Author's Note: Just want to say I welcome any reviews or messages about chapter length, or any other thing getting between you and the story. Thank you for staying with me this far. I will say, in my own opinion, some of the best scenes are yet to come. That's the thing, though, we have to earn 'em. Enjoy.
They leave Buckman Elementary from the same window they climbed in. When they get back on Starbeam, Ellie climbs on front. Clint doesn't complain. Starbeam's ears keep flicking nervously. She watched Eddie die too. Ellie strokes her neck as they go. She takes them South, hoping that way is less occupied. They can avoid downtown entirely.
It's quiet for a while. Ellie is not feeling talkative. They have no guaranteed routes out of the city but part of her doesn't even care. She sticks to the same strategy, moving in the shadow of buildings and the trees. Avoiding pavement wherever possible to minimize sound. Eventually Clint speaks up, in low tones.
"So are we gonna talk, or not?"
"About what?"
"Some kind of plan. A route out of the city."
"There are no safe routes out of the city. So we just go until someone tries to stop us, or doesn't. That's the plan."
"Okay…"
"You have a better one?" She's losing her patience.
"No, I don't, Ellie. Can we talk about how this kind of sucks?"
"Everything sucks, Clint. Talk to yourself, if you want."
That finally shuts him up.
They're passing through a more commercial area, with less cover. It's not ideal, but what is she going to do? She keeps going.
The sky is a gray sheet. The buildings around them are busted, grown over with vines and worn down, but they're clean. It rains a lot here, she can tell. Then she feels the first drops and it starts to rain right now. She looks up at the sky. A million little droplets swim through the wind like an endless school of fish.
"It's gonna get cold," says Clint. "We might need to find shelter. One of us could get sick."
"We get out of the city," is her reply.
There's an open space and a huge, multi-story white building with a bluish glass structures erected on top, geometric and latticed. It's actually pretty cool. There's a sign out front that says 'Oregon Convention Center.' In front of the sign there's a statue with people on it. Not thinking, she leads Starbeam toward it.
"Ellie, what are you doing?"
There's a dignified looking black man in a suit, a young man with rolled up sleeves, and a little girl in a dress. She looks at it for a while. She looks down at the plinth. The rain has kept it legible.
'An excerpt from a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the historic March on Washington, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963.
'I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today…'
The rain runs in droplets down her brow. She looks up at the man in the suit again. He does look like he has a dream.
"Ellie." There's fear in Clint's voice. "This is pretty cool, but we really, really need to keep moving, okay?" She looks over her shoulder at him. His eyes are pleading with her. His hand is firm on her upper arm.
She finds some kind of smile. "You worry too much."
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Do you know who that is?"
"The doctor?"
"Yeah."
He scratches his head. "Not really, no. I've heard his name."
"When he was alive, things were really messed up for black people. Especially where he grew up. He became a minister and would give speeches and lead marches, trying to fix things. He was a great leader. A lot of people hated him, though. They didn't want anything to change. They shot him dead."
"That's pretty messed up."
"Yeah."
She's looking at the features of his face. She wonders if it's really accurate. She wishes she could have met him.
"Ellie…" Clint is practically trembling.
She moves the reigns and guides them back on a path South, out of the city.
They continue through the commercial area for a while, past old warehouses with white, ridged steel siding, blotched with rusty patches. In a couple places trees have grown through cracks in the sidewalk, mature roots cracking the cement slabs and pushing them up out of their beds. They cross a huge road covered in abandoned cars. She guides Starbeam around them. In front of them is a railyard. She can tell because there are a long row of warehouse type buildings and a lot of different colored cargo containers. There's a chain link fence but it's largely fallen down. She's debating whether to go around when she and Clint hear it at the same time.
Voices, talking in casual tones, somewhere behind them. They turn as one. On top of one of the warehouses they just passed there are a couple guys. They see each other at the same time.
"Yah!" shouts Ellie. Starbeam must have been ready to run, because she bolts. Clint's arm tightens around her.
The men on the warehouse start shouting. There's a gunshot, and the bullet bounces off the pavement a few yards from them. Starbeam jumps the lip at the base of the fence and clears the fence entirely. There are scattered cargo containers to their right, but other than that it's wide open asphalt until they reach the warehouses. Starbeam's hooves pound the pavement.
She hears more shouts, to the right. Between the containers she can see glimpses of a group of maybe three looking at them. There are a couple more shots, but the containers provide decent cover. Cover that they are running out of.
Ellie's teeth are clenched and her lips part. They are not losing another horse. There is going to be blood today.
There are more shouts, now to their left. They're far away. But they're coordinating. This is their job.
"Fucking bastards!" she roars. She hears Clint fire off a couple shots. He's not likely to hit anyone but he might make them take cover.
The first warehouse is probably a hundred yards away. They might be able to make it. Then someone comes out of it.
Ellie's eyes go wide and she reaches for her gun. The person isn't holding one though. They look around, it's a woman. She beckons them urgently.
There's a rolling door behind her, open wide enough for them to get inside. The woman stands to the side, one hand on the door. They duck under it. Ellie brings Starbeam around in wide circle, slowing to a canter, then a walk, then a stop. The air is quiet other than Starbeam's panting.
There are five other people in the room. The first woman swivels inside the door and a man lets go of the chain. It slides shut with a bang.
It's a lot darker in the warehouse, but she can see. She doesn't have to tell Clint that this could just be a trap. There aren't any guns pointed at them yet, but Ellie doesn't holster hers.
"Who are you?" she asks them.
"Who are you?" the man by the chain asks.
"Jordan, they're coming. We have to—"
"Why did you help us?" Ellie asks.
"Because we're human fucking beings. And those guys are animals—are you gonna put that away?"
Ellie knows she probably looks hostile. She sure as hell ain't smiling. She holsters her gun. She hears Clint do the same.
"Ellie," she says.
After a moment, Clint follows suit. "Clint."
"I'm Sarah," says the woman who let them in. She has dark hair tied in a ponytail with a kerchief tied around it. It reminds her of Tess. "That's Jordan. And this is Steve, Jenna, Thomas and Kate."
Ellie can tell just by looking that they're all couples.
"Look," says Jordan. He's got blue eyes and long, dark hair brushed back, kind of like Jesse's. "They're gonna converge on us."
"Is there a safe exit route?" Ellie asks.
"Not really…" he responds. He eyes Starbeam. "And with a horse? Definitely not."
"Then we kill them," says Ellie. She swings off Starbeam. Clint hesitates but does the same.
"You sure?" Clint asks her.
"Kinda fucking sounds like we have to, Clint." She has no patience for him right now. He sets his face.
"We don't know how many there are." It's Jenna. She's a pretty brunette with blue eyes and a big, green coat.
"I saw eight," says Ellie. "There may be a lot more. Doesn't matter, cause they're all going to die."
Jordan frowns. "Is that a fact…" He looks at Sarah. Sarah's looking back at him in a way that says she does not like how this conversation is going.
She grasps at straws. "We could maybe hide it out."
"With a horse?"
"Starbeam is not going anywhere," says Ellie.
"Starbeam?" It's Steve.
Ellie takes Starbeam's reins and walks her over to a dark corner. Low visibility. She ties her up, stroking her jowls and giving some quiet, reassuring words.
They're talking behind her.
"I do not like the odds if there's eight. Or more."
"We are not going to be able to sneak out of here."
"Why did you open the door?"
"You hear yourself?"
"We don't even have that much ammo."
"Enough." It's Jordan. "Ellie's right, we've got no other choice now. And they do deserve to die." He looks at her. "You guys good in a fight?"
She looks at him like he's crazy. "Yeah," is all she says.
"Good," he says. "Sarah, stay on me. Steve, get up high somewhere with your rifle. Tom, Kate, find some cover." He looks at Ellie.
"Strategize all you want. Clint and I will do our own thing."
He nods.
"One thing," says Ellie. "Let them get inside before we start shooting."
"Let them get inside?" he asks her.
"If it turns into a shootout, it could take all day. And we could run out of ammo. Neither of those things can happen, since more of them could be on the way."
He frowns but he gets it. He looks at Sarah.
She makes an exasperated sound. "Let's fucking get this over with."
The warehouse is only a hundred feet long or so, but the tall racking is full of old boxes of junk, and the lighting is dim. It's perfect for an ambush. Or reverse ambush, she guesses.
She gestures with her head and Clint heads toward the back. She takes a side, crouches against a stack of pallets, and waits.
Sixty seconds later, the sounds start.
The rolling door rattles, and creaks as someone lifts it a couple feet with their hands.
"The fuck are you doing?"
She can see one pair of feet, and another walk out of her line of sight.
"Well, they aren't shooting yet." He lifts it high enough to climb underneath. Another man follows him in with a sour look on his face. A door in the back of the warehouse opens, and some more enter with a bit more stealth.
"I don't think they're in here anymore."
The first man calls out. "They go out the back way?"
A gruff voice responds from the back of the warehouse. "No."
The first man frowns then starts looking around. Then his eyes catch on something. He points his finger. "Shit, that's the fucking horse!"
A bullet rips through his temple.
"Fuck!"
There's shouting all over the place and a lot of gunshots. The second man comes running up her aisle. She stiffens behind the stack of pallets. When he's about to pass her, she grabs the back of his collar, brings her knife around and opens his throat in a fierce, slick motion. He gurgles.
"There's one up top!" More gunshots.
She sees Thomas with his back to the racking. He's got messy black hair and he's wearing nerdy looking cracked glasses. He's scarcely holding it together. He takes a stiff breath and pulls around the corner, aiming his pistol. He's eyes shoot upward. "Shit!" He stumbles backward and takes a bullet.
"There's someone up high!" Calls Ellie.
Clint is in a heavy fistfight with one of them. The other guy is losing, though. The guy falls back against the racking and Clint slugs him hard in the jaw, six or seven times. The guy goes limp.
"Clint!" she calls. He looks up, looking at little shell-shocked. "Up top!" She gestures to where Thomas got shot from.
Clint looks around the racking by him and up. He curses and takes cover just in time to avoid a whistling bullet. Bastard is a good shot.
Ellie makes eye contact with Clint and creeps toward the back of the warehouse. There is a ring of windows near the ceiling. He must be in one of them. She peers around the corner. She can see his barrel sticking through one of the windows. Then she notices it's actually a woman. She notices Ellie and her barrel snaps to her. Ellie's heart skips a beat.
She hears Clint's magnum discharge and the woman's shoulder flies back as she fires. The bullet ricochets off the wall and Ellie feels a burning pain in her calf. The woman falls back. There's no sound and Ellie realizes she fell off the building. She hears her body hit the pavement.
Ellie creeps down an aisle toward the center of the warehouse. When she gets there, she sees Jordan. He's uninjured. Thomas is there, holding his arm. There's a fair amount of blood.
"Guys," says Jordan. It's quiet in the warehouse. "Are we good?"
The others filter in from the other aisles. Everyone's there. Steve waves from on top of one of the racks.
"Damn," says Jordan. "That was close."
Ellie can hear something, though. Jordan looks at her, and she gestures for him to continue. He looks confused, but he does.
"We need to start thinking about how to get out of here."
He keeps going while Ellie creeps to the back of the warehouse silently. When she looks around the end of the racking. She can see one of them watching Jordan and trying to slip away. There's blood on his forehead and he's wearing ragged, dirty clothes. He sees Ellie and his eyes go wide. She shoots him in the face, and it's done.
She walks back to the others. "Now we're clear."
Sarah is tending to Thomas. "I'm just going to bandage it for now. We'll get the bullet out back at the clinic."
Thomas is pretty pale. Not really the soldier type. Not everyone can be.
"We need to move before more show up," says Ellie.
"No shit," says Jordan. He screws up his lips. "We'll have to go outside, with Starbeam. But there's a ditch behind the west side of the railyard we can follow."
"Sounds good," says Ellie.
They manage to get Starbeam through the man door at the back of the warehouse. It's still raining, but it's not a downpour. The sound of raindrops slapping against the pavement is all around them. Otherwise it's quiet. There are a lot of buildings, but also some long sightlines. They walk across the pavement around a long building that runs along the West side of the railyard. There's another a huge hole in the fence, and like Jordan said, a long ditch running North and South. It's lined with small rocks and there's water pooled at the bottom. Jordan leads them down it, heading South.
They cross another wide road, rain making metallic pings as it lands on the cars around them. They walk into an alley between two businesses. They come out into a small parking lot behind what looks like a vet clinic. Jordan looks at her.
"We're here."
The mood's not exactly chipper, since it's cold and it's too dangerous to build a fire, but they're safe.
They've pushed all the tables in the back room aside and laid out all their sleeping bags. They make room for Clint and Ellie's. A lot of the tension eases up and they start chatting, like they probably usually do. They're being way too loud for Ellie's taste, but she doesn't say anything.
"Lil' Tommy finally took a bullet!" It's Steve. He's got close-cropped blonde hair and a handsome jawline. He likes to smirk.
"Fuck you, Steve."
"Be nice to him!" It's Kate. She's a cute, skinny little strawberry blonde, even smaller than Thomas. They're probably about Clint's age.
"Hey, he's on painkillers, he's fine. Maybe now he'll be able to grow a beard."
"You're so dumb."
They joke around for a while, periodically lamenting the rain, and the lack of a heat source.
"You know what's fucking sad?" says Jordan. "If they actually did kill us, they'd go through our stuff and find practically nothing."
"I don't know," says Steve, "couple nice shirts. Just with bullet holes and bloodstains."
"Oh, enough," says Sarah. She gives Jordan a look. They're definitely together.
"What?" says Jordan. "Just the plain truth."
"Well just because it's true doesn't mean it needs to be said."
"Ah, maybe…" says Steve. He eyes the newcomers. "So what about you two? Where are you from? What brought you here?"
Ellie's about to say they probably ought to keep that to themselves when Clint speaks up.
"Wyoming."
"Ah," says Jordan, "the Cowboy State. Heard it's pretty out there. Pretty empty, too. Bet it gets cold."
"It does, but we do alright."
"Yeah? You got a settlement?"
"Is that what you guys are looking for?" Clint asks.
"Well…" Jordan looks at Sarah. She's got a conflicted look on her face. She sends him a veiled message with her eyes. "Yeah. Basically. Somewhere we don't have to fear for our lives. Can maybe get a decent meal now and then."
"Then you should go to Jackson Hole."
Seriously, Clint? We don't even know these people.
"Jackson? Yeah? Wow… Maybe all that empty space is a commodity of its own."
"I don't know…" says Steve. "What happens when we get there and they just stick us up for all we're worth?"
"Stick you up for what?" says Clint. "Nothing?"
Thomas and a couple others laugh at that.
"What's going on in Jackson?" asks Jordan, more soberly.
"Well, shoot, Jordan, a lot. It's governed by a good woman. Maria. Sees everything stays in order. Got greenhouses. A variety of tradesmen. On-grid power and plumbing—"
"Are you serious?" Jenna asks, but Clint keeps going.
"Also a substantial wall, guardsmen and patrollers to make sure it stays safe, of course. The population has been growing for some time. If that's really all you want, I'm not pulling your leg, you should go there."
Thomas and Kate are whispering excitedly, but Jordan's inner serious is on the surface now. It's easy to tell that he and Sarah are the leaders. They consider themselves responsible. "And what does Maria ask in return?"
"I mean…" Clint shrugs. "She'll put you to work. That's all. They use these notes for trade. There's barter too, of course. She'll jail you if you're lazy, she did it to Remus a while back."
At this point Jordan is just looking at Sarah. She looks nervous, rubbing her sides with her hands. She looks at Ellie. "Could you two lead us there?"
"Afraid not," she replies. "We aren't headed to Jackson."
"What's the matter?" asks Steve. "You guys get in trouble there?"
"No." Ellie produces her second knife, inspecting it. She pulls out her whetstone. "Just got somewhere to be."
"You really both in the Fireflies?" asks Jordan. Ellie looks at him sharply. He gestures to her forearm. "You seem a bit young."
She goes back to her work. "Not as young as I look."
There's a few seconds of silence. Clint ends it.
"So where are you guys from?"
"Seattle," says Steve. Ellie looks at him. "What, you been there?"
"Once," she says. "Things get bad there?"
He purses his lips. "No, actually. Things were actually getting better."
"Really?"
"Yeah. After that asshole Isaac got himself killed in the island attack he so cleverly orchestrated, it turned into a sort of… triumvirate situation under Mick, Angela, and Hansen. Mick's a dick, but the other two are alright."
"Is the fighting still going on?"
"With the Scars? Hell no, they got decimated in that attack. No one ever sees Scars anymore. They're either hiding in caves on their island or they left. Good fucking riddance."
"Steve," says Sarah.
"What? I mean it! You remember what they used to do to people? You ever see it with your own eyes?"
"Steve," says Jordan patiently, but firmly. "We get it. That's enough."
"If things are good in Seattle, why did you guys leave?" asks Clint.
"Are we telling personal stories now?" Steve asks, eyeing Ellie. She keeps sharpening her knife.
"We left," says Thomas, "because Steve's dumb ass got himself in deep shit."
"Hey now," Steve says, "who was it that got us out of the city?"
"The hell?" says Thomas. "Like that makes up for it somehow?"
"It was just some light smuggling."
Sarah rolls her eyes and turns around.
"And you guys all left together?" Clint asks.
"Yeah…" says Steve. He looks up at Jenna, who's got this patient, knowing smile. "That's what family's for. These guys aren't that bad, despite what you might think."
"Truly endearing, Steve," says Jordan.
"I used to know a smuggler," says Ellie. Clint looks her way. She inspects her knife. The light runs up the edge of the blade, fine as starlight. "He wasn't half bad."
"Old flame?" asks Steve.
"More like old man," says Clint.
Jordan is looking at her and there's something about it she doesn't like. He looks back and forth between her tattoo and her face.
"Ellie," he asks, "when were you in Seattle?"
"I'd rather not say." There are nicks on her knife she's never noticed.
"Was it last Winter? Before the big storm?"
"Jordan," says Sarah. She can tell Ellie is on edge.
"I'd rather not say."
"Did you come with another girl? With a black ponytail?"
Ellie throws her knife in her pack and gives a Jordan a look that discourages further questions.
Jordan's face has a touch of wonder on it. He has a disbelieving half-smile. "Holy shit." His hand comes up and rubs his short beard. "Holy fucking shit. Sarah, it's her."
Sarah's brow is all pinched. She looks at Ellie, then at Jordan.
"It's the trespasser girl. From right before Isaac died."
The rest of them turn and look at her at the same time.
"Son of a bitch," says Steve. "You're right, aren't you?"
Clint is frowning, confused. Ellie's heartrate is quickening.
"Everyone in the stadium was talking about you," says Jordan. "The guards kept spotting you, but you just kept getting through."
"Jordan," says Sarah, "Ellie clearly doesn't want us talking about the past, okay?"
"They said you probably killed three dozen guys by yourself."
Clint's looking at her too, now.
A lot of bad memories are coming up. Ellie's chest is burning, and icy cold. She's taking deep breaths, but she's barely keeping herself together.
She had been right. Portland is too close to Seattle.
"There's no problem, is there?" asks Clint. There's no threat in his voice, but they can tell he's serious.
"Huh?" Jordan is taken aback. "Oh, uh, no. I mean, no, it's just—I mean shit, she's kind of a legend, you know?"
"That's true," says Steve.
"I ain't got no problem, didn't kill anyone I know."
"Jordan!" says Sarah. "Can you show some goddamn respect? Or should we—" She shoves his shoulder and he rolls on his back. "—start talking about the people you've killed?"
He's surprised. "Well, damn, Sarah. I didn't mean any offense…" He probably looks at Ellie, but she can't be sure because she's staring at her lap, thinking about her breathing. She glances at Clint. He looks like he wants to come over and hug her, but he's wise, and he doesn't.
"No wonder—" Steve interrupts himself by laughing. "No wonder she gave Jordan that look when he asked if she was any good in a fight."
"Can we change the subject, please?" says Jenna in a way that says they're done. She sits down close to Steve, touching him, and gives him a long look.
"Uh…" He scratches his lip. "Well, there is the subject of food."
Sarah sighs.
"You guys don't have any?" asks Clint.
"Very little," says Sarah.
Clint scratches the back of his head. Ellie is looking at him. They cannot just give away their food to strangers.
"Well, we don't have a lot…" Clint says. He's so weak.
"Even just a little would help." It's Steve, but it doesn't sound like him. He's about ready to plead for it.
Clint nods. He digs through his pack. He holds up his bag of nuts. Besides that he must be down to just a few apples. He gives the entire bag and an apple to Sarah. Sarah takes it and walks directly to Jenna, who takes it.
"I don't need all this…" she says meekly.
"You eat as much as you want," says Sarah.
Ellie stands up, reaches into her pack, retrieves a bundle of berries and hands it to Jenna. When she thanks her, it's heartfelt.
"Kate and I found a few cans of food," says Thomas. His words are slightly slurred. "It's pre-outbreak, though, so you take your chances."
They open those up and start passing them around. Ellie's not feeling terribly hungry, but she does eat almost half a can of garbanzo beans. They've never tasted so good.
After that, they lay in the bags, staving off the cold, and talking until it actually gets dark outside. She can tell Clint is really enjoying the company. She doesn't talk much, but it's nice to listen. There's no official lights out. People just drift off while the others talk quietly about the road and back home and dreams and random things.
The last thing she remembers before oblivion is Clint talking about Summer.