Ellie paced as she waited for Marlene to get back. It had been too long since she left. Ellie had heard gunfire from outside Marlene's locked apartment and was starting to worry about her possibly being amongst the dead Fireflies. She looked up at the clock for the hundreth time and let out a groan of frustration. She was getting bored and restless... And she was feeling a little lonely. She wanted a friend to talk to. Someone to tell jokes to, and snuggle with... Someone she could love, and be genuinely loved back. She wanted a guy to love her. Stupid fucking hormones. She shook her head and looked back at the clock again.
'Where the fuck is she?' Ellie thought to herself, growing quite impatient with how long Marlen had been gone. And all the explosions and gunfire wasn't making her feel better. 'She said she would be right back! Is she alright? Did the military capture her? What if-!'
All of a sudden the door opened, with Marlene falling on the floor, a blood stain above her right hip and an older man helping her up. "Get the fuck away from her!" Ellie yelled as pushed down the button on her switchblade, ready to stab the unknown man in the throat when a lady's hand grabbed her wrist.
"Hey, hey hey!" The woman said as she defended the bearded man from the blade.
"Reqruitin' a little young aren't ya'?" The man asked in a thick Texan, eyeing the teen. She was way too young to be a firefly. Or at least that's what he thought.
Marlene winced in pain. "She's not one of mine."
'Great,' Ellie thought. 'Who are these people?'Ellie waited nearby as the adult talked, not paying as much attention to them as much as her knife. She found out that the bearded man was named Joel, and the woman with him was Tess. She eyed the two characters, not trusting them one bit. Who the fuck were they? And what did they want with Marlene? Or more importantly, what did Marlene want with them?
"Wait a minute," Joel said, a concerned and annoyed look on his face. "We're smuggl'n her?"
'Wait... Marlene's not going to take me?' Ellie asked herself, already not liking where this was going. If her guardian couldn't take her, why couldn't some of the other Fireflies?
The lady named Tess spoke up. "I wanna see the weapons."
"Of course," Marlene said, wincing as she pressed her own hand hard into the bullet wound to slow the bleeding. "We'll go to my camp, I can get patched up, and you can see the merchandise." She then looked at Ellie. "I want you to go with Joel and wait."
Joel and Ellie spoke at the same time.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm not sure that's-" Joel took a step toward Marlene from the other side of the room, but Ellie was already in front of her.
"Wait, I'm not going with him-!"
"Ellie!' Marlene looked at her, not in the mood to argue. She had to keep herself calm. High blood pressure meant more blood loss, and that wasn't an option. Not before she was able to at least see if Ellie could be the one to help save the world.
Ellie looked at Tess and Joel. She then looked at the woman and sighed. "How do you know these people?"
"I worked with his brother, Tommy. He said any time I needed him I could trust him." She replied quietly, nodding to Joel.
He chuckled. Ah, yes. His baby brother with his 'quest' to rid the word of military and infected alike. "Was that before before of after he left your little group?" He
Marlene looked insulted, saying, "He was a good man."
"Marlene, I-" Ellie began softly, but the woman cut her off.
"Not another word. Please. Do this for me."
"Jesus," he whispered, looking at Tess. She smiled and chuckled.
"She's just cargo, Joel."
He looked back at Ellie. He motioned her to follow him as he walked past her. "C'mon, then."
Before Ellie knew it, she was going with the man named 'Joel' to his hiding spot until his friend, 'Tess,' returned from verifying their weapons. They walked through the streets and ducked behind cover, hiding from passing military trucks. It was one thing for Joel to get caught after curfew. He would likely spend time outside the wall looking for supplies. Ellie on the other hand would either get a bullet in the back of her skull or the needle. She didn't know which was worse. She followed him up a flight of stairs and through the only door at the end of the hall that didn't have a military lock on it. Once they were inside Joel laid down on the couch in the middle of the room and closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Ellie asked, obviously confused why he was just going to lay there doing nothing. Didn't he have anything else to do?
He answered simply, not opening his eyes. "Killin' time."
She shrugged, putting her palms out, and looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "And what am I supposed to do?"
There was only a ghost of a smile on his face, but he never opened his eyes, or moved really. "I am sure you will figure that out."
She looked at the door and the back at him, studying him for a moment as he lay on the couch, his right forearm over his forehead and his left hand on his stomach. His hair was pretty clean, and his beard was kept at about 2 or 3 inches, only a little grey starting to appear here and there. He looks okay. For an old guy... "Your watch is broken." She said as she walked past him to get to the window.
Looks okay for an old guy? She repeated in her mind. What the fuck am I saying?! He's waaaaaay too old! He doesn't look that good... does he? She felt her face heat up and did not want to turn around to look at him. Nope. Not at all. Not one bit. But her thoughts betrayed her. He's not THAT bad, Ellie... "Shut up," she whispered to herself, looking at him over her shoulder.