CHAPTER 8: SEATTLE

Seattle: Day 1

Days. Weeks. Months. Seasons. We traveled lands far and wide. We watched as the snow melted and the flowers bloomed. We shed our winter coats, and the warmth of Spring turned into the blazing heat of Summer. We followed the roads west, toward a land unknown to our eyes, but known to our hearts. The distance between Seattle and us grew smaller as our determination grew bigger.

Watching the mountains on the horizon, we rode our horses through a forest. The sun shined down between the trees, and reflected off the light in my lovers' eyes. Ellie rode alone ahead of me. Dina sat behind me, her arms relaxed on my waist. As we did every day, we told each other stories to pass the time. At the moment, it was Ellie telling the story of when she saved Joel's life in Pittsburg. She was talking more to Dina than me, but I loved hearing it regardless. My woman is a badass afterall.

"The hunter was on top of him," she was saying. "Drowning him. And…Joel couldn't get to his gun."

"Jeez," Dina responded, enthralled. "Were you scared?"

"Well, I didn't even think. I just…ran in there, took out the gun I was carrying and…shot the guy in the face."

"Yeah, using the gun I gave you!" I interrupted. "I got my ass chewed for that."

"Why would Joel chew you out for that?" Dina asked.

"He didn't trust me with a gun yet since I'd never really used a real one before that."

"And Kara did?"

"I was kind of a dumbass back then," I said. "I was in the honeymoon phase, what can I say? I would've jumped off a building if she asked me to."

"I resent that!" Ellie called back. "You knew I'd be fine with that gun, and you'd still jump off a building if I asked you to."

"I would if you jumped first."

"So you're saying you want me to be the guinea pig."

"If it means jumping off a building, then yes."

"Hey guys," Dina interrupted. "Not that I don't love your playful banter and all, but can we please get back to the story?"

Ellie and I both laughed, but she responded, "sure."

"So how old were you?"

"Fourteen. How old were you when you first killed someone?" Talk about a story change.

"We talking infected?"

"No. Fully conscious, non-fungal person."

"Ten," she said after a slight hesitation.

"Wow," Ellie and I said in unison.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Guy was coming at my mom. I shot him." She said nothing else.

"Shit," Ellie responded. "You got me beat."

"Same," I said.

"Great story," I said sarcastically. "What I loved most about it was the detail. You have a real knack for that."

"Shut the fuck up," she said, hitting me gently on the shoulder. I could hear the smile in her voice.

"So, K," Ellie said. "You got a story to tell?"

"I got something better," I said, clearing my throat before beginning to sing.

Movin' to the country,

Gonna eat a lot of peaches

Movin' to the country,

Gonna eat me a lot of peaches

Movin' to the country,

Gonna eat a lot of peaches

Movin' to the country,

Gonna eat a lot of peaches

"PEACHES COME FROM A MAN!" Ellie began to sing like she was screaming, but she was still quiet enough to not draw attention to ourselves. You could never be too careful, even out here in the wilderness.

"They were put there by a man," Dina sang along.

"In a factory downtown," we all sang in unison.

We got through the entire song and laughed amongst ourselves before Dina asked, "So how lost are we?" We'd seen a sign hours ago and had been roaming this forest ever since.

"Uh…" Ellie said. "We're not."

"I call bullshit," I said.

"Uh-huh," Dina agreed.

"Hey, have a little faith," Ellie said.

"What about those crazy cannibals you guys ran into?" Dina asked suddenly. "They came after you once. Maybe this WLF is connected with them." I thought about those days; being caked with blood and dirt…I dare not think anymore.

"No," Ellie responded. "Didn't seem like the same group."

"Maybe those Black Market smugglers back in Boston?"

"Dina…" I said finally. "Joel crossed a lot of people. I don't see the point in guessing. Besides, I was there right alongside Joel for most of the shit that went down in Boston. These people only came after him. If they were from Boston, they'd be looking for me too, I think."

"You're probably right," Dina agreed. "Look, cars." Her voice sounded more focused, and when I looked ahead of us more closely, I saw them. Old, rusted, and greenery growing all over them, cars were beginning to dot along our path through the tall grass. Civilization must not be too far off.

"We're getting close," Ellie said.

"Finally," I said. "I thought this forest would go on forever."

"Start keeping an eye out."

"Got it," Dina and I said.

We wandered through the trees a bit further until we came to a clearning, beyond which was the remnants of an old highway. Cars lined what used to be a road now overgrown with grass, and an overpass stretched on overhead.

"I was wrong," Dina said to Ellie. "You actually do know where you're going."

We followed the highway, winding through the cars, looking up at the signs leading toward Seattle. There were a few buildings here and there, though there were very slim pickings as far as supplies went, but Ellie did find a map of Seattle, which would definitely come in handy when we reached the city.

Following the highway, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I couldn't place it, but something was telling me to be on alert.

"Seems pretty quiet," Dina pointed out.

"Think about how well we hide our lookouts," I countered.

"I know…that's what scares me."

The highway soon ended, as it had clearly been blown up like the ones in Boston had been. We made our way carefully around the cracked and jagged pavement, across small streams, and through trees that rooted up out of the cracks. I was reminded of the Lord of the Rings movie we'd watched in Jackson once. I felt like Frodo and his band of merry friends traveling across Middle Earth.

Eventually we came to a large clearing. Army trucks and barricades surrounded the area, but there weren't any people around. Beyond that was a wall that was just as big and imposing as the ones in Boston. Doors were in the center of the wall, and there were words written in huge letters on the doors.

WLF

TRESSPASSERS KILLED ON SIGHT

"How welcoming," I noted. "I think we're in the right place."

"Is this the QZ?" Dina asked.

"Yep," Ellie said, eyeing the wall. "Watch the high spots." She knew snipers could be laying in wait anywhere.

In the middle of the clearing, we dismounted our horses, and began searching the area together, which appeared to be completely deserted.

"Where is everyone?" Ellie asked.

"There's gotta be a way in somewhere," I said as we looked through the buildings. Unfortunately, supplies were scarce, just like the highway had been. We went back to the clearing, and Ellie noticed something by one of the cars: a dead body, rotten to the bone. Gross.

"This was a soldier from the QZ," she said. "See the FEDRA uniforms?"

"You think it was the WLF?" Dina asked.

"Yeah, and they left them here."

"As a warning, I'm sure," I said.

"That's fucked up," Dina said.

I shook my head in disgust, and looked up at the wall once more. Something caught my eye that I hadn't seen before, "look up there." I pointed upwards, and the others followed my finger to a metal ledge that was attached to the wall itself toward the top.

"I bet if we can get up there, we can make it over this wall."

"Good thinking," Ellie said, immediately heading over to the base of the wall to look for a way up.

I went to follow her, but Dina stopped me briefly, "I'll stay with the horses. See if you can open that gate."

"Sure thing," I called to her. "But one does not simply walk into Mordor."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she gave me a puzzled look.

I laughed before planting a quick kiss on her lips, "I'll tell you later."

A blush warmed Dina's face, and she smiled before pushed me gently toward the wall, "get going."

At the wall, I spoke to Ellie, "well, my dear, the dynamic duo is back together again."

Ellie laughed and shook her head, "we were never apart, you geek."

"I know, but it's the two of us…together…reaching a common goal to benefit us and our girlfriend. How is that not something a dynamic duo would do?"

"True," she said, squeezing my hand.

In order to reach the ledge, the two of us had to climb up and across a series of trucks and broken walkways. At this point, the ladder was just high enough to reach if one of us got boosted. I opted to give Ellie an arm up, and once up the ladder, she reached for me, and hoisted me up to the ledge above. It was only when we were standing on it did I realize how dangerous it was. With each step, the ledge began to shake, and I had to center my balance in order to maintain composure.

Dina, who had been watching our progress from down below, came running over to us, and called up, "are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," Ellie called down, but her voice was unsure. Hell, I was unsure too.

I walked along ahead of her, and she followed closely behind me, and I couldn't help but think for a minute that this thing could break at any minute with us on it. I quickly pushed that thought aside, and thankfully, on the other side of the ledge, there was a platform made out of stone. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we reached it.

"Damn, that was fucking scary," I said. Ellie simply nodded in response.

Next to the stone ledge was a broken section of the wall. Ellie and I looked over the edge, and sure enough, there was another stone platform. Soldiers must've used this to get over the wall. We climbed over the wall, and once on the platform, we looked out into the city. To me, all cities looked pretty much alike. Skyscrapers in the distance, cracked streets and overrun greenery. Abandoned buildings. Big deal. However, what did surprise us was the checkpoint that directly below us. There was no sign of life anywhere, like like the outside.

"Where are these fuckers?" Ellie asked, as we climbed down various platforms to get to the ground.

"This is getting freaky," I said.

"You don't think they're hiding around here, do you?" Ellie asked when we finally hti the ground and began to walk around.

"I don't think so," I said. "This place looks long deserted. They probably figure the warning would keep most people out."

Ellie looked back toward the wall, "we gotta find a way to get that gate open."

"If it's like the one in Jackson, then it's powered by electricity," I said. Just then, I noticed a giant power strip in front of us that was connected to an electrical box. "Kinda like that one."

"Let's check over here," Ellie said, heading toward the buildings on the left. From the looks of it, the people here had smashed everything they could. The windows were all busted, and some papers were scattered around. Ellie looked in one of the drawers, and picked up a piece of paper.

"Looks like combinations," she said, holding it up for me to see. There was a list of four numbers in sequence as well as potential destinations. West. East. South. What could this mean?

"I'd keep it," I said. "We may need it, who knows?"

"Yeah, maybe there will be safes laying around somewhere."

There wasn't much else in the buildings, but there was something outside that we needed.

"Kara, look!" Ellie called, as she found it first.

"What is it?" I asked, as I came over to her.

"A generator." We could use this to power up the electricity to the gate.

"Sweet!" I said. "Let's give it a try." Ellie and I pulled on the generator's cord a few times, and the generator roared to life.

"Now how are we gonna get power to the outlet thing?" I asked, seeing as how the two things were about 30 feet away from each other.

"We could try this," Ellie said, picking up a huge yellow power cord that was attached to the generator. It looked like it was just long enough to reach the outlet. How convenient. Ellie and I worked together to find a route where the power cord could reach the outlet, and eventually, we succeeded. Beside the outlet was a big red button, which we could only guess was the button that opened the gate. I pushed it, and sure enough, the gate began to rise. From the other side, Dina came walking in, holding the reigns of our two horses.

"See, Dina," I said, hands on my hips with pride. "Easy as pie."

"Sure was," she said, endulging me, but rolling her eyes toward Ellie. As soon as Dina was on the other side of the gate, it came crashing down, and making a horrific noise. It scared the hell out of us, and caused the horses to jerk away from Dina's grip.

When we got control over them again, Dina said, "let's get out of here. That crash was pretty loud."

We mounted the horses, Dina deciding to sit behind Ellie this time, and we made our way through the checkpoint and into the city.