Chapter 7

"So, you guys killed some hunters?" Ellie asked. She asked in a way that didn't sound like she felt sorry or worried for me. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah. Four of 'em. In the valley." I paused. I contemplated telling Ellie that they were Fireflies, but decided against it. I did decide, however, to tell her about everything else. About hearing the gunfire when Tommy, Will, and I were in the valley that first day, and how Tommy and I left Will there so he could do some recon for us. Also how Will's head ended up in a box in front of the gate, and when his body fell in front of me just outside the cave.

"Wait," Ellie interjected, "There was a box outside the front gate? How did the lookouts miss someone dropping off a box like that?" That was a good question. There are normally two guards within 30 yards of the gate at all times. It doesn't seem right that they would miss something like that.

"I don't know. I think Tommy and I are gonna have a word with the night shift tomorrow. Speaking of which, how are you liking your job?"

"It's fine. It's just kinda boring. We really aren't getting any action. I did see one of the lookouts shoot an infected, though, so that was pretty cool." She smiled.

"I hope you aren't goofing off too much up in that tower," I joked. "I good shot like you should be scanning the woods for any sign of a threat."

"Yeah, whatever. You better hope I don't mistake you for an infected," She retorted. Ellie had always been very independent. Even when we first met. I remember when she, Tess, and I were cutting through Boston trying to get to the capital building. I lowered that plank across the two buildings for her to walk across, all the while trying to tell her to be careful. She quickly blew me off and walked across that board like it was nothing. I enjoyed memories like that. They reminded me that there was still some good left in the world. Even if the only bit of good left was inside one, special little girl.

The next day started like pretty much every other day Ellie and I had been at Tommy's. Tommy woke me up from a dead sleep by incessantly beating on the door and I quietly left the house with my bag, succeeding in making sure Ellie stayed asleep. By the time we left the sanctuary of the town, Tommy later called Jakson, I was in the zone. I knew what Tommy and I were going to do today. We were going to go through that cave we found the day before, track down those Fireflies, and kill every damn one of them.

Before we reached the entrance to the cave leading into the valley, Tommy and I stopped at a large tree. At the base of the tree was a hole large enough to fit the supplies we pulled off those dead Fireflies. The soldiers all had pistols and assault rifles, along with Kevlar vests and better backpacks. I switched out the supplies in our backpacks so we could carry theirs, Tommy switched his rifle with one of the assault rifles, and we both put on the lightweight Kevlar vests underneath our regular clothes.

We both had scars. Pretty rough ones, actually. Tommy noticed the scar on my stomach and asked what happened. I told him about the incident at the University, and how that rebar pipe put me out of commission for several weeks. I also told him about how there was nothing but a dead man and some monkeys at the college he sent us to, which got a laugh out of him. He replied by telling me he thought my life was getting too easy, so he figured he'd throw a rusty rebar pipe in the mix to liven things up.

Our trip into and through the valley was smooth sailing, which normally wasn't a good sign. The fact that the bodies from the day before hadn't been tampered with or moved, and the bombs hadn't been set off worried me. Tommy too. We were both starting to get paranoid. Constantly scanning the field and the tree lines were wearing me out. When we finally got to the other side of the valley, to the cave, we saw something we hadn't wanted to see. The same thing we saw the day before.

None of the bombs had been set off there either. Not even in the cave. That was either a really good sign, or, most likely, a really bad sign. There were definitely more than four soldiers chasing me the day I took Ellie from the Fireflies. Maybe this was just a small cell of them and we wouldn't have to worry about more of them coming to their aid, especially now since their leader had been shot in the head.

"Well, brother, you ready to go?" Tommy asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." With that, Tommy took point with his assault rifle and started into the cave.

"What's that over there?" I asked.

"That?" Maria asked. "Oh, that door leads under the town and out to the dam."

"Why is it locked?"

"To keep the younger kids from trying to play in there. See, there is a tunnel in there that runs all the way under the town to the doors. If any of the kids got in there and fell out of the open doors, we wouldn't be able to get them out of the water because of the current, and they would drown," she explained.

"But I thought the dam was operated by the generator in that warehouse on the other side of town?" I asked.

"Well, technically, the generator only harnesses the motion from the water at the dam to produce energy. Every now and then, especially during the winter, we like to close the dam doors for a few hours a day so we can catch the fish that swim down the water here," she explained. I laughed.

"You said dam doors," I snickered. She let out a small laugh and stopped at the lookout tower she was walking me to. She told me she wanted me to sit in Benny's tower today because he was sick and wouldn't be able to.

"Alright," she started," Your job today is really complicated. So listen up, okay?"

"Okey dokey!" I said, excited about new responsibilities.

"You have to… do pretty much the same exact thing you've been doing every other day!" She laughed. I went from being excited to disappointed, really fast. "The only reason I have you here and not Tyson, is because he's got that eyepatch. Basically he has pretty bad depth perception and can only see the gate if he's on the right side of it. The side his good eye is on." She laughed again.

"Don't worry, boss. I'll do the best I can to not disappoint you in doing the same duties I've been doing every single day!" With a final salute from me, and a last laugh from Maria, I climbed up the tower and sat down in the not-as-raggedy-as-my-normal-seat-but-still-raggedy-chair.

Tommy dug through the big bag left behind at the camp of the four soldiers we had killed the previous day.

"They ain't got shit here, Joel. No walkey's, no extra ammo or supplies, not even a map of the area. They must've been defectors or something." I breathed a sigh of relief. No sign of any reinforcements or reasons for being here. Just a bunch of washed up Fireflies wanting to take out their anger on the unsuspecting.

Tommy and I had made our way through the cave without a hitch. No traps, no nothing. When we emerged from the other side of the mountain, we came up on a small clearing about 50 yards from the cave entrance. That clearing was where those four Fireflies decided to set up camp. I had a hard time believing that there were only four of them in one area, so we double-checked. We couldn't find any signs of previous soldiers, tracks, or recent activity. All that was left were some tents, a campfire, and a meal they started to cook but never finished. We walked a few miles through the forest, looking for any signs of more soldiers, but came up empty. There were actually only four soldiers for once. No funny business.

Just to be sure, however, we decided to lay low close by the campsite to see if anyone showed up. When the sun started going down, we decided that it was time to head back. What a relief it was to know that we eliminated the threat lingering over the town. We would tell everyone the good news when we made it back home that night.

I put my comic back in my bag, opened the door to the small box sitting on the vacant house we used as the base for the lookout, and climbed the ladder down to the ground. I let out a big yawn. Sitting around all day reading comic books was exhausting. It also made me extremely hungry. I decided after I put my rifle back in the armory, I would try to help the people who cooked dinner. It was the least I could do to help. Besides, like I said, all I did was sit around and read comic books all day.

The sun was setting. It painted the sky in magnificent oranges and purples. The cool breeze flowing through Jakson made it feel like a home for some reason. It was comfortable there. Having people who are nice and take care of each other really made me feel like Joel and I belonged there. Most of all, though, it made me feel like I had a purpose. To help protect these people and live life the way it was meant to be lived. In happiness.

"Which one should I be aiming for?"

"Which one do you think you should be aiming for?"

"Well, the girl just got out of the tower. Looks like it's not Grandpa Eyepatch's lucky day."

"Stop fucking around. Locke should have everything set. We should be getting the signal right about... there it is. Let's do this. Shoot that old motherfucker already."

"With pleasure."