But there is something out there. The dog is smart, she wouldn’t act like that if it were nothing.”

When they parted, Maddie walked back to her tent with an expression that Ezra couldn’t read. He wanted to talk to Astrid again, to clarify what had happened between them in the water, but she was already off after Maddie. With a sigh, he decided that the conversation would have to wait.

Instead he went to his tent, where Eden was huddled in her sleeping bag. Ezra looked at his sister with concern etched onto his face. “What’s up?” he asked, sitting next to her.

“I—I wasn’t thinking,” she stammered. “I didn’t even br—bring a weapon.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ezra said. Normally he would have berated her for the lapse in judgement of their safety, but the look on her face told him that it wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, he brought dinner for the both of them back into the tent, and they ate in silence.

Through the flap of the tent, Ezra watched Astrid. She was sitting with Maddie, murmuring things to her between bites of her meagre meal. Emily had made some sort of stew today, and despite it’s heartiness it didn’t satisfy the gnawing hunger that most of the camp felt.

In the morning they would walk along the riverbank to the narrowest point, where crossing wasn’t a challenge. Then the search would begin, probably over several days. It had been decided that he, Jack, Maddie, Astrid and Monroe would be going. Carter, Javier and Bill needed to keep watch on the camp, just in case whatever had been on the other side of the river had crossed over already.

A flame of jealousy flickered in Ezra’s eyes as he watched Jack take a seat next to Astrid. He said something in her ear and she laughed. He would’ve preferred having Carter or even Javier come with them tomorrow, but it would be suspicious to try and convince Jack to stay. He was a good shot and didn’t freeze in moments of high stress, thanks to his former life as a cop in Dallas.