Rich-123 (Guest): Thanks for the review! And yes, something like that.
Chapter 50: Going In
Ellie woke up to find herself in a completely white room. The only exit and entrance in the room seemed to be a steel door at the end of the room.
She stood up and looked around the room, wondering where she was. She felt her switchblade in her pocket, feeling a bit safer with it.
Problem is that the rest of my stuff is back in the Fireflies' base, she noticed that no one else was in the room.
The white walls seemed familiar, and she kept thinking back to the military lab she and Riley had escaped over a year ago.
She walked over towards the door and peeked out the small window, seeing guards outside of the room. Her hand went to her pocket, trying to think of a way out.
I'm in a military lab, I know that much, she thought, frowning a bit, but why am I here?
The door suddenly swung open, smacking her to the ground. Her vision swam for a moment from the blow, and she looked up from her position on the ground to see someone walk in. Her eyes widened in shock as the man walked closer to her, holding a single vial of red blood.
"This shouldn't hurt a bit," the man stated, a smile on his face, "and even so, you won't remember it long enough to tell anyone."
Joel was currently sitting across from Dave, thinking about what he had just been told.
"So, there's no other way that the cure can be created?" he asked, trying to confirm the answer.
"At least from what we know so far," Dave's answer made him sigh, and he started to think through the options.
"What about the temporary vaccine? Wouldn't that help?" his question prompted Dave to bring up some scans of the vaccine on the monitors of the room.
"It's possible. We are currently scanning the vaccine, but it seems that it was made with the blood of someone who was already infected," Dave's explanation made him look at the monitors.
Rosanne maybe? He thought, but knew he wouldn't say her name out loud. It would take a while to explain to the Fireflies about her, and Ellie was waiting for him to get back.
Of course, Ellie was just in a room with Phil a few hallways down, but he knew how she could get when he wasn't present. He sighed, wondering if the urgency to get back to her was just him.
Ellie's fine; Phil is perfectly capable of watching over her while I'm here, he thought, trying to reassure himself, but he was having a hard time of it. From what he heard from the other Fireflies, Phil still seemed like a newbie, even though he had been with the rebel group for a year now.
"I'll keep a lookout for something else," he said, starting to walk out of the room. Dave nodded, a serious expression on his face.
"I know how hard this must be for the both of you," Dave said, making him stop, "I'm here to help in any way I can."
"Thanks," Joel gave him a nod and left the room, heading towards where Ellie was with Phil.
That guy's morals are almost too good; he acts like he still lives in the same world as twenty years ago, Joel shook his head; still, it's nice when someone is trying to help for once.
Someone bumped into him, and he was startled a bit. He relaxed when he realized it was just Phil, but then an alarm went off in him when he saw how nervous and frightened the young Firefly looked.
"Joel, I have no idea how to say this…" Phil looked away from him, a guilty expression on his face, "but I think Ellie's missing."
Joel paused for a moment, taking in what Phil had just said. He found it somehow unlikely.
"She's probably just hiding somewhere in the base," he shook his head, closing his eyes slightly. Ellie always seemed to be finding ways to follow him anymore.
It's possible she's watching this right now, he thought, feeling somewhat amused.
"No, she's not. We went out into the quarantine zone and she went running for the marketplace. I think she wanted to look for you," Phil stated, making his eyes open again.
"Why were you in the marketplace with her if she was supposed to stay here?" Joel asked, a threatening tone to his voice. Phil seemed frightened; he took a step away from Joel.
"She wanted to go. She seemed really sad, and I didn't know what else to do," Phil replied nervously, "I think she might have a case of separation anxiety, but she got really mad when I told her that."
She must have been looking for me; he shook his head, starting to walk down towards the subway.
"Oh, one more thing!" Joel started to feel his patience snap when Phil stopped him once more. He turned around and gave Phil a hard stare. Phil seemed to shrink, and his voice reflected his nervousness, "I think Ellie's been taken by the military."
He felt shock and anger stir up in him, making him walk faster. Turning around to yell at Phil wouldn't help find Ellie any faster.
I am never letting him keep an eye on her again, he decided, arriving in the streets of the marketplace. He heard footsteps from behind him and turned around to see Dave running through the subway entrance.
"I just heard what happened from Phil," Dave explained, prompting him to nod, "I'm coming with you."
The man's statement made him somewhat confused. Dave seemed to see this.
"I said I was going to help in any way I can," he answered, making more sense as Dave started to lead Joel towards where the military lab was located, "and I have a feeling the military already know about Ellie's secret."
He frowned at the news, not quite understanding how the man's statement was possible.
"How would they know?" he asked, starting to sneak through the alleyways. He knew a shortcut that would lead them right to the lab.
"There's a rumor going around that a spy is among the Fireflies, secretly working for the government; I'm not sure if it's true, but this could confirm it," Dave said, and then continued, "Also, the vaccine has been taken as well."
Joel figured with the information that was presented, it seemed very likely that there could be a spy among the Fireflies, but the question was who?
He shook his head, only concerned about Ellie right then. They could let the Fireflies deal with whoever the spy was; they didn't need to get involved in something like that.
The lab was in front of them, and Joel knew that it would be harder getting in than usual.
Especially if they do have Ellie.
Dave motioned for him to follow, and they snuck around the back of the building, finding a rusting door that was slightly open. They went through, and he saw that no one was there.
"I've been studying this lab for a while; always need to know the enemy," Dave explained, "these back corridors are abandoned most of the time and lead to the main rooms. Ellie should be held in one near the front."
"Why near the front?" he shook his head, not quite understanding the military's tactics.
This is why I did not join the military, he thought, continuing to walk through the hallways.
"The most heavily guarded rooms are near the front. I don't know why; it's almost as if they've reversed what the military did in the past," Dave shook his head as well, "Maybe they're trying to be as different from the past military as possible?"
"That would explain some things," Joel muttered, stopping and crouching when he heard voices. He peeked out from behind the corner and saw two guards walking their way, talking idly.
He glanced over at Dave, seeing him aiming one of the crossbows at one of the guards. Joel snuck around a different route, cornering them off. Dave fired the needle into the one guard, attracting the attention of the other one. Joel ran forward and grabbed the second guard, smashing his head against the wall and leaving a dark red smear.
"That's one way to do it," Dave commented as he walked over towards Joel.
"We all have our ways of survival. Let's just find Ellie," Joel said, wondering what Ellie would think if she saw him acting like this.
Of course she had seen him take down enemies before, but he had tried to shield her from most of the horrible scenes afterwards.
They continued walking through the hallways, and Joel was surprised to see that no other guards were searching for them. Dave seemed to pick up on this.
"Most of the military is out patrolling the quarantine zone and stationed at checkpoints around this time," he explained, and then pointed up to one of the rooms up ahead, "Ellie should be in one of those."
Joel rushed forward, not really caring as much that he might be spotted. Luckily no guards were present, and he peeked into each of the windows above the doors to try and find Ellie.
He saw a glimpse of her through the third window he checked; he started ramming into the door to try and get it open. He swore when it wouldn't budge. He pulled out a pocket knife and started to work on the lock.
"I'll cover you," Dave stated, noticing what he was doing.
Time slowed down, and Joel was finally able to open the lock. He threw the door aside, worry filling him when he saw Ellie lying face down on the floor. He ran over to her, shaking her shoulder.
"Ellie!" he stated, looking up when Dave came into the room.
"Joel, we need to hurry. More will be coming," Dave informed him, and he nodded, starting to pick Ellie up. He stood up but froze when she stirred a bit.
"Joel?" her whisper was weak, and he looked down to see her blue eyes open slightly. She seemed out of it and a bit confused.
"I'm here," he mumbled, starting to walk out of the room behind Dave. He spotted the vaccine on a table nearby and grabbed it, rushing out after Dave. They started to retrace their steps back to the rusted door.
Joel felt relief when he spotted the door, but alarm rushed through him when he heard shouts from behind them. They both looked back, and he recognized the guard's voices coming from the other hallways.
"Go! I'll hold them off!" Dave shouted, readying his crossbow. When Joel hesitated, he continued, "Ellie's safety is more important right now!"
Joel nodded, not wanting to leave the man behind but knowing what he was saying was true. He looked one last time at the scientist and bolted for the Fireflies' base, feeling somewhat nostalgic. The smile that Dave had given him had reminded him of his brother a bit.
He was just getting to the entrance of base when Tia and Phil came rushing into the subway. He stopped and put Ellie down; she was starting to stir a bit more.
"Where were you?" Tia demanded, somewhat angry. Phil seemed somewhat surprised when he saw Ellie, and Joel felt confused.
"The military had Ellie and the vaccine; Dave and I went to the lab to get Ellie out," Joel handed Tia the vaccine, but continued at their confused faces, "Didn't Dave tell you about the military capturing her?"
Both Tia and Phil shook their heads, and Joel felt shock run through him. No backup was coming, so that meant that…
Dave is gone; his shock at the thought was more than he would have originally thought. The researcher had sacrificed himself in order for Joel to get Ellie back to the Fireflies.
He saw Ellie stand up and went to help her, knowing that the Fireflies had reached the same conclusion as he had. Ellie leaned against him, somewhat dazed.
"What happened?" she mumbled, giving him a slightly confused look.
"The military took you. Don't you remember?" he asked, and she shook her head, growing even more confused.
"No… at least I don't think so…" she trailed off, but then her hand went to her head as she let out a pained noise.
Joel's eyes widened, not sure of what to do. He waited for a few moments, seeing that her breathing had quickened a bit.
"Ellie, are you ok?" he asked, and she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
"No, I feel like my head is splitting in two," she muttered, still clutching her head.
The list of side-effects from her tolerance went through his head, and he was starting to recognize some of them, either from now or when they were searching for the Fireflies.
Her forehead was now pressed against him slightly, and pained noises were still coming from her. His shirt started to get wet, and he realized that she was crying.
He sighed, feeling completely helpless as he watched her. He put his one hand at the back of her head, and his other hand went to rub her back slowly. He wasn't really sure how to comfort her, but he knew that he didn't like to see her in pain.
"Is she-?" Phil started to ask, but Joel cut him off with a shake of his head. He motioned for them to head into the base.
Phil was reluctant at first, but a light smack on the head from Tia got him moving.
Ellie's breathing slowed a bit after a while, and her shaking subsided. He let her stay in the same position, thinking that it helped a bit.
"Feeling any better?" he asked, and she looked up at him. One look at her, and he realized how exhausted she was.
"A bit," she mumbled, her eyes struggling to stay open. He picked her up again, carrying her back to the room inside the base.
Joel laid her on one of the beds, and Ellie was asleep almost instantly. He stayed up long after she had fallen asleep; wanting to make sure no one took her away again.
Ellie is now back safe in the Fireflies' main base, but Dave's current location and status is unknown. More will be revealed in the next chapter! Sadly, this fanfiction will be ending soon (but with its end will come the release of the game). Next chapter is the "game title" chapter (you'll see what I mean when I release it tomorrow). Please tell me what you thought in a review!
-AnimeWolfGirl9
