Chapter 2 Abby

Abby was sitting in her room on Catalina island. They had found the fireflies years ago, after Ellie of all people had freed her from the fate those rattlers had chosen for her. It still hurt a lot to think back of what they had all done to her and Lev. At least Lev due to his upbringing had been able to handle it better afterwards, the kid was strong, stronger in some ways that she was, even after spending years rebuilding her physique in the gym of the firefly base. When they arrived it had taken a while for the both of them to recover, eventually she joined a team that set out to take out the remaining rattlers. She was tired of the fighting and the fireflies had noticed she could use a break, so aside from some minor tasks she had been put in charge of training. There were some people in the rebuilt fireflies that she knew from way back, but they were people that she knew from passing. All the friends she had had in the fireflies had gone with her to Seattle and then to Jackson. Sure Ellie had killed most of them, but Abby felt truly responsible for their deaths. She had set the events in motion that lead to so much death. For years she had wanted nothing more than to avenge her father at any cost, never had she figured that the cost would be that high. Looking back on it all, he would have never wanted her to take revenge given how many people it got killed. Ellie, that beautiful redhead was the immune girl her dad wanted to kill in the hopes of creating a cure. Was it that surprising that Ellie's surrogate father had butchered his way to the operating room? Deep down in her heart she knew she'd do the same thing for Lev.

The strangest thing was that since Ellie had rescued her and Lev that she had been able to fully let it all go and saw Ellie in a different light. A light that often made her wake up hot and bothered. Sometimes the small dark haired girl featured but she was harder to remember.

"Abby." Lev said. "Dinner is ready."

She had never heard him enter the room, given how lost she was in thought.

"I'll be right there." she said and quickly turned to wipe a tear from her eye.

"You were thinking of her again." Lev said, "You always have that look in your eyes when you think of her."

"I…" Abby tried but ended with a sigh.

"Why do you think about her that often?"

"She saved us."

"But she killed so many of your friends."

"I've forgiven her, I set it all in motion and lost so much because of it." Abby said.

"You sometimes say her name in your sleep and it doesn't sound like you're having nightmares." Lev said, making Abby blush.

"I… Well you see…" Abby started lost for words again.

Lev in ways was the best thing that ever happened to her, he was like a little brother that sometimes could be annoying but she had to admit she sometimes mothered him and definitely had some motherly affections for him. He didn't mind it all that much though, if only he'd listen more.

"Do you like her?" Lev asked, not willing to let go.

"As fucked up as it sounds, yes." Abby admitted.

"Why don't we go look for her? So you could figure things out." Lev suggested.

"Where would we even look Lev? It's not like we can show up in Jackson to knock on a gate and ask to see her. I'd be shot on sight for sure." Abby said.

"They won't shoot me." Lev said.

"Lev just because I have certain dreams of her. It doesn't mean anything. Let's just go eat." Abby replied and got up.

It took Lev a while but eventually he managed to convince Abby. The firefly leadership found a mission for them to do on the mainland that would leave them somewhat close to Jackson when they were finished. Several months later they were near Jackson, Lev had gone into the city to trade for food and ammo while Abby nervously hid outside. It hurt being here, the last time she had seen this place from a distance was when she had started a series of events that had caused so much loss and so much pain. Lev had saved her. She kept functioning because of him. For a moment Abby feared she'd be discovered when a patrol on horseback passed by, seemingly in a hurry. A few hours later when she was about to go into Jackson the gate opened and she saw Lev walking out.

"The patrol spotted her near a farm where she used to live before. She hasn't been here since she came back after she saved us." Lev said when he reached Abby's hiding spot.

"Where is this farm?" Abby asked.

Lev explained the rough direction of the farm and some landmarks along the way that he had overheard. They quickly ate something and started heading in the direction Lev pointed out. They moved as quick as they could and kept moving throughout the night at Lev's insistence. He explained that in the past years there had been very few Ellie sightings and nobody had talked to her during all that time from what Lev had found out. She had become somewhat of a ghost in these parts. There were some people that hadn't been all that happy that an unfamiliar kid asked about her. People still cares about her even after years. When the patrol arrived back in Jackson the news had quickly spread and many seemed relieved to hear she was still alive.

They kept up their high pace when dawn broke. If she had been on her own Abby would have never done this, she would have given up after finding out that Ellie lived on the road. But Lev had an infectious optimism that rubbed off on her. Around noon they came up to an abandoned farm house that fitted the description. Abby could only hope that Ellie would still be there so that she could figure out what was going on. As they approached the farm house a horse rode up. The beautiful dark haired goddess was riding it.

"She looks rough but is more beautiful than I remember." Abby thought, "Focus, you're here to find Ellie."

She froze when the girl got off her horse and saw her and Lev. The dark haired goddess looked shocked.

"You really are still alive." Dina whispered.

Abby saw her reaching for her gun and slightly raised her hands.

"Please, I'm not here to hurt anybody. I'm looking for Ellie to talk to her. Just talk I promise." she said.

Before Dina could respond a cry was heard, one that had them all running into the house. They were barely inside when they heard a gun shot. It took a moment and checking over Lev and herself to realise it hadn't been any of them that fired or got hurt. The three of them made their way upstairs. Dina desperately tried opening a door but it seemed locked with a note pinned on. Abby made her move and kicked the door open. They found Ellie, or at least what was left of her. It felt as if her heart was tearing apart, tears started rolling down her face.

"This is all your fault." she heard Dina say after some time.

She turned to look at Dina wanting to say something to comfort her. It was just in time to see her pulling the trigger. Very shortly afterwards everything faded to black.

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