Author's Note: I waited a long time for this, but when the time came I dragged my feet a bit. I didn't want to do it wrong. Well, it's done now.
Thank you to everyone who came all this way with me. I tried my best to put real feeling into this story. I hope it can mean a fraction as much to some others. And you really helped me get here.
This story is now complete.
Abby looks up at the jagged peaks of Grand Teton up on the left as she rides. It's a cool day for late Summer, with a nice breeze. Ellie keeps warning her the cool is going to set in faster than she might like, but Abby's not worried about it. She's never spent much time in the snow. She's kind of looking forward to it.
She looks back at Ellie behind her, and she seems to be enjoying the same view. Ellie meets her eyes.
"Where's the next stop?" Abby asks.
"On Teton North route?" Ellie replies, considering. "South shore of Jenny Lake. Then we'll cut between her and the mountain. It's a nice ride. Usually quiet."
"Her?"
Ellie blinks. "Well it's Jenny Lake, after all."
Abby smirks. "Quiet, huh? Suits me fine."
Abby's been patrolling for weeks at this point, usually day shift. Ellie had been right, and there's been nothing like a repeat of that first day disaster. The story spread quickly through the ranks, and not to Abby's infamy, fortunately. Actually buoyed her reputation, quite a bit. She's gotten a lot of jokes about it. Old Clem had cleverly started eschewing the old saying about a fat lady for 'it don't stop till the bell drops.'
After her first trip out with Ellie—which Abby generally considers her actual first day—they'd followed the lottery system like everyone else. This is her fourth trip out with Ellie, and they'd proven to work together better than most. They'd only encountered a handful of infected in that time, and they dispatched them with utter ease.
And Ellie is a passable conversational partner. Passable.
"Game's good out this way," Ellie says simply.
Abby immediately shoots her a look over her shoulder. "Yeah? Well don't get too excited."
On their second trip out, Ellie had spotted a buck and wasted no time taking it down with her arrow. One shot, to the heart. Impressive, if Abby were being honest.
Then, Ellie has the gall to ask Abby to haul it back to the horses, almost a half mile back. Abby had been indignant.
"You shot it!" she had said fervently.
"Exactly!" Ellie retorted, as if it were a retort at all. "Come on, look at you! It will take forever if I drag it!"
In the end, Abby relented, but the buck was seven points, and well fed. By the time she got back to her horse, Wendy, she was huffing and covered in sweat. She'd given Ellie a lot of shit about it since, but Ellie managed to sell it to Arnold and split it with Abby. A hundred notes each, not bad at all. Over twice the pay of a day of work.
"Sure you don't want another work out?" Ellie japes.
"Ellie, I'm not kidding, if you shoot another buck, you're carrying it."
"What? You don't want your share of the notes?"
They're approaching the edge of the forest, over the plains.
"Lake's a little ways in," says Ellie. "There's a shack. We'll hit it and hook left."
"Sounds good."
As they pass through the trees, there are sounds of birds all around them. There's some scratching sounds, and Abby looks up to see a squirrel eyeing them from a branch, all twitchy tailed.
"Ah…" says Ellie. "Reminds me of Eddie."
"Eddie?"
"My old horse. He was great. You'd have liked him. He died." Ellie finishes in a tone that suggests she'd rather not tell the story. She looks down at her mount. "I'm glad Starbeam got back safe, though. She was Clint's horse." Ellie scratches Starbeam's ear affectionately. The horse twitches her hear and makes some sounds of pleasure.
Abby looks down at Wendy, smiling. The horses had grown on her quickly. She strokes her neck.
"And how's the other Wendy?" asks Ellie.
Abby glances. "Fine. Great, from the looks of it." She shakes her head. "Her and Lev are inseparable lately."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"No…" Abby's cheek pinches. "It's not. I just… you know, Ellie. Young people, dating. I'm just worried about Lev getting hurt."
"Fair, but Lev's a strong spirit. He'll be fine. And who knows? Maybe you'll be the one crying, at his wedding."
"Oh, shut up," Abby says. Ellie laughs.
They come out of the copse of trees and the landscape opens up, the deep, dark blue of Jenny Lake spreading out before them. Abby can see the little shack by the shore in the distance.
"Anything new, lately?" Ellie asks idly.
Abby considers. "Earl encouraged me to go for the silver pendant this year, and I think I'm gonna do it."
The silver pendant is the top prize for the annual marksmanship competition in Jackson. It started out pretty informal, years back, but it's grown in to quite a to-do. It's a badge of honor to wear a silver pendant around town.
"Yeah?" says Ellie, piqued. "How you been shooting lately?"
"Last Saturday I put up two 24s and a 25."
"Eh…?"
Abby glances. "You don't know? I'm still surprised you're not into it. Short version, you gotta hit 25 targets in 30 seconds. Only one shot per target. You get a point for every target you hit."
"Ooh, not bad, then."
"No it's not, but I might need multiple 25s to take the silver."
"Maybe I'll come down next Saturday, give you some pointers."
Abby looks directly at her. "If you're gonna talk shit, you better show up. And we'll see who's giving pointers."
"I might come through…" says Ellie.
They arrive at the shack, dismounting. They don't worry about tying up the horses. Sight lines are clear and it's quiet. When Ellie sees there's no infected anywhere in sight, she's performedly disappointed. They sign off quick, then remount.
"Lead on, Ellie," says Abby. "Or maybe I should say captain?"
Ellie doesn't rise to that, glancing off into the distance as she indeed leads on. It's how Abby knows it actually bothers her a little. "Maria doesn't want me captain, she wants me patrol lead."
"And what do you think happens after patrol lead?" Abby asks her. "Ellie, you just need to say yes already. You've got more experience than six other patrollers put together."
"That include you?"
"Obviously not. What's the issue?"
Ellie frowns, not returning her look. "I wouldn't call it an issue, Abby. I like being out here. I don't like being in charge of other people."
"Yeah? Well if you're asking me, I like that in a leader. Suggests humility."
"I wasn't…" Ellie trails off, but Abby's got her thinking about it, so she's satisfied with it.
They ride on for a while. The Tetons loom taller in front of them. It's still shy of midday, and sunny. Smells richly of pine. Abby never lets her guard down out here, not all the way. But it's pretty damn nice. She'll give it that.
"What about you?" Abby asks. "Anything new?"
Ellie considers. "Alright, this is never-tell-anyone-else-ever territory."
Abby frowns. "Alright."
"Can't say anything for sure, but I just have this suspicion Dina and Dale might be considering having another kid."
"Whoa, that's some kind of speculation, Ellie. Do you have any reason to believe that?"
"Not specifically, just a feeling I've been getting around them, lately."
"Would that bother you?"
"What? No! Not at all. It'd be great. Anyway, you're right, I shouldn't speculate. Other than that… Oh, yeah!" Ellie reaches to her holster and pulls out her pistol. She takes it by the barrel and offers it to Abby.
Confused, Abby takes it. Then she notices the grip. Abby holds it side up in her open palm. The siding is well lacquered wood with a shiny brass inlay, the dark metal polished and clean. It's honestly an exquisite piece.
"Pretty fine, Ellie," Abby admits. "Pick it up at Reginald's?"
"Actually, it was a gift," says Ellie. "From Mads. It was…" Ellie scratches the back of her head. "It needed restoring, but Reg owed me one, and there it is."
"Very nice." Abby hands it back to her.
"And on that subject…"
"Yes?"
"I've actually got that thing with Maedlyn tonight."
Ellie's more serious than usual. Abby's not sure what she means for a second. "Oh, you talked her into that?"
"Yeah, so I'm really hoping it goes well."
"Where are you gonna take her?"
"Top secret. I managed to scout out a great spot, though."
"Safe, I hope."
"Oh, it's safe. The spot is. Never know where infected might roam, though."
"I imagine you can handle it, worse comes to worse."
"I can, but Maedlyn… she doesn't like that stuff. She left that life behind and she's glad for it. But I really want this to go well."
"I'll cross my fingers for you."
"Thanks."
They're on a lightly ascending dirt road, now. It stretches out straight before them through the trees.
"Where's the next spot?" Abby asks.
"About half a mile up the road." Ellie glances over at her, sly look on her face. "Wanna race?"
"Loser buys dinner?"
"Yup!" and with that, Ellie whips her reigns and brings Starbeam up to a gallop.
"Fucker!" Abby shouts, urging Wendy on, but as Wendy picks up and gets after Ellie, Abby can't help but issue a laugh.
Maedlyn hikes up the slope. This section is relatively steep, with loose, rocky soil. She's not panting exactly, but it takes effort. She'd dug out her old leather travel boots, laced up to mid-calf, still well broken-in from her time on the road. They're not her cutest footwear, but she's thankful for them now. She considered pants, but given that it's a date, it had to be a dress. She chose the teal one. It's loose-skirted, so it's fine for hiking a short distance. And it's one of her favorites, in how well it's retained its uncommon color. Which happens to go nicely with her hair.
Finally reaching the top of the slope, she sees Ellie's shapely legs in jeans and looks up to see her offering her hand. It's not wholly necessary, since Maedlyn's practically there.
"Don't worry, Ellie, I'm managing. But, since you're kind to offer." Maedlyn accepts her hand and Ellie pulls her the rest of the way to flatter ground. Maedlyn huffs. "Is it much farther?" she asks sardonically.
"Not much farther," says Ellie. There's a twinkle in her eye today. She's excited. She'd worked on Maedlyn long enough to get her out here. She claims to have scouted for over a week to find the right spot. "I promise."
Bearing a little smile, Maedlyn proceeds after her suitor. They're not far from Jackson, scarcely a mile, probably. But they'd gone straight up the hill, to the east, well off beaten trails by this point. Ellie's got a big pack on, carrying most of what they'd need. Maedlyn can tell she's trying to make it easy for her. She doesn't want this to be the last time.
Maedlyn smiles more broadly. It makes her feel so good when she can tell Ellie's making an effort. And she's been doing a great job. Maedlyn wakes up to a rosy feeling more often than not these days. And often with a beautiful companion at her side.
Maedlyn flushes slightly. She's reminiscing on how Ellie's face looks while she's sleeping.
"How's that smell?" Ellie asks, interrupting her reverie.
Maedlyn breathes. "Piney. It's nice. Very fresh, up here."
"Yeah, I love it. It clings to your clothes. I like that a lot, actually."
"Ah," says Maedlyn. "That's why it smells so familiar." Ellie smiles back at her.
"Weather turned out great, too. It was cool earlier, I'm glad it warmed up."
"Me, too."
There's a flutter, and on a nearby branch a bluebird lands. The two stop, watching it. It inspects them, cheeps a couple times, then flies away. They exchange a look and a little smile, and carry on.
"Glad for the food I packed," says Maedlyn, "I'll have worked up an appetite when—"
She stops when she sees Ellie's outstretched hand, making a stopping gesture. She looks up, confused.
Ellie's in front of her, looking ahead into the shaded trees. Maedlyn tries to find what Ellie's looking at, then her heart jumps when she sees the silhouette.
There's a tall, broad person standing a ways off, facing the other way. From the way he's swaying, he's clearly infected. Maedlyn's heartrate accelerates quickly.
Ellie turns to her, and her face has totally changed. Her features are all neutral, eyes intent. "It's okay," she whispers. "I'll handle this."
"Maybe we should turn back—" Maedlyn whispers urgently.
Ellie shakes her head. "I have to deal with this. It's my job, remember?" She speaks slowly, clearly trying to calm Maedlyn down. "He's no threat to me. You'll be fine. Here."
Maedlyn's confused for a second, then she realizes Ellie is offering to help her up into a tree next to them. Ellie projects confidence in this moment. Wordless, Maedlyn accepts Ellie's hand, finds a branch with the other, scrambles quietly, then all of the sudden she's ten feet off the ground, sitting on a large limb.
Ellie is already moving. She moves forward in a half-crouch, silent as death, pistol in her hand.
For no knowable reason, the runner idly turns around, and spots Ellie. It grunts in surprise.
Ellie doesn't so much as flinch. She pivots to stepping backward quietly. The runner makes an angry sound and charges her. In a smooth motion, Ellie raises her arm and fires the pistol, causing Maedlyn to jump.
The runner falls on her, and for a second Maedlyn's heart is in her throat. Then she notices it's gone limp. It's already dead. Supporting its weight for a second, Ellie turns, and pushes the heavy body into the bushes, where it falls out of sight.
Ellie looks up at her, completely unshaken. She points to her eyes, then makes a circular gesture with her finger. She's going to look around.
Just kind of stunned. Maedlyn waits. Ellie's gone for perhaps a minute, then comes back with her pistol holstered. She walks up to the tree.
"It's safe," says Ellie. "Roamers usually move in groups, but when they do, they stay close together. This one looks like a lone wolf."
Maedlyn stares at her.
Ellie beckons. "Come on down."
Tentatively, Maedlyn starts climbing down, till she's hanging from a branch, several feet off the ground. Ellie raises her hands toward her. Maedlyn drops, and Ellie's hands catch her around the waist, softening the landing.
"You alright?" Ellie asks her.
Maedlyn is brushing dust off her bottom. "Am I alright? Ellie, you're acting like that was nothing."
"I mean," says Ellie, "it wasn't nothing, but this is what I do, Mads."
"What if there are more?"
"There won't be, unless there's a different pack. And that's really rare. Most days on patrol I don't even see infected anymore."
"But you said this wasn't a patrol route…"
"That's true, but it's still rare. I've been scouting this area for a week, remember. That's the first one I've seen." Ellie moves closer to her. "You know I wouldn't lie to you about this. I know how you feel. If you want, we can turn around, right now."
The nerves are still clinging to Maedlyn. Ellie means it, but it's clear how badly she wants to keep going. She thinks about how she dealt with that infected. Most grown men would have been spooked, but Ellie is steady as a tree trunk. She had promised she would protect Maedlyn, and what had she just done but prove it.
The corners of Maedlyn's mouth turn upward. "Is it much farther?"
"Not much farther. Less than half a mile."
"Then lead on, handsome."
When Ellie's sure she means it, she breaks into a smile, and she leads on.
They're quiet for a while. They're deep in the trees, and it's well shaded. Maedlyn can tell Ellie is scouting professionally after that last encounter, but they don't run into anything else. The going is easier here.
Eventually they wind up at what to Maedlyn looks like a dead end. It's a sheer rock wall covered in old roots. Ellie stops, turns and points upward.
"Seriously?" says Maedlyn. "Now you'll have me rock climbing?"
"Root climbing, really," says Ellie. "Come on, it's practically a ladder. And this is the destination. You go first. I'm sure you won't fall, but if you do I'll catch you."
Maedlyn gives her a look. "Very well, then. But mind your eyes."
"What?" asks Ellie. "Oh, come on!"
Maedlyn laughs, then begins her ascent. Ellie's right, the roots are thick and numerous. It's not very difficult. It's about twelve feet high. When Maedlyn finds her feet, there are more bushes and trees, and a clearing a little further, looks like.
Ellie pops up behind her almost silently. Graceful, as always. Maedlyn enjoys her confident movements as much as the musculature of her forearms. Ellie meets her eyes with a little secret smile, then moves into the bushes.
Following her, Maedlyn finds herself walking into a flat, circular clearing, maybe thirty feet across. It's a bed of soft looking green grass. The only other feature is a big tree stump. The trunk of the tree fell sometime long ago, disappearing into the surrounding trees.
It's a special spot, Ellie was right. Maedlyn looks up. The sky is huge and blue above her. A steep rock wall extends on one side, leading up to a terrific view of a monumental peak.
"Oh, Ellie…" says Maedlyn. She closes her eyes, smiling. "You were right. I did miss this."
"And I'll bet you'll like this, too." Maedlyn looks. Ellie gestures with her thumb to where they climbed the wall. "That is the only way in here."
"Really?"
"Well, let me put it this way, that's the easiest way in here."
Maedlyn narrows her eyes. "Ever seen an infected climb?"
"Something like that? Literally never."
They are really safe, then. Maedlyn smiles. She traces Ellie's jaw with her finger. "You do know how to take care of a girl, don't you?" She leans in for a kiss.
The get to work setting up their little camp. Ellie started a fire pit the last time she was here. She finishes it and builds a little fire and a wood cross bar to hang her little cooking pot from. They're both eager to get dinner going after their hike.
"So what'd you bring?" Ellie asks. Maedlyn had kept it secret.
"Well, I wanted it to be something you like, so I made another batch of that beef stew."
Ellie's eyes widen. "Oh! The one from a few weeks ago?"
"That's the one."
Ellie's head rolls back in anticipation. "Yes!"
Maedlyn laughs. While she's preparing it, Ellie busies herself setting up their little tent. The sky is turning orange and sunset approaches. It's a beautiful sight. Maedlyn looks over to another beautiful sight, smartly staking their tent to the ground. Ellie laid out a double sleeping bag that she brought for them wide open, to use as a cushion and blanket. Maedlyn smiles. This is turning out pretty fine, all things considered.
"Soup's up, cutie!" Maedlyn calls.
"Be right there, I'm just about done."
Ellie provides two little tin mugs to eat the stew out of.
"No spoons?" Maedlyn asks.
"That's roughing it," Ellie replies.
Ellie puts the open sleeping bag up against a broad side of the tree stump, near the fire. The nestle up next to each other against it, sipping their stew. They chat idly for a while. Ellie talks about her recent patrols, and some stories Lev has caught form around town while delivering mail. He's stringently careful not to share anything that might be considered gossip.
Maedlyn's met him and Abby, who she essentially thinks of as his big sister, a few times. She likes them. Their story is wild, and Maedlyn doesn't know all of it, but she doesn't really feel like she needs to. It's a long time gone, now. And that seems to suit them well.
"Alright," says Ellie, coming back from cleaning their mugs with spring water she'd picked up on the way. "Per your request." She pulls a bottle of wine with a handwritten label on it from her pack. "From Chateau Mary. Vintage…" Ellie screws up her face, thinking. "2041? I guess. Man, don't really think about that much, anymore."
"Let's see," says Maedlyn. She takes the bottle. "Ooh, zinfandel. Luscious."
Ellie pops the cork and pours some into both their tin mugs. She sets the bottle on the grass and sits back down against the stump, their bodies touching from hip to shoulder.
"To Jackson?" Ellie offers her mug for a toast.
"To promise," replies Maedlyn. The tin makes a little clink when the mugs touch.
For a while after that, they don't say anything. They just enjoy the sky, the mountain, the glade, and the fire. And each other. It's a nice moment. It's a nice night. Maedlyn's glad she agreed. She looks at Ellie.
"You up for a little more?" she asks.
Ellie hesitates. That's Maedlyn's code for talking about serious things. She's trying not to be too pushy with Ellie, but she wants them to get closer. To talk real, and regularly, if this thing is going to work. And Ellie has been good. Honest, always. Brave, when she needs to be.
Ellie thinks. "Do you want to talk about what we're scared of?"
Oh. That is a good one. Maedlyn bites her lip. "Okay, but you go first."
"Okay," Ellie replies. She looks down and swirls her wine in her mug. "A long time ago I was talking about this with someone else. I told him I was scared of ending up alone."
"Yeah?" says Maedlyn. "That scares me, too."
Ellie looks at her. Sometimes, Ellie is as silly and impetuous as a ten year old. Sometimes, she seems far older than Maedlyn. She seems that way right now.
"In a world like this, full of danger, it makes sense, right? To be by yourself…" Ellie's eyes drift off. "Even if you managed to survive, would you be living? Time has changed my thoughts, though."
"How so?"
"I would never have admitted it, but there was a time when I would cling to the people around me. Desperate not to lose them. I never had anyone, remember. When I was young. So that was where I started from. So when I got someone, they had to stay. I had to protect them."
Ellie's eyes are miles away. This is touching a deep place for her. Tense and fascinated, Maedlyn lays a hand on Ellie's forearm, but she doesn't react.
"Then I started to lose those people. And that really changed the calculus."
"What do you mean?"
"It would have been bad with anyone. But when I lost Joel… I started questioning whether being alone was really so bad."
"Ellie…"
"So I spent a lot of time alone. A lot, that year after Santa Barbara. For a time, it seemed like it helped. I told myself I was free. But I wasn't. I was a slave to pain I didn't want to feel. Coming back to Jackson, coming back to that pain, it felt like dying. But the truth is, I was coming back to life."
Ellie looks at her, but Maedlyn can't imagine responding to that. It's beyond anything she'd ever experienced. So she reaches up and strokes her cheek.
Ellie looks back at her, crushing Maedlyn's heart with her eyes.
"What are you scared of now, then?" Maedlyn asks.
Ellie smiles sadly. "The exact same thing. Only now I really feel it."
Maedlyn swallows. She's part of that story now, she realizes. She is someone that Ellie could lose. "You really were ready for more…"
Ellie smiles. "Your turn," she says softly.
Maedlyn bites her lip. "Right…" She looks down, and adjust herself, sitting up a little straighter. She thinks. "I'm scared of what I love being taken from me."
Ellie frowns. "What do you mean?"
Maedlyn's going to that place where she feels small. It's something she always resists, but it's also the whole point right now, and she lets it happen.
"When I was a little girl, I thought everybody was nice. In Paisley. That was my whole world. The infected scared me. They scared me bad. I rarely saw them, but sometimes they would come up to the fence and start banging on it. I still remember—" Maedlyn brings her hand to her head, she can still hear one of them growling, it had looked at her, and she'd been terrified. "But the adults always dealt with them, always kept them away. So I felt safe, but only inside those walls.
"And then those men came to town, and that day I learned that not everyone was nice."
Ellie doesn't say anything, but her deep eyes and wrinkled brow say she understands. She puts her hand around the wrist holding Maedlyn's mug and squeezes her.
"I know what they were doing, now. Terrorizing, killing those who resisted. They never intended to wipe us out, they wanted to use us. At the time, though, all I remember was my mother's face, in the darkness. She cradled me, telling me I was going to be okay. That they would protect us. That she would protect me. I can still hear the sounds outside."
"Mads…"
"When it got quiet again, one of the men came into our tent. There were several of us in there, all women. He was horrible to look at. One of his arms was darkened. Blood or ash, I'll never know. He sneered at us, looking over all of us. He never said anything, he just left. Mother sang me to sleep that night. The next day, everything changed.
"Some things were the same. Most things were different. Those men, they were always around, always watching us. They worked us a lot harder. They didn't like us kids playing. We had to sneak to play. The newcomers were mean and creepy. We didn't say a word to them we didn't have to. We knew we had to obey them. The adults, the people who had always protected us, were scared. And that made me very, very scared."
Ellie squeezes her wrist again. Her face moves, she wants to say things, but she forces herself not to. She shakes her head, as if for Maedlyn to continue.
"Fortunately it was a short time. Maybe three weeks. We were afraid to defy them openly, but in private our solidarity was unquestioned. Mother told me about the plan just before it happened. We would flee together, to find a new home, when the men were sleeping off their drink. And it worked. I was terrified, though. I was afraid we would be caught and the punishment I knew would be terrible. I don't think I ever wholly let go of that fear. On the road, I would always wonder. Would they finally catch up with us? Would we run across a new band of cruel men?
"I hated that. That people could do that to each other. It went against everything I had learned in Paisley. But I couldn't argue with it, because it had happened to me. To us. I learned that what you love can be taken from you, and there may be nothing you can do to stop it. Even—" Maedlyn actually goes to speak, but the words stop coming. She opens her mouth, but only air comes out. The feeling is swelling in her chest.
Ellie's concerned. She leans toward her, putting her arm around her. Maedlyn's words finally come out in a heavy rush.
"I miss my daddy, Ellie."
Without another word Ellie pulls her in as Maedlyn begins to sob, clutching her closely. Maedlyn's forehead presses into Ellie's neck, the smell of her skin entwining with the waves of smothering sadness rushing up from within her.
Ellie doesn't sing, but she does whisper to Maedlyn. She rocks her, and gives her words of comfort, and truth and meaning and love. Maedlyn clings to them as she weeps.
Some time later, it's quiet again and Maedlyn has made a mess of Ellie's shirt. She rouses and pulls her head off Ellie's shoulder, part of Ellie's shirt sticking to her cheek for an instant.
Maedlyn sniffs and rubs at her face. "Well, that was more than I bargained for." It's come full dark, and the light of the fire is dim, for which Maedlyn is thankful because she must look a mess.
She can see Ellie's smile and the glint of her eye in the firelight. "That's the point, right?"
"God…"
Ellie squeezes Maedlyn's hand one last time and lets go. Maedlyn looks up. "I was looking forward to this part," Ellie says.
"What part?"
Ellie looks upward. Maedlyn follows suit, and indeed the stars are out in force. They're uncountable. It's not like in Jackson's walls and Maedlyn had almost forgotten about it. Without intending it, Maedlyn makes a sound of wonder.
Ellie rises next to her. "Come on." Maedlyn takes her hand and follows her.
Ellie brings the sleeping back and fans it out in front of the tent, under the open sky. They lay on their backs next to each other.
"I told you I really love space, right?" Ellie asks her.
Maedlyn smiles. "I do believe you mentioned it."
"Look," Ellie says, pointing. "You can see the milky way super clear out here. I love that."
"The… milky way?"
Ellie looks at her. "You don't know what that is? You didn't learn in school?"
"Ellie, I just told you. I didn't grow up like you did. We didn't have 'school,' we had old Cody. He had books and things. The adults would make us sit with him every week and learn, but that's it."
"Oh, right. I guess I never thought about that…"
As she trails off, Maedlyn gives her a look. "Yeah, remember, you're dating a real simpleton."
"I wasn't saying—" Ellie laughs. "Okay, I'm not making fun, look. You see that glowy, cloudy band right there?"
"Hard to miss that… When I was a kid, I kind of thought that was heaven."
"Really?"
"You said you weren't making fun."
"I'm not! I'm not, really. That's beautiful, actually. I can see why you'd think that."
Ellie means it, she does loves space. Maedlyn can hear the joy in her voice. She likes it.
Maedlyn scooches over and takes Ellie's arm, snuggling up to her. "Well, tell me about it, then."
"The milky way is the name of our galaxy, which—do you know what a galaxy is?"
Maedlyn smiles into her shoulder. "That I do know."
"Well, that's ours. Earth is on the outside, we're looking at the center…"
Needing no further prompting, Ellie takes off. She goes on about galaxies and solar systems, nebulas and black holes. How she's dreamed of exploring space since she was a little girl. About the day she spent in a planetarium that changed her life.
A warm, exquisite feeling burgeons in Maedlyn's chest. The sound of Ellie's voice. The passion in her words. That face… Suddenly, Maedlyn can't remember why she hesitated to come out here with Ellie.
"And that's Orion, for example. It kind of looks like a man… Anyway, constellations aren't really astronomy, ancient people came up with them and made up stories about them. They are cool, though, there's a bunch…" Ellie trails off, looking at Maedlyn. "Are you listening?"
Maedlyn's easy smile broadens. "Oh, I'm listening."
"Are you sure? Because there will be a test."
"Oh, a test?" Maedlyn leans in.
"That's right." Their lips meet.
"And if I fail?" Maedlyn asks before kissing Ellie again.
"You'll have to take the class again."
"Oh, no…"
The stars twinkle on, overhead, the firmament slowly turning over them in its eternal walk, bearing witness to the lovers far below. A shooting star passes by far above them, but neither of them notice.
Ellie holds Maedlyn's hand as they walk down Baker Street. They dropped off the packs they'd taken camping at Maedlyn's place, and decided they'd pick up breakfast. Not before Maedlyn exchanged her heavy boots for some cute mary janes that match her teal dress, though.
Maedlyn's slightly flushed. Ellie can tell she's embarrassed to hold her hand, but she sure isn't fighting it. She's private about romantic stuff like that, which is fine with Ellie. It's pretty cute, actually.
Of course, Ellie's a little embarrassed, too, but she sure isn't gonna show it.
"Hey," she says, "May's place is on this street. How about a bagel or something? Ooh, you could even get some coffee."
Maedlyn gives her a look. "I actually like coffee."
"Yeah, that's right. Strange…"
"I bet you'd like it too if you gave it a chance."
"Eh, I'll stick with orange juice."
"Ooh, does she have that? I haven't had that in some time."
Jackson is quiet this morning, they've only seen a few people. As they approach May's bakery, Ellie frowns. It's dark inside. She thinks. It's Monday, it should be pretty busy. They reach the front doors and stop.
"Looks like she's closed," says Maedlyn.
"Yeah, but that doesn't make sense."
"Maybe she's taking the day off."
"Maybe…" Turning, Ellie sees Dinesh walking their way. She approaches him, letting go of Maedlyn's hand. "Hey, Dinesh."
There's a little startlement to his expression. "Hey Ellie. Hey Maedlyn."
"Hi," says Maedlyn.
"Hey," says Ellie, "do you know why May's is closed? She's always open on Monday."
He bears that startled expression again. "You didn't hear anything?"
There's a twist in Ellie's gut. "Hear what? We spent the night out of town. Did something happen?" She feels Maedlyn's hand laid gently on her back.
Dinesh is clearly uncomfortable. He looks around. "Shit… yeah. Yeah, something happened. A party went out yesterday, for forage. They were just collecting wild berries from the fields Southwest. They had guards and everything, but they got rushed by a band of infected, just some roamers. They took them out, but Clem was killed… and a couple of the others got bit."
Ellie advances on him. He takes a half step back. "And May?"
He fumbles. "May was one of them." He gestures helplessly with his hands. "Ellie, I'm sorry. I didn't know you knew her."
Maedlyn says something, but Ellie can't hear her. A tumult is building in her head. She pictures May in her empty shop, holding Ellie's fingers while they talked about Clint. The noise steadies into a steady sound.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
"Where are they now?" Ellie interrupts the other two.
"Uh… they took them to the infirmary, I think, but Ellie…"
Without further word, Ellie starts moving, and she doesn't stop until she hears Maedlyn shouting her name.
"Ellie, stop!"
Ellie turns and Maedlyn is following, stumbling. She's bending over. Ellie's angry for a second. She looks a question at Maedlyn.
Maedlyn wrestles off her mary janes, and takes Ellie's hand, barefoot. They take off running together.
The rest of the trip is a blur. Buildings and faces fly by them, many turned their way. She sees Jordan at one point and he calls out to her, but she ignores him.
The dark green doors of the infirmary appear, a two story white walled building. Ellie pushes through them. There are two nurses in the lobby, startled at Ellie's entrance.
"Where are they?" Ellie asks.
They exchange a look, and one of them points to a hallway. Ellie goes straight for it.
There's an open door at the end and Ellie can see a bed. A woman is walking toward them and Ellie recognizes Maria.
Maria's eyes go wide. "Ellie, what—" She reaches out for her. "Ellie, hold on!"
Ellie jerks her arm away and runs straight into the room, panting.
There are two beds to the right with people in them, IV bags set up next to them. Ellie looks to a bed on the left, and sees May.
The older woman's form looks horrible. Her skin is pale, features sunken. Her face is slack and she's limp in the bed. Ellie's heart wrenches. She feels Maedlyn squeeze her arm as she gasps.
There's someone sitting next to the bed. At first, his face doesn't make sense. Then Ellie recognizes him.
Captain Dunford stands up, equally surprised to see her. He doesn't say anything. In response to her questioning gaze, he glances to the side.
There's a counter against the inner wall of the room. There's a large box on it. Limbs moving on their own, Ellie walks over and opens it. It's a heavily insulated box. There's thin mist trailing about inside amongst rows of caps. She grabs one.
In her hand is a small glass vial with a printed label on the side reading Immunoglobulin E.
Ellie looks over at May. She looks as bad as before, but now Ellie can tell her eyes are cracked open. She's looking at Ellie. Dazed, Ellie walks over to her. She lays a hand on the crown of the woman's head.
May glances between the vial and Ellie's face. Her voice comes out a grating whisper. "Well, that was a hell of a night."
Ellie stares. Clint's words come to her, then, unbidden.
I still have May. Nothing ever gonna happen to her. I will not let go of that.
May's expression changes to concern. The hand holding the vial is shaking. Ellie leans down, laying her head against the older woman's, her tears falling down onto her face. May makes a quiet sound, and Ellie feels her soft hand on her cheek.
Ellie decides right there.
I'm not gonna let go, either.