It was night, I always liked looking at the sky around this time, lights are all off and the star are all shining lets me see the sky in a whole knew view. I'm sitting there beside the wall polishing my blade making sure it's wasn't dull. Then I see Ellie there sitting on the chair watching the rain fall upon the window, got me thinking if wasn't fact that she was cargo we could've be good friends. Don't get me wrong we are friend but after to today there is little chance I'm ever gonna see her again. I then hear Joel mumbling in the next room. He must be having another nightmare, for as long as I knew him most of the his night were just him having a nightmare, I think it was the reason why he sometimes sleeps all day. I hear him gasp as he woke up.
"You mumble in your sleep, I hate bad dreams." Ellie said.
"Yeah me too." .
"I think you'd be consider crazy if you like them." I added jokingly. Got nothing from Joel as usual but Ellie thought was funny. Joel began walking around the room wanted to check on our cargo too.
"You know I've never been this close, to the outside, man look how dark it is." Ellie said awe, she really did had a shelter life before she met Marlene. "It can't be as bad as ii is ou there can it?. She asked I scoffed obvious question.
"Why do think people are staying in here? It's not because of the good service we're getting, and the only ones crazy enough to outside are the one that really want to live." I explain to her.
"And what are you?" She asked me, before I could answer Joel had a quesion to.
"Why on earth do the fireflies anyway?" Wow way to be blunt, classic Joel. Before he could get answer Tess stopped by, huh weird timing.
"Hey sorry it took me so long soilder are fucking everywhere.?"
"How's Marlene?" Ellie asked.
"She'll live. I saw the merchandise and it is a lot, you ready to do this?" Tess asked us.
"Yeah." Joel and Tess both looked at me with concern I get it, I'm a kid that's way in over his head, but where else am I suppose to go home; got none, my family; all dead, these guy are my best bet. I'm going to do something great and I'm gonna follow them even if it kills me. "Aaron you know you don't -" I cut Joel off before he could continue.
"Let me stop you right there Joel, now I may be young but god know that kids like me don't live long so I'm gonna use every chance I get with the people I trust the most and care the most and there ain't nothing you can do to change my mind." I declared sternly.
"Kids these days always tryin' to prove how mature you are." Tess said with a sigh.
"It a gift, now don't we have a girl to deliver?" I asked rhetorically. Making my way to the entrance Ellie and I waited for Tess. A simple push of a bookshelf and in it was a was a generator powered elevator waiting for us.
"So who waiting for us?" as we went down to the tunnel.
"Marlene said that a group traveled all the way to the city for her girl must be important, what are you some big wig daughter or something?" Tess asked
"Something like that." She said vaguely, I looked at her eye for a moment her brown beautiful- wait where is that coming from…anyway when I looked into her eyes I saw a bit of regret of something and fear but mostly regret, makes me wonder what she's regretting about. "How long is it going to take?"
"If everything goes to plan we should be there in a few hours. Ellie once we get out there I need you follow our and stay close. That mean you too Aaron." She said.
"Yeah course." Ellie said.
"You know you guys include me all these rule you guys make I'm not that clumsy, jeez." I complained
"Remember the drop we made back at Cambridge." Tess rebutted.
"Oh come on don't tell me that you two are still on that are you, I said I was sorry but tell me how was I suppose to know that was they were gonna try and trick us?" I asked.
"I don't know why don't you explain why you had that goofy grin on your face when you met her?" Tess replied back, that stop me from saying anything else, a moment of weakness because your a teenager and suddenly I'm the bad guy. After I couldn't give her a good answer I swear in the dark she had like a cat like grin on her face. "That's what I thought."
"Alright closes clear." I think he a was still laughing at the whole drop moment. Stupid adults. Making our to the out side rain started to pour harder than last time. "This rain ain't gonna make thing easier."
"Since when do thing easy for us Joel?" I asked
"I don't know what was that thing you always say endure and Survive?" He asked I just shrugged my shoulders and lead the ladies inside the tilted truck. I don't how or when but whenever we need to do something that would count as an easy drop it get more and complicated along the way.
"Don't move." Like right now. A voice ordered me as he places the barrel of his gun on my head. Great not even 5 minutes from going outside and the military already spotted us must be a new record. "Hands behind your head and get on your knees." He ordered.
"Hey aren't you suppose to take us to dinner first before we get to that?" I asked only to get hit across the face by the butt of the gun. I think he just made one of my tooth loose.
"I scan them call it in." The solider said. Placing the scanner one by one on our heads. I looked beside me and saw Ellie looking more nervous than ever. I wanted to ask her why but by the time the scanner reached for her she used her knife to stab the solider in the leg, I don't know why she did that but I can question it later. The solider struck Ellie back and I caught her in time. Joel came in time to tackle the the ground and use his gun against him. Meanwhile the other solider was about to shoot at Joel when Tess saved him by shooting her in the head.
What felt like hours I was able to breath easy again. It wasn't my first time looking a body won't be my last. "Oh man I thought we were just gonna hold them up or something." Ellie said.
"Why did you stab the guard when he was about to scan you?" I asked.
"Oh shit." Tess said looking at the scanner I wanted to check on it and at the I didn't follow the first part of my gut I rushed to the other and checked the results. 'Contaminated' it reads, I looked at Ellie and back at the scanner. It doesn't make sense.
"Marlene set us up? Why the hell are we smuggling an infected girl?" Joel asked.
"I can explain." Ellie said quickly, I'm still wrapping my head around it.
"Then you better explain fast." Tess said threateningly. Ellie lift up one of her arms and there it was and infected bit but something was off about it, it didn't seem natural. "I don't wanna hear how you got bit."
"It three weeks!" She exclaimed. Wait what?
"No everyone turn in when they get bit so stop bullshitting." Tess argued.
"Its three weeks I swear, why would she set you up?" Ellie pleaded. That was a good question but I needed more proof so I got close to her, taking a look both at her and the bite.
"Aaron get away her!" Tess said but I ignored it, as I got close enough I grabbed her arm and finally took a good look at the bite mark, usually there would be a slight reddish rash in the infected area, not to mention some blemishes to the arm or face, then I looked at her face, it was dark but I could see her eyes clearly there's no shows of redness or dilated pupils, I put two finger on her throat and her heart rate in normal not speeding up or anything. There was something off about the bite...or maybe it was her, I looked right at the girl's eye for a only a few second till I made my decision.
"I believe you." I told her, Ellie looked at me in both shock and relief, as for Joel and Tess they thought I was crazy.
"Aaron you believe that what she's saying is true?" Tess asked me.
"Then why have us smuggle an infected girl in the first place. Marlene knows that the moment she would turn we would have kill her, but she was with me and Joel at the safe house for more than a few hours. The bite mark hasn't spread anywhere and at the moment we've met her she hasn't shown any sign of fever or sickness, I'm willing to bet that there is a reason why. That mean until anything else happens I believe her." I explain.
"I don't." Joel said. Before I could argue a military convoy was getting close to our position. "Oh shit Tess, Aaron run. Run!"He yelled. We sneak past the first and we were in the clear. The second patrol was even easier thank to a sewer pipe near by, once we made it pass them we finally got a breather.
"Well that was a thing." I said which earn some looks from Joel and Tess, I really need to learn to say thing at the right moment. Tess walked up to Ellie I'm guessing she wants more info on this drop.
"Look what was the plan, lets say we deliver you to the fireflies what then?" Tess asked.
"Marlene, said there was a little quarantine zone with doctors still trying to find a cure." Said the red head. I've heard about the cure they've been trying to make and every single one of them has failed. "They said that what ever was inside me was the key into finding the cure." She finished, now it makes sense, now that she's immune she's basically her own personal vaccine kit.
"I'm sure she did." Joel said sarcastically, yeah I would get a little skeptical too.
"Hey fuck you man I didn't asked for this." Ellie said
"No body did but its all we've got so we better make the most of it." I said trying to defuse the tension.
"Oh and hows that?" Joel asked me. I know I was going to regret this.
"Well the point of this drop was to take her to the building, let's just finish what was started." I suggested.
"What are you going on about?" Joel asked.
"...What if its true?" I asked
"Jesus-"
"But what if Joel, maybe there is finally a way to truly make a vaccine? And the only way to do that is to take her there?" I asked
"Oh no this is something only me and Tess are doing you are going back home." Home? Is he serious? We are doing this now?
"Really? Home? And how's that going to work out Joel. In case you're forgetting we've just became enemy of our own town, we got military guards dead and out there looking for us. For all we know they probably think we're firefly too." I argued. "As much you don't want to hear this we've got no other option than finishing up this job." Joel had to look at
"Do Tess and I need to remind you what is out there?" Joel said to me. Really I just saw at his way of saying that he was worried for me. I appreciate him for that but now what not the time for it."
"I get it. Now let's go." I said walking past Joel and walking ahead.
"This way, if we cut through downtown we'll reach the capitol building by sunrise" Tess said.
"We hope." Joel said, ah there's the old optimism we haven't heard in the while. As we make our way to downtown I stay behind with Ellie, she was strangely quiet after what happened.
"Hey you alright?" I asked
"Yeah…look I'm sorry I didn't tell you from the beginning, it was Marlene's idea on saying anything about it." Huh, I guess she thinks I'm still angry at her.
"Hey I understand, I mean how's this as a conversation starter 'so the reason you guys are smuggling me is because for as long as I could remember I find out I am the cure for a twenty year disease that literally cause our world to become a post-apocalyptic wasteland with limited food and power, while try to survive a horde a mutated creature from a strain virus that make people look like a overgrown mushroom'." With my fingers a pointed at the side of my head, and acted as if I was shooting a gun. Ellie seemed to have gotten the joke as she chuckled at me face.
"That's kind how Marlene reacted when we first met." She said.
"Not surprising really. Her method usually ends with you facing the front barrel of her gun. Trust me if doesn't shoot first that usually mean she trust you." I said remembering how she and first met.
"So why do you believe me?" She asked. I looked at pointed my eyes to hers.
"Simple the look in your eyes, its kind a of a thing I picked up while living here all I got to do is have one look at the guys eye and I could see what kind of person you are." I explained
"What do you think?"
"Hmm that's good question let me get back on that." I said. We walked up broken hill to find ourselves up close to a slanted building.
"Holley moley, I guess this what building look up close. Never thought they'd be so tall." This really must be her first time out of the wall. "So what happened?"
"Bomb the hell out it to kill as many infected in the area, it worked for a while." Tess explained. The rain wasn't letting up anytime soon which made it hard for any us to hear one another but that also mean the they won't hear us either. At the very second after a screeching sound echo through the the city almost human.
"Uh what the hell was that?" Ellie asked, great infected are here, my guess is that the infected migrated here to the street.
"Shit you two heard that?" Tess asked. I nodded before reaching for my sword not unsheathing yet just want to be ready for anything. By the time we reach the end of the street a huge hole covered most of down town, this must be where they bombed the area. "Well that's one way we're not going through."
"That's quite the drop. We need to find another way through here." I suggested. I turn to see Joel walking toward a tilted building already I had a bad feeling about this.
"Through here." Joel exclaimed. My gut was right, I can already feel my legs shaking at the size of the building, you see I have a very small fear against height if I was two or three stories high on a roof I'm okay but if say I go into a building like the one we're going to I'm not really combat ready for that. My legs are already stiff as we enter the building, slowly and calmly I control my breathing. That's when I saw a dead bodies beside the door, great infected are probably in the here to.
"Bodies pretty fresh." Yeah no shit Tess.
"Is that bad?" Ellie asked. No offence but that was a pretty dumb question.
"Oh no this is great sign." I said whispering sarcastically. Reaching toward the next floor we saw something that would make our night even more great...a dead clicker's body. "Great Clickers."
"Geez what happened to its face?" Ellie asked.
"It's what happens when you're infected long enough. For most you end up like that." I explained.
"So what are they blind?" She asked.
"Sort of. They see using sound." Tess added.
"Like a bat interestingly enough, but as soon as you hear one clicking you got to hide otherwise they'll spot you." I explained as Joel pries the door open. As soon as we walk through the room the building began to groan, as though as if the building won't be able to hold anymore weight. I just stood at my exact spot.
"Aaron what are you doing we need to move?" Tess said to me.
"Yeah, yeah just give me a second." I replied almost breathless. As I pressed on I began to form a small mantra to myself just to take my mind off the fact that I'm on top off a slanted building. "It's okay, everything is okay." I reassured myself. another door block our way this time something was pressed behind the door. It took Joel and I to push whatever was behind this door, the upside it didn't take long downside we got sneak attacked by a clicker. Acting as fast as I could I draw my blade as a result I sliced the clickers head clean off.
"Thanks." Said Joel, I gave him a simple nod.
"You guys alright?" Ellie asked a again.
"It's nothing." He replied. reaching to the other room, there were clicker left and right, it wasn't easy sneaking and killing them, we then make to another staircase which hopefully will lead us to bottom floor only to find it blocked with office supplies.
"Oh great, now what?" I asked.
"Ahh, this is crazy." Tess said, what was she talking about? She make her way to the open window and jump toward the scaffolding. wait what? "Just don't look down." Oh yeah cause that'll make everything easier! Even before I could get close to the window body froze. I couldn't move, I didn't want to move.
"Aaron what are you doing, we gotta keep moving." Tess called out.
"Alright you guy do that and ill find another way, good? Good alright I'll meet you guy down stairs." I said before I could make my way to the opposite direction a hand was on my shoulder, and I was so close on making my way out.
"What going on?" Joel asked.
"I'm afraid of height okay, I never told you guys because one: there was never a good time and two: I never went this high before." I explained with a shaking breath.
"Look I know that this is terrifying but there will even more scarier stuff along the way, you can do this. Alright." Joel tried to pep talk me.
"...Alright lets do this." I said shaking, making my way to the scaffolding I slowly jumped down on the platform and walked slowly when I heard the creaking. "God fucking hell." I held in a breath when I jumped to the next one and the platform shook from the weight. "You're alright Aaron, you are light as a freaking feather." I whispered. I shimmied my way from the edge and happily made it to the other side.
"You alright kiddo." Joel asked.
"Oh yeah. But I'm not really sure if my fears went away or they just completely intensify." I breathed out, I took in one deep breath before we all went down the building.
"Holy shit we acutally made it." Ellie said in amazement. I couldn't help but agree with her after the building and subway station I really thought we bit the dust a few time.
"Everyone okay?" Joel asked. I nodded my head.
"Yes. Lets move."
"You know you guy are pretty good at this stuff." Ellie commented.
"It's called luck, and it is going to run out." Joel replied.
"So we make the most of it then." I added. I looked around and see that the capitol building is nowhere in sight. "Uh Tess which way's the building again?"
"Uh...capitol building is down this direction." We walked down a street only to find it blocked by a truck container.
"Great. If' it's not one thing it's going to be another." I muttered.
"Let's see what we can find." I heard Tess said, I spotted a hold on a side of a building once I looked inside and found three infected whimpering around the room.
"Psst, Joel." I whispered. He came over and saw the infected too. "You got left?" I asked. He nodded and went straight to work. Quietly I walked up to the infected and cleanly cut off it's head and watched Joel take care of two of them.
"Alright." He said. Tess then came in and took a look at their bodies.
"They're recently infected. Those solider must have just turned." Tess notified.
"That mean there's more in the area. We gotta move." I couldn't agree more. That's when I spotted an old cabinet case in the middle of the room.
"Joel help me out with this." I said holding the handle bar waiting for the old man. We were able to push it right along the container, we climbed over the truck and found a gate, Joel pulled the chain which made a lot of noise at fisrt I thought that we took care of the infect around this area but once we heard that first scream I froze.
"Wait." Tess said stopping Joel.
"What I don't hear anything?" That's when the second scream came in.
"Okay double time." Tess stressed out. Ellie and looked over the truck and found a few already on top of it. "
"Shit." I said.
"They're coming." Ellie said. Joel was able to open it just right where even he could fit in. Quickly we ducked under and ran in holding the gate for the old man where crawled under and slam it shut. Not a second later we stepped back as we hear the infected bang on the closed gate like rabid animals. "Oh...you got something on your shoe." I looked down and saw the dismembered arm of one the infected latched on Joel boot to which he flicked it off.
"Well...that was fun." I muttered.
"Okay. How do we get out of this place?" Joel asked.
"Let's find out." Tess replied.
"*Sigh* Why can't there just be a short cut to the building saying "here you are don't blow it up"?" I asked.
"Because then it would make life to easy." Tess replied. There was no rebuttal to that, life just really wanted to fuck with us. "So Marlene thinks you're immune?" She asked Ellie.
"Well that's what she believe." The girl answered.
"So how were you bitten. I'm sure you were in some sort of school at considering you've never been outside as you said. I'm guessing you must've been somewhere you really shouldn't to find an infected in the zone." I pondered.
"Yeah, I'd sneak out. I was in this military boarding school ." She replied.
"You'd sneak out?" Tess questioned almost shocked.
"You know explore the city. I was in the mall when I ran into infected." Wait the mall?!
"Whoa whoa. Mall? That place was off limits. How the in the hell did you get in?" I asked.
"Oh I had my ways...anyways one of those thing you called runners bit me and that was that."
"I see. Were you with Marlene when you were bitten?" I scoffed at the questioned. "Aaron." I put my hands up defensively silently saying" I did nothing wrong".
"No, I went to her for help afterwards." I looked her in aw
"Knowing her I'm surprise she didn't shoot you." Tess said.
"Yeah she almost did." Called it. It kind was the same way I met Marlene too. "Hope she's alright."
"Knowing her, it'll take more that a simple gunshot wound to take her out. She'll be fine." I assured her. I look over the location found a door. "Okay from the looks of it we came through the back of this building. meaning the exit will have to be somewhere through there." I explained. It's seemed simple enough.
It was not as simple as I hoped. When we went through the build not five minutes in Joel and I got separated from Tess and Ellie due to a weak structure, and to top it off the entire building was filled with clicker and runner. It was long after we finally met up with girls and then we had to deal 2 waves of infected before we can finally breath. But the weirdest thing was with Tess, after we left the building she was acting a little weird. Distant almost, but I shrugged it off as stress with what happened back there.
"You know guys after we're done with this I'm thinking on finally taking a hobby." I said.
"A hobby? And what kind of hobby were you thinking of.?" Joel asked me.
"Well, I hear a guitar is a good way to get your mind off of things." I replied.
"Your gonna learn how to play guitar?" Tess asked me.
"Hey if I could learn how to hold a sword and survive against infected and hunters I think learning how to play guitar will be the least of my problems." I argued.
As we walk along the road we stopped by a dead firefly beside the dumpster. He was holding a letter that talked about Ellie saying how important she is to the group. That was when Ellie said something that really got me thinking.
"What if we get to there and they're all dead?" She asked
"They won't be." Tess reassured.
"How do you know?"
"I just do. Looks it's gonna be fine." Tess said. I wanted to asked if she was alright but something was telling me to let it go. .
The road the capitol was flooded with water it didn't look deep but I was enough to fill a pool.
"Uh just so it out there I can't swim." Ellie said. I looked at her with a slight confusion.
"And you couldn't bring that up when we met?" I asked
"Well why didn't you tell us that you had a fear of height?" Ellie question back. She got me there.
"Touché."
"Look, it looks like it shallow on this side just follow me." Tess replied. The water was cold but had a nice feeling after. The water reached up to hip my guess about 3 feet is the water level.
"I'm glad Marlene hired you guys." Ellie responded. I think that was her way of saying thank but I'm not to sure.
"What do you mean?" Tess asked.
"I know Marlene is paying you guy for this but I'm trying to say thanks." Said Ellie.
"Yeah sure thing." Something was definitely off with here maybe she's just stress after everything we've been through. We reach to the top of the staircase I can already feel my back getting lighter as though all the weight was lifted. Finally we're done. Joel open the door revealing three dead... firefly soldiers.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me." I muttered in frustration.
"What happens now?" Ellie asked. I simply shrugged my shoulders the way I see it Marlene would have sent some more soldiers if this were to happen. I looked at Tess as she frantically search through one on the dead soldiers body.
"What are you doing Tess?" Joel questioned.
"Maybe they had a map or something to tell us which way they're going." I've seen Tess wanting to finish a job before but to this extent not after everything that just happened.
"Tess how far are we going to take this?" I asked
"As far as it need to go!" She answered. Tess paused for a second before looking back at Ellie. "Where was this lab of theirs?"
"She never said all she mentioned that it was someplace out west." Ellie answered. Well at least it a direction.
"What are we doing? This is not us." Joel said to Tess.
"What do you know about us? About me?" Is she really asking that.
"We both know that you smarter than this." Joel said I looked at Tess almost worried.
"Really? Well guess what we're shitty people Joel its been that way for a long time." I don't consider myself as a shitty person, an asshole maybe but not shitty.
"No we are survivor!"
"This is out chance-"
"It is over Tess! We tried, lets just go home."
"Jury's still out on that option. Military might have wanted posters of us by now." I interject.
"I'm not, I'm not going anywhere...this is my last stop." Tess replied.
"Last stop? What do you mean." I asked.
"Our luck had to run out sooner or later." Tess saud she sounded...defeated.
"What are going on abo-?" Joel was about to grab her shoulder when she snapped at us.
"No don't! Don't touch me." She whispered out.
"Holy shit, she's infected." Ellie spoke up. Like a flash my body froze.
"Let me see it." He told Tess.
"I didn't mean for this-" She was evading I was not having any of this.
"Show it to us!" I ordered. Tess opened her collar and show the spread of the infected. My stomach dropped at the sight of it. "Fuck!"
"Oops right?" Tess asked before turning to Ellie. "Give me your arm." She ordered comparing her bite mark with Ellie. "This was three weeks I was bit an hour ago and its already getting worse this is Fucking real Joel, you have go to take this girl to Tommy's, he use to run with the crew he'll know where they'll go."
"No, no that was your crusade. I am not doing that." Joel argued.
"Yes you are, look there's enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me. So you get her to Tommy's."
"And what about you?" I asked. Before she could answer the sound of trucks pulled up in front of the building. I looked out and saw military personnel exiting the vehicle. "Shit it's the military."
"They're here. I can by you some time but you have to run." Tess said to us. I looked at her in shock, she not doing what I hope she not."
"You want us to just leave you here?" Ellie asked.
"Yes."
"There is no way I'm doing that." Joel tried to argue again.
"Neither am I." I voiced my opinion.
"I will not turn into one of those thing. So come on, make this easy for me." I stood by her side through the whole thing I didn't care where she went I followed her, she was like family to me and now I'm losing her. Tess placed a hand on my shoulder and looked deep into my eyes. "Aaron I need you to keep them safe, protect them like you always do?" I shook my head letting my stubborn self stay right by her side.
"No. I'm staying right here, I can help, you and me we take these guys and we'll meet up with them soon." I argued, I can feel my eyes moistening up.
"You've grown up lot since we've met and I won't you throw that away because me. Please don't make this harder than it has to be, your stronger than that remember?" She asked me with the same motherly tone I hated. I gave her one last hug and whispered something to her ear. I can already feel her arm trembling, releasing me from her grasp I slowly jog my way to the back entrance of the room.
I watched Joel close the door as I saw Tess point her gun towards the door.
"What the fuck?! I can't believe we did that!" Ellie yelled.
"Stop." I heard Joel say.
"We just left her to die!" Ellie said. Now it was my turn.
"Ellie!" I yelled not wanting this to drag on. "I know how you feel. But we have to keep moving." I tighten my fist replaying the words Tess made me promise to her. "Take care of Joel for me."
