The mid afternoon sun was illuminating this old cafe in its orangish yellow light. All I did was gaze out the old, cracked window at the soldiers below me along with Humvee's and random people sitting by walls just talking. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? It was hot in here even under my green and black tank top and jeans. The back of my neck was starting to sweat even though most of my black hair was put up in a ponytail. It hung down on the rest of my free hair and my bangs covered my face. And it was quiet here. I hated it so much.
The reason of me being here is because Marlene, leader of a local group called the Fireflies, said too in avoidance of the soldiers here. And she told me she had to get something but didn't tell me what it was. What could it be? I don't know. I sigh loudly and rub my beaded sweat forehead. No knowing what Marlene had in store for me only made anxious. Not minutes after, I hear the door open. It immediately got my attention and I looked at it.
"I need you to stay here for a little bit. Don't cause any trouble." Marlene said in a majorly as if she was in a rush. What the fuck…? "But Marlene-" someone else said but was cut off. "No more talking. Just stay put. I'll be back soon." Marlene interjected. They sigh in defeat and walk through the door. Marlene then closes the door behind her carefully. My eyes couldn't tear away from who had walked through the door. It was a girl around my age who… looked a lot like my old friend Ellie. No… it can't be. She had the same reddish brownish hair, same freckles, same green eyes, same everything… She gazed back at me and her eyes widened as well.
"Ellie? Ellie, is that really you?" I ask, a smile growing on my face as I stood up from where I was sitting. She walks over to me, not moving her eyes from me at all. "H-Harper? No fucking way…" she said tearfully as she smiled at me. We then lock in a tight, warm embrace. My arms wrapped around her waist while her arms were around my neck. It is her… it really is. My childhood friend has come back to me.
"Holy shit, I never thought I'd see this adorable face of yours again." Ellie giggled pulling back from me. "And I didn't think I'd see your smart ass again." I joke. She laughed at what I said. "After 4 years, you're still the same Harpoon that I know." she smirks, leading me back to that same table that I was just sitting at. We sat across from each other. "Damn, you have no idea how happy to I am to see you right now." I tell her, brushing some of my hair back. "I should say that myself. Never thought I would see you again after…" she stopped, looking away from me. "Hey, don't go back to that time. It's not healthy." I logically tell her. She rubs her nose with her fingers and sniffles. "Sorry, heh. It's hard not to think about, you know?" she said. I gaze at her with sympathy in my blue eyes. I could gather she was still upset about us getting separated a long time ago. It bothered me also.
After a few minutes of awkward silence between us, I got to thinking why we were in the same situation of being hidden away from the soldiers. "Hey, I got to ask, why are you in this shithole too?" I asked her. She gazed up at me and sighed. It looked as if she was hiding something that she didn't want to mention what it was. "You can tell me, Ellie." I assure her. She sighed and stood up from the table. This worried me and I stand up with her. "Ellie, I didn't wait 4 years to see you again just for you to stay quiet about something that I know is bothering you. Just tell me." I quietly scold her, standing next to her without taking my eyes off her. She sighed and started to speak. "Promise you won't freak out if I say?" she said, slightly looking at me. "I can't make any promises but I'll try to." I respond honestly. What she was hiding under her sleeve was I wasn't expecting at all.
She turned and took ahold of her right sleeve and she pulled it up. There was a bite… a bite from an infected. I look up at her with a look of bewilderment and alarm. "You're… You're bitten?" I say, trying my best to not freak out. "Yeah… Sorry you had to find out this way. But it's not what you think. It's three weeks old." she tells me, holding her arm. I had to think a minute to process all this. "So… you're here because of you being bit?" I asked, looking back at her. This was far bigger than I than I thought. "Yeah. She wants me out of this city. You're not bit either are you?" she asked me. I rubbed the back of my neck.
"If I was… I would probably be dead. I wouldn't be here in this situation with you right now." I said, clearing my throat. "Well, you believe me right? About this being 3 weeks old?" she said. I look up and sniffle. Seeing that bite should tell me that she was lying and insincere however I didn't listen to what it was telling me. "Yeah. I believe you Ellie." I say with a smile. At that, we hug once again. "Thank you. Are we friends again?" she asked, pulling back from me. I grinned at what she said to show that wasn't hard to answer. "Yeah. We're friends again." I retort with that same smile that was still on my face. "Oh thank god for that. Thought I'd lose you again there." she said, getting me to chuckle. "So why're you here? If you're not bit, then, why are you in here?" she asked. Figured she'd ask me that. I mean it's only fair that I tell her.
"I got in trouble. Snuck into a grocery store and those damn soldiers caught me. They nearly shot me." I answer. "Wow. That's no surprise. Too bad I wasn't there to bail you out." she said. "Yeah true but, they would know who was there considering I was the only one there." I fibbed. But I made it sound convincing enough. She saw that I was right about that. I couldn't tell her about Jesse. Not yet at least. Before we could say anything else, the sound of the door opening caught our attention.
We grab our knives and flick them open. She had a switchblade and I had a 7 inch pocket knife. I held it tightly in my hand in defense and was ready to attack who was coming through the door. It was Marlene who walked through the door. However, she fell on her hands and knees when the door was open. Her side was bloody and she had a hold of it with her arm. Ellie and I were about to help her but a man with a short beard and mustache and caucasian skin beat us to it. There was a woman also. She had brown hair that was tied into a messy bun with a bandana on the top of her head and she also had caucasian skin. Ellie went into defensive mode and charged at the man with her knife raised. "Get the fuck away from her!" she yelled. Before something could happen, the woman the man was with grabbed her by the wrist. That set me off as well.
"Hey, let her go!" I yell, charging at the woman with my knife wielded hand up. But my wrist was quickly grabbed by the woman with a slightly tight grip. "Let them go." Marlene calmly asked. The woman did so and we pulled back. Looking at Marlene, she was leaning on the old, chipped bar while holding her wound. She wasn't like this before she left. "Recruiting kind of young, aren't you?" the man asked with a Texan accent. "These girls aren't mine." Marlene replied pained. "Shit. What happened?" Ellie wondered, putting her knife away. We walk over to her in worry. "Don't worry, this is fixable. I got us help... " Marlene said, getting Ellie and I to look at the man and woman behind us. One of my brows furrowed in confusion. How're they going to benefit us in any way even after Marlene said her wound could be fixed?
"But I can come with you two." Marlene said, getting me to shake my head. "Well then, Ellie and I are staying." I argue, giving off a confused glance. "Harper. You and Ellie know we won't get another shot at this." Marlene grunted. I was confused at this. We're Ellie and I being smuggled to keep out of trouble? "Wait, we're smuggling them?" the man asked, walking up to us. Ellie and I look from the man, the woman who was with him, and back to Marlene. So Marlene is doing this to keep us safe. Ellie, I understand, but why me? All I did was get into trouble with the soldiers here. "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol Building." Marlene instructed, using hand gestures in the process. "That's not exactly close." the woman stated, getting Ellie and I to look over at her. She wasn't wrong about that. It's outside of the walls as far as I know.
"You're capable." Marlene stated, "You can hand them off, come back, the weapons are yours. Double with what Robert sold me." I cross my bare arms and just kept my mouth shut. Ellie does the same. "Speaking of which, where are they?" the woman asked, trying to make it quick. Marlene answered with that they were back in their camp. This didn't satisfy that woman's needs and she scoffed in disapproval. "We're not smuggling shit until I see them." she said. "You'll follow me. I can get patched up. But the girl's aren't crossing that part of town. I want Joel to watch over them." Marlene instructed. I jerked up at this and we all begin to protest.
"Bullshit! Harper and I aren't going with him!" Ellie protested, holding her hand out. "Hell no, Marlene!" I argued. But Marlene held her hand out to silence all of us. It was quiet again. Ellie and I just looked at each other for a moment. "How do you know them, Marlene?" I asked, wanting to know why she picked them as our guides through this city. "I was close with his brother, Tommy. Said if I was ever in a jam, I could rely on him." Marlene answered, looking up at me. I look away and bite my bottom lip. Was he part of the Fireflies? Sounds like he was.
"Was that before or after he left your little militia group?" the man asked. "He left you too. He was a good man." Marlene answered, correcting him. I looked down for a moment with my lips pressed together so that they were a thin white line. I didn't know what to make of all this. It's too much for me to process. And I guarantee that Ellie didn't either. The woman and man started to talk then. "Look, just take them to the north tunnel and wait for me there." the woman said. "Jesus Christ…" the man complained, shaking his head in disbelief. "They're just cargo, Joel." the woman said, also shaking her head. So Joel is the man's name. "Marlene…" Ellie started. "No more talking." Marlene cut her off, straightening herself up. Ellie and I backed up a little bit. "You two will be fine. Now go with him." Marlene stated. I sighed and realized that we had no choice but comply.
"Don't take long. And you two- stay close. Let's go." Joel said, walking out of the door that led to the outside. Ellie and I gazed at each other for a moment before following him outside. It wouldn't be the last time I'd see Marlene after this.