~ The young girl pulled her coat tighter around herself, mindful to keep out of the searchlights. She agilely jumped from shadow to shadow keeping to the outer perimeter of the fence. She could barely see her makeshift ladder she'd left down on the south wall. Her lips curled into a smug smile. It had been a solid week since she'd come up with her escape route – still undetectable, still a secret.
Just as she was approaching her entrance in, one of the spotlights shot over her without warning.
She lurched to the ground, barreling into a nearby bush.
"HALT! SHOW YOUR HANDS OR I'LL FILL YOUR GODDAMN ASS WITH BULLETS." A commanding voice ordered from behind the blinding light, followed by the sharp cock of a sniper. She recognized the voice.
"April it's me, don't shoot." She slowly emerged from the underbrush, flicking her hood back, hands raised.
"Ellie?" April aimed the spotlight down out of Ellie's eyes, lowering her gun.
"Thanks. Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you. Oh shit, y-you didn't call backup did you?" Her eyes adjusted to the dark, making out the dark figure at the top of the tower.
"No, not yet. I was just about to. Today's your lucky day, squirt." She planted the rifle on the deck, resting her arms on the butt.
"Oh thank god," she bent over, placing her hands on her knees in relief. "Yeah, you're telling me… I should have died at least 3 times today."
April sighed loud enough for Ellie to hear, "Jesus, Ellie. Joel's gonna ring your neck."
Her head shot up in panic, "FUCK. Joel! Don't tell Joel! I'm BEGGING you."
"Oh man. Oh man. Oh man. Oh SHIT. What am I gonna do? Joel…" She began to pace through the brush, hands clasped above her head.
"Ellie! Ellie… It's alright. I'll cover your ass, but only this once. But what even happened?"
"WH- I owe you! You are my fucking hero." She prostrated herself in front of the tower.
April let out a small chuckle, "get up, you weirdo. But, I'm serious. What happened?"
Ellie lifted herself from the ground, brushing her jeans off, "Yeah, about that… That's a story for another time. I swear I'll tell you later. Hey, when's your next shift?"
"Tomorrow. I have evening watch until 10."
"Geez. You have the worst times. Who even schedules this shit? Is it Todd? Fuck Todd. He always gives himself the best-"
"Ellie." April brought the auburn-haired girl out of her rant.
"Right. Okay, I'll swing by with some grub around 8 and I'll tell you everything."
"Bring a flask of shine and we'll call it even."
"Roger Dodger." She mock-saluted the grinning woman.
"Alright, you. Now scram."
"Thanks, April. See ya tomorrow." She grabbed her backpack from the bush and jogged to her entrance.
Once at the top, she gathered her ladder and stashed it in its hiding place. She put her hood up, covering her face. If anyone else noticed her, there would be a zero percent chance she could convince Joel of her "innocence".
She scrambled through the town, using the cover of darkness to her advantage. The place was so poorly lit; it was hardly a challenge to stay hidden. She was careful when passing underneath old Murray's balcony. The guy was a known insomniac. Most nights he leaned on his railing smoking some expired cigars. The faint smell of tobacco tainted the night air. She glanced up, seeing the reddish light of old Murray's Montecristo. The old geezer was pretty damn consistent.
She continued her cautious trek to block C, avoiding a few of the community's dogs along the way. She entered her building and climbed the 7 flights of stairs. With each platform she reached, the more anxious she grew.
"Ok. Come on Ellie. He's probably asleep."
"But what if he isn't." She stopped dead in her tracks, gripping the wall.
She created a scenario with herself, "Oh hey, Joel. I see you're still up…. Oh where have I been? I was with Bea and Danny. Sorry, I lost track of time. It won't happen again- Bullshit? That's really fucking rich, coming from you."
"Don't be bitter, Ellie."
"Let's try this again." She continued the ascension to her doom.
"I know I'm late, but I have a good reason. Bea and I saw a deer and we wanted to nab it for everyone. Except we lost sight of it and it took FOREVER to track- Oh where is it? We couldn't find it after the sun set."
She opened the door to floor 7. She twisted her ring finger between her index and thumb as she came to 709. She slowly turned the knob, seeing nothing but darkness inside as she pushed the door open.
She exhaled with relief, relaxing her tensed shoulders.
"Where the hell you been?" the nonchalant drawl startled the young girl.
"Joel." She flicked the light switch on. The delay in the bulbs flashed over the greying, disappointed man sitting on the weathered sofa.
"Well?" He lifted himself from the couch, crossing his arms.
"I lost track of time. Bea and Danny got a crossbow so we tried it out in the woods. I didn't know it was so late."
"Christ, girl. I ain't stupid. Unfortunate for you, Bea and Dan came by here askin' for you a few hours ago." He tightened his gaze, scrutinizing the nervous teenager.
"Oh…"
"'Oh' is right. Now, mind tellin' me what you've really been up to?" He stood directly in front of her.
"Nothing. I just needed space. Okay? I was about to go insane."
"Okay, I get it, but you don't need space until 3 in the morning. Do I have to remind you that you have a curfew? It's not to make your life more difficult. It's to make sure you're safe."
"That's so stupid! I can handle myself! You know that!" Ellie clenched her fists, staring straight into his wrinkled eyes.
"Ellie, don't start this-"
"What? I am capable and independent. I'm sorry if you can't accept that, but it's true. So stop treating me like a kid! You can't watch out for me forever."
Something broke in his gaze. A glint of sadness and regret flickered through his eyes.
"I can try, can't I?" He uncrossed his arms, breaking down his barrier.
A moment of silence cast the two into stillness.
"Look, can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm pooped." She shrugged her shoulders, avoiding his stare.
He gave a heavy sigh, plucking a leaf from her tangled hair, "You best tell me the truth."
She nodded, puckering her lips in thought, "okay."