The leaden sky envelopes the two men as they climb through the ruined walls and defenses of the town. They make their way to the center of the town populated only by the bodies of the former citizens and the birds that fed upon them. The silence broken only by their occasional calls – though this doesn't seem to help the older of the two men relax. While his partner checks some of the closer corpses for supplies the older of the two keeps pulling out the scope of a rifle and looking around nervously. After his fifth time doing this the younger of the two finally breaks the silence.
"Daniel, what are you doing?" His bright tone makes the flippant question carry throughout the ruins and echo back to the two of them. Daniel freezes with the scope halfway down and furtively checks the surrounding houses. Having ensured their safety, he whirls on his partner.
"No names!" He hisses, eyes flashing dangerously. His companion shrugs off the command with a flippant sorry thrown over a retreating shoulder as he enters a nearby house. Daniel shakes his head and begins investigating the body before him.
"So, Zach, what exactly are we doing investigating these stiffs? The supplies are in the houses. Look at what I found!" He holds up a lacquered wooden device that reminds the younger of an oddly-shaped paddle. Daniel glances up and rolls his eyes.
"Yes, because what you need is another way to annoy me. That's a guitar, and we don't need it." He leaves the body – the jean jacket was too torn and bloody to be of any use – and heads to the next body.
"Whatever, Luke." Daniel hears the dig in the response, but ignores it. He flips the body over and sees an all too common sight these days.
"Nathan, stay alert. She's bitten." Almost as if by magic, a large knife is in his hand. His other hand pulls out the scope and starts investigating the surrounding houses. He reaches one a ways down the road when he spots movement – he thinks. He turns to warn his partner but he's preoccupied with a large corpse a few yards away.
"Nathan! What the hell are you doing?" He storms over, but stops short when he sees the tear fall down his face.
"I don't remember much about the Hunters you saved me from, but Esperanza tells me that many people who outlived their loved ones would often kill them for them. Mercy killing or something." He reverently strokes the folded arm and adjusts the broken watch so it partially hides the bite on the man's arm.
"Yeah, a lot of times they couldn't do it themselves. So others had to. Actually did it myself for a few of my comrades. Both military and Firefly." As always, the mention of his past makes Daniel twist his face as though it leaves a bitter taste. His partner used to find it funny as a child, but now he hardly notices it.
"Someone posed him though. There's some blood on his hand, so I'm guessing it was suicide. Right?" He faces Daniel. Though the question is about the suicide but Daniel can hear the deeper question behind it.
Before he can respond, a gun cocks and both he and his partner pull their own guns and point them at the woman before them. Her auburn hair in a ponytail contrasts starkly with the green eyes staring out from under a black cap, but all Daniel notices is the Firefly pendant around her neck. He points his gun at the flat disk and addresses her.
"You know it's dangerous to wear that now-a-days, right?" Her eyes never waver from him but she shifts the gun to the partner. When he starts to move between them she smiles a cold smile.
"Alright Soldier, why don't you and your Hunter fuck buddy leave before I blow your fucking brains out?"
"Hey, ma'am, we don't want any trouble, we're just passing though trying to find Salt Lake City." The partner holsters his weapon and spreads his arms in a placating gesture. "My name is Michael. The rude one there is Daniel."
"I don't give a fuck what your name is. You're both leaving. Now." She gestures using the gun, but neither Daniel nor Michael move.
"Now listen, my partner here did you a dumb favor, least you can do is tell us your name." Michael shoots him a dirty look, but Daniel can't help but to notice that every time he shifts closer to the body with the watch her breathing changes.
Daniel, they're connected somehow. Use that against her. She's threatening Michael. Kill her!
He shrugs off the voice and ignores Michael's worried look. "Your name, Miss."
"Riley Abel. My name is Riley."
Michael moves a step closer, "Hi Riley, it's…" Daniel cuts him off.
"She's dead. My first job was to bury her. Try again." He pulls the hammer back on the gun absent-mindedly, but inside his mind is racing, Riley, older man, why do those sound familiar?
"Now, ma'am, we're trying to be civil here, we just need a place to bed for the night and we…" Again, Daniel cuts him off.
"Ellie. Ellie Williams, immune. Escorted by Tess and Joel to the Fireflies outside of Boston." Taking her surprised look as confirmation he continues, "Tess later found dead, believed to be alive with Joel, high priority given to her safe arrival to Lab Base." He remembers turning down the job offer, too preoccupied with hunting Rip.
Michael only nods his head and again spreads his hands.
"I'm guessing he's right?" She nods automatically, her green eyes glisten with tears that betray her silent glare.
"That would make Joel the stiff?" Ellie startles at the question as Michael shouts "Daniel!" She swings the gun back to him sending Michael into a panic, but Daniel breaths an inward sigh of relief.
"Miss. Williams, may I call you Ellie?" She doesn't respond but continues matching Daniel's stare with her glare. "Ellie, I'm sorry for my father's rudeness. He's a bit uncultured. I'm working on it. But, please, don't shoot him, it wouldn't end well for any of us. So, Daniel, you lower your gun, Ellie, you don't shoot; okay?"
Neither of them move. Somewhere a crow caws.
"Well then, Daniel. Lower your gun!" He finds his gun arm being pushed down and reluctantly lowers it all the way. Michael moves from his side to between them.
"Ellie, we just want to stay the night. We'll be gone come morning light. We're willing to share some supplies to compensate." Daniel opens his mouth to object but Michael shoots him another glare and he decides to bite his tongue.
Ellie lowers the gun and slides it in the waistband of her jeans. She turns around and heads off with a fine and a bird thrown over her shoulder.
That night, as their fire dies down, Daniel and Michael finish their meal and find themselves talking about the town.
"What do you think happened here?" Daniel doesn't look up from the map of Salt Lake City and only shrugs. Undeterred by his father's non-answer, Michael presses on, "It looks like someone took down the wall. There were bomb marks on around the hole."
"It doesn't matter. Shit happens. We just need to keep moving. It looks like we need to take this highway to get there. Should lead straight in."
"It will. It's how Joel and I came home." With the light of the fire in her eyes, Ellie melts into the light from the forest surrounding the campsite. "You promised supplies, ante up."
"What?"
"She means she wants them now. Sorry, he isn't from Before." Daniel starts rooting in his bag as Ellie sits down close to the fire. Michael offers her some of their venison, but she seems reviled by it. Instead she pulls out can of beans from her pack and opens it with her knife. She takes a few bites and turns so she's facing Michael.
"So, why are you guys looking for St. Mary's?" Daniel freezes as his blood runs cold.
"Well, we have some information for them." Ellie eats another portion of her meal.
"Information?" Daniel moves out of the light and pulls his gun out, lightly cocking it so that she won't hear it.
"Yeah. We think…well, we hope we have some information about a cure." Ellie's can freezes in midair as she stares bewildered at Michael.
"A cure? You have a cure?" She rubs her arm, and Daniel finally remembers the rest of the assignment.
He presses the gun to the back of her head and with malice in his every word whispers, "You were supposed to be the cure, weren't you?"
"Daniel, what the fuck Dad?" Ellie doesn't even flinch.
"Yeah, but it didn't work out. Hard to make a cure when you're dead."
The gun wavers as Daniel process the words. Michael stares at her.
"What do you mean 'dead'?"
"Do you know how they wanted to make the cure? They wanted to cut my brain out and use the Cordyceps inside me. Joel took offense to that and killed them. Puts a real kink in making a cure."
"Oh my God, he killed them all?" Michael's voice betrays his horror, but Daniel only smiles.
"Do you know if there was a blonde woman, about my height? Real bitch?" She scoffs.
"I was under the whole time. So I don't know. But if she got between him and me, then nearly guarantee she died. Sorry." She rises and turns back to Michael. "Sun rise is in about 3 hours. If you're still here in 3 hours and 5 minutes, I'll kill you where you stand. Understand?" Michael nods and Daniel puts his gun back in its holster. As Ellie disappears into the darkness of the town, she stops and turns.
"Michael, you can't chase dreams. Dreams died a long time ago and went down a Clicker's throat. This world is shit. Get used to it." She fades into the shadows and is gone.