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Lexa blinks, eyes adjusting to the harsh light of the sun. She doesn’t remember Polis being so bright, but when she’s finally able to distinguish her surroundings, she realizes that she’s not in Polis anymore. Tall, brick buildings surround her. The sky is clear and blue, and the sound of chirping birds fills the air. There’s a dull ache below her chest, but other than that, she feels fine. Lexa stands. She frowns. This is not the City of Light.
There’s a slight scuffling behind her, and she turns to the sound. A figure is hunched over a large bin, it’s clothes tattered and dirty.
“Hello,” Lexa calls out.
The figure turns. Its skin is pale and mangled chunks of dark red body tissue visible in certain areas on its face. Its irises and pupils are milky, and the sclera is a murky yellow. Its mouth opens when it sees her, revealing a row of broken, dirty teeth. It lets out a low groan as it shuffles forward.
Lexa quickly steps back, but as she does so her heel hits something solid. She turns, coming face to face with a wall. A Trigedasleng expletive falls from her lips as the things gets closer. There’s nothing around her that she can use as a weapon, and charging straight at the thing empty-handed does not seem like one of her best ideas.
The things groans again, and Lexa rips off her boot, hurling it forward as hard as she can. It hits the creature between its eyes, and it pauses, staring at her blankly as it lightly sways back. It grunts before continuing to move forward.
Fuck. I literally just died. I am not about to go through this all again.
She holds her breath as the creature gets close enough for the stench to make her eyes water.
Just a little bit closer…
It steps forward, and Lexa is about to kick it when a gunshot rings through the air. A bullet rips through it’s skull and hits the wall next to Lexa’s left ear before dropping to the ground. The thing crumples forward, and Lexa side-steps to avoid it landing on her.
“You alright, mate?”
Lexa looks up, breath catching in her throat as she stares into a pair of familiar blue eyes.
Holy shit.
She finally washed her hair.
“Clarke…?” she can’t bring herself to say much else.
The girl’s head cocks to the side, eyes widening for just a fraction of a second, “Nope. I’m Elyza. Good to meet you,” she slings her gun over her shoulder and sticks out her hand.
“Lexa,” the brunette shakes it hesitantly. Her hands are rough and calloused, not dainty and smooth like Clarke’s were. Not to mention, her voice is like nothing Lexa’s heard before. “Where are we?”
“Good ol’ Los Angeles. Of all places to be when the apocalypse happened…..”
“What is this thing?” Lexa asks, kicking at the body still lying crumpled on the floor.
“Where have you been the past few months? That’s a walker. Well, it was. Now it’s dead,” Elyza’s gaze hardens as she stares down at it. “C’mon, we better head out. They rarely travel alone.”
Lexa quickly grabs her shoe and follows the blonde as she leads them through the streets. As they get farther into the city, the signs of destruction become clearer. Many houses have doors and windows smashed in, and they appear to be abandoned. Elyza keeps a tight grip on her gun, eyes scanning the area for any signs of another walker.
Lexa sticks close to the girl, trying her best to slip the boot back on her foot while keeping up with Elyza. The blonde finally notices her struggle, and she stops. Lexa bumps into her, quickly apologizing before lacing up her shoe.
“Do you have a weapon or anything?” Elyza asks, looking the brunette over.
“I used to have a sword,” Lexa says, “But it wasn’t with me when I die--when I woke up here.”
Elyza hums, glancing up at the sky. The sun is starting to set, and Lexa would love to watch the way the colors fade into darkness, but the blonde begins to walk again. “We need to move faster. It’s still about another mile to the safehouse and we need to get there before nightfall.”
They quicken their pace, only slowing as they approach a large, round tower that looks like a newer version of the one in Polis. Elyza pulls a bobby pin from her pocket and fiddles with the padlock on the door. It clicks open about 5 seconds later, and she leads Lexa inside. She presses a button on the wall, and the two elevator doors ding open.
They go up to the top floor, and Elyza leads them into a room that looks just like Lexa’s. Except that there’s an array of weapons lining the walls, the bed is missing the wooden headboard, and there are absolutely no candles.
How are we supposed to see?
Elyza flips a switch on the wall and the lights sputter to life.
What the hell…
“What’s wrong? Never experienced electricity before?”
Lexa shakes her head and Elyza’s brow furrows, “Seriously?”
“Well, no. I saw it in Arkadia with Clarke, but we didn’t have it in Polis. It never worked in this tower.”
“Polis? Is that where you’re from?” Elyza sheds her leather jacket and hangs it on the back of her chair along with her gun. She opens a drawer and pulls out a tanktop and a pair of cotton shorts.
“No. I am from TonDC. But I had to move to Polis when I was young.”
Elyza strips down to her underwear, and Lexa blushes, quickly looking away. She knows that she had sex with Clarke just a few hours prior to this, but Elyza is not Clarke. Not even close. And seeing her undressed feels wrong.
“TonDC…..do you mean Washington DC?”
Lexa shrugs, waiting a couple moments more before turning around. Elyza is tying her hair into a bun, now fully clothed. Well, almost fully.
Have Clarke’s legs and arms always been that muscular?
When Elyza turns, Lexa notices the tattoos on her wrists. They appear to be lines of script, but the words are to small for Lexa to read. Lexa has half a mind to ask about it, but the thought vanishes as soon as Elyza asks if she’s hungry.
“Here,” Elyza throws a t-shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts at Lexa. The brunette changes quickly, not bothering to hide herself from the blonde’s view.
She can feel Elyza’s gaze on her as she undresses, and when she finally glances at the girl, she notices the appreciative look in her eyes. “You’re very fit,” she comments, bottom lip caught between her teeth.
“Thank you,” Lexa murmurs, rolling up the sleeves of the t-shirt.
“You’re also very familiar. Have we met?”
Lexa’s body tenses; her gaze shifts to the floor. “I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? I could have sworn I’ve seen you before….holy shit. You’re the girl from my dream.”
“What dream?”
Elyza blushes, “Nothing. Just a dream I had. It was a long time ago, I barely remember it.” She subconsciously brushes her fingers against the words on her wrists.
“What does your tattoo say?” Lexa asks, watching the way Elyza’s hands still.
“Life is about more than just surviving,” she mutters, hand rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.
Lexa sucks in a breath, “Did I say that to you? In the dream?”
“Yeah,” Elyza looks puzzled, “How did you know?”
“Can I…..can I try something?”
Elyza nods and Lexa kisses her. The blonde reaches up to cup her cheek, gasping as memories of Lexa and the ground come flooding into her mind. Lexa pulls away first.
"I told you my spirit would find yours.”