Chapter 9

After clearing the building and burning all the corpses, the three women had continued their way along the main road, where houses were sprinkled left and right from it.

After half an hour of walking, they reached a small settlement of houses, close to a cliff. They all had signs and seals of FEDRA on their main doors, marking them hazardous.

"They're fake," mentioned Sarah, who had her hands wrapped in some bandages, as well as her legs, which was visible through her partially ripped pants. "The Fireflies marked 'em to keep nosy people and FEDRA away from the stash."

She approached one of the houses, her crossbow raised and ready, Ellie following her, which earned her a stern glare, which softened a moment later before Sarah reached for her pistol and handed it to the young girl again. A strong sign of trust that made the young teenager proud.

"Expecting trouble?" asked Carla, who had her gun also ready, which was answered by a dry "Always" from Sarah.

"You stay out here and cover our backs. I and Ellie go in and get the key, got it?"

"You got it, chica!"

Cautiously, Ellie and Sarah stepped on the front porch, the old, wooden planks creaking under their feet.

"You remember Springfield?" asked Sarah, stopping in front of the only partially still white door and glimpsed at the younger girl, who gave her a silent nod. "Mostly, the safehouses have a guardian like the one in Springfield. This one has, too. And we're neither Fireflies nor awaited, so it's possible that we aren't very welcomed. But we also don't wanna kill anybody, if it can be helped. Okay?"

"Sooo, I don't shoot and let you do the talking, right?"

"No, you cover my back and shoot every motherfucker who wants to shoot us, no matter who it is. Otherwise I wouldn't have given you that gun and just told ya to keep that big trap shut."

After she added a wink to those words, Ellie just smirked and rolled with her eyes.

Slowly they entered the house and right away the smell of stale, dusty air entered their noses, telling them that, if anybody had ever stood guard, they were long gone.

With slow steps they ventured forward. The house was a pretty open one-story building, so searching it wasn't that laborious. Unless one, all rooms were unlocked and their doors ajar. Of course, their destination was the locked one.

Slowly, Sarah reached for the handle and cautiously turned it until the wooden door unlocked with an audible click. Effortlessly, it got pushed open, revealing the secrets inside.

"Well, didn't expect that," Sarah mentioned as she relaxed and put away her crossbow. Ellie followed her inside the room and got a bit taken aback as she saw a mostly decomposed, female body, sitting in a recliner, which's soft, former cream-colored surface was polluted by brownish spots and gray remnants of flesh. In its right hand, was an old, now rusty revolver and its head showed a big cavity. It was obvious that this person had committed suicide.

"Why did she kill herself?" asked Ellie as she stepped closer to the corpse, the faint stench of decay entering her nose. She was used to it by now, because the infected didn't smell that much different, plus that they also smelled like old, wet wood.

"I don't know," answered Sarah truthfully as she rummaged through the room in search of the key. "Maybe the Fireflies forgot her and she ran low on food. Maybe she was infected. Hard to tell at this state of decomposition. Would've to do a proper examination to tell it. But, who cares anyway?"

The question about the unknown person's demise still in her mind, the young teenager stepped even closer, examining the body on her own. There was something fascinating about death, especially in a world where it was lurking around every corner. Even in the allegedly safe QZs it was very easy to die by pissing off the wrong people or getting infected during the numerous cleaning sweeps the civilians had to do since FEDRA started to lack the numbers of soldiers for it.

Civilization and the old world was falling apart. Rotting and decaying like a corpse. Death was just everpresent. It wasn't just disgusting or loathful, but also had its beauty.

She then realized something familiar on that body. A necklace. A necklace from the same style as Riley's. Carefully, she reached for it and pulled it over the dead woman's head, her fingers sometimes brushing over the withered, gray skin. A dogtag and a key emerged from the old, with body fluids spotted t-shirt as soon as Ellie had managed to pull the necklace past the ponytail of black hair.

"Firefly-dogtags," mentioned Sarah, who was looking over Ellie's shoulders. "And the key we're lookin' for. Good call, Ellie!"

But the young teenager wasn't interested in the key, but the tags and what was stamped into them.

"Her name was Tamara Higgins," she said with a calm tone as she was looking down at the deceased person. "And I think we should bury her. I mean, she died here, all alone. Thinking the world had forgotten her."

She waited for a reply by Sarah, already assuming that she would decline her idea.

"Listen, if you don't wanna do it, I'll do it alo-..."

"No…it's fine," said the blonde eventually, very much to Ellie's surprise, which increased even more as she looked at her, seeing the older woman staring into empty space. "Let's get settled in first and then I'll help you, okay."

With bewilderment, Ellie watched her leaving the house with big steps. Unknowingly, she had again poked in her guardian's past, and, somehow, she felt sorry for triggering another bad memory.

Nonetheless, she followed her right away, along with Carla, as she was on her way along a shabby road to a huge metal gate with a small door in it that was situated at the side of the cliff

"Key, please!" she said to Ellie, who handed her the necklace. She opened the smaller door with it and then entered a small, artificial cavern that was dimly lit by some emergency lights which had come to life as soon as they had entered. Ellie could see the access to an enormous elevator at the other end and again a smaller metallic door beside it.

Sarah approached a small keypad beside that door and as soon as she had inserted and turned the key, the display on the pad came alive, demanding a passkey.

"I hope they didn't change it," said Sarah and typed in a chain of numbers, which eventually opened the metallic door with a buzzing sound. "Open Sesame…right?"

After receiving this pun and the playful wink, Carla just flipped off the blonde, which caused Ellie to chuckle. The trio then made their way downstairs via a metallic staircase, and by just looking over the reeling Ellie realized that they were going deep down.

"This used to be an old cold-war era depot bunker of the army," told Sarah who had taken point. "When shit went down and the military had collapsed, FEDRA took it over and stuffed it to the brim with material from the surrounding military bases. Food, medical supplies, gear, weapons, clothes… You name it."

"And how did all this hot stuff end up in the hands of the Fireflies?" asked Carla, sounding already impressed.

"Over the years, FEDRA had lost more and more control over the inland. People were fed with the fascistic methods and began to protest, QZs fell, the fight with the Fireflies… Over time the soldiers were spreadin' thin and got focused in the remaining QZs. During this time, quite a number of soldiers walked over to us. One of 'em handed us the access to this bunker. Since it seemed safe enough, FEDRA hadn't secured it much. So, it was easy for the Fireflies to overwhelm the few guards. A false call over the radio about an attack of infected, a bunch of ambushes along the way and FEDRA never gave this bunker a high priority anymore, since they thought the stashed material was safe nonetheless. Well…not so much."

"What about the power?" Ellie asked, her awed gaze still wandering over the entire construction as she tried to comprehend the vastness of this place.

"The emergency lights are powered by batteries, which can be recharged by generators and an old geothermal plant. Dunno if it still works since it's been years since I've been here."

After what felt like an eternity, they had finally reached the bottom of the stairs. The air was now chilly and wet, rust spots were covering most of the visible metal. It was clear as glass that this place hadn't seen much maintenance for some years. Once again, they stood in front of a giant gate, which opened with a loud buzz and accompanied by screeching sounds of rusty metal. Behind it, was another, scarcely lit, man-made cavern. Its air was dryer but dusty and stale and its dimensions vast, yet not clear since it lacked proper lighting.

But as soon as Sarah flipped down a few switches of the electrical installation that was close by the door, it got enlightened by countless lamps, revealing all the stashed equipment. Military trucks and Humvees, neatly parked. Hundreds of stacked barrels filled with gasoline. Countless, wooden crates, filled with MREs, medical equipment, weapons and ammunition. In foil wrapped pallets with canned food, medicine and bottled water.

This stash was enormous, ready to feed and supply an entire army. It was so huge that Ellie and Carla had problems to close their agape mouths again.

Sarah, however, wasn't very impressed, and just mentioned "C'mon, girls, I'll show you your quarters for the night, and then I'll need to check on the generators."

They walked along the endless seeming rows of supplies, then turned right and entered a hallway from which a number of doors led to some sleeping quarters with double bunk beds, as well as toilets and showers, probably meant for the core crew of this facility. The rooms were in good shape, since they had been used by the Fireflies sporadically. But it was obvious again that they hadn't been used for some time.

"Dips on the top!" announced Ellie as she stormed into one of the rooms and threw her backpack on the top bed right before she climbed up as well, giving the two women a toothy grin.

Unimpressed and with crossed arms, Carla just mentioned "No worries, chica. Me and Sarah are gonna share a room, so…"

But the blonde just gazed at her, sternly from the corner of her eyes, saying "Said who?"

And left the question open as she ventured on, throwing her backpack in another room, before she vanished somewhere down the hall, Carla following her with her sight. For Ellie it was obvious that this comment had taken the strong woman aback, and she somehow felt sorry for her.

"Hey, wanna take a look around. Maybe we'll find some cool stuff!" she eventually suggested, trying to distract Carla from her emotional distress.

Having learned that from Riley, Ellie jumped from the bed and encouraged the Latina to follow her by grabbing her hand and pulling her along. With a chuckle, she let fall of her backpack and played along. At first, they inspected the showers and found out that they even had warm water.

"Warm water?!" gasped Ellie, almost squeaking out of excitement. "I'm so gonna shower for an hour!"

Next, they entered the vast storage again, where both lost sight of each other as they vanished between the rows of crates.

Being thirsty, Ellie cut open a package of bottled water and took a big sip, sighing in satisfaction before she continued the tour. Next, she found some shelves, full with packs of protein bars. She opened a vanilla-flavored one and almost sank to the ground with closed eyes as the artificial flavor touched her tongue.

Mostly, the food she had eaten so far had almost tasted the same. But this was so intense and delicious that she couldn't stop opening another pack of chocolate-flavored bars and eating one as well.

"They're good," suddenly chimed Sarah's calm voice from behind. Being a bit startled, Ellie turned around on her heels, seeing her companion with a smug smile as she reached for a bar as well and ate it with the same demeanor of satisfaction. "Fuck yeah, they're so fuckin' good!"

Both then went on, browsing for some more food for their upcoming meal.

"C'mon, I wanna show ya something," said Sarah after they had reached the end of the row. Being full of anticipation, Ellie followed her to another high security door, which was opened by the older woman with another code and led to a fully stocked armory.

"Holy shit!" gasped Ellie as she went along the perfectly rowed line of guns as she followed her guardian, who then stopped and opened a steel cabinet, taking out a compact pistol, which she checked and then handed it to the young teenager.

"A Glock 19C. 9 mill, 15-round magazine, polymer. Doesn't rust that much and is easy to handle. Try it!"

Cautiously, like it was made out of glass, Ellie took the pistol and tried it out. And though she had already used one, it still looked very stiff and insecure, which Sarah realized immediately. So, she kneeled down beside her, drew her own pistol, unloaded it and gave the young girl a small crash course.

Curiously, Ellie watched every single one of the women's movements. How her hands tightly embraced the grip. How focused she was when she aimed. How her calm voice explained every detail. How patiently she was teaching her. Another new side. A side Ellie began to enjoy as well.

"Ellie!" sounded Sarah's voice out of a sudden, bringing the young girl back from her deep thoughts. "Are you listening?"

"I, uh… Um, shit! Sorry, Sarah, I…"

She awaited another scolding. But right on the contrary, Sarah simply scoffed and put away her gun. She then softly patted the young 14-year-old's shoulder, and said "It's okay. It's been a long day and we still have to bury that poor soul upstairs. Just remember the safety rules and to keep that gun safe with you. We'll do some practice tomorrow morning."

After they had locked the armory again, Ellie and Sarah had used a different, small elevator to the surface. A pair of shovels had been easily found in the shed that belonged to the house's garden. Digging the hole, however, had been very exhausting and time consuming. By the time they had finally buried the body, the sun was almost behind the horizon.

In silence they both stared at the fresh grave with the - out of two boards - improvised cross that Sarah had built and Ellie carved the name on it with her knife.

"Should, uh… Should we say some last words…or something?" Ellie asked, looking at her guardian from the corner of her eyes and saw a tear running down her face.

"Goodbye!" was everything she brought forth before she simply turned around and left, throwing the shovel in her hand aimlessly away.

Ellie, on the other hand, stayed and kept staring at the hill of loose dirt. She wished that she would've had the opportunity to give Riley the same courtesy of having a grave. A place of rest. But she had been infected and had gotten incinerated and her ashes shoved in a random big hole, along with garbage and feces.

"You're blessed," she mumbled and picked a wild flower from nearby, laying it onto the grave. "I hope you find peace now. And if you see Riley… Just…just tell her that I miss her."

She wiped one small tear from her cheek. Slowly, the dam was breaking, but not yet. There would be time to mourn Riley properly, but not now. Swallowing down the sadness with a deep, shaky sigh, she turned on the spot and went back to the elevator, where Sarah was waiting for her.

For a short moment they glimpsed at each other. There was hurt and sadness in both of their eyes. They both knew that they were hurting over a loss of a beloved person. They both could relate to it and it started to form a bond. Although, there was still a difference. Because at one point, Sarah averted her gaze from the young girl. It hadn't been the first time and for Ellie it didn't seem like ignorance but shame.

But she wouldn't make it an issue right now. She was just glad that their relationship was getting better with every day and she didn't want to anger her again by poking around in her past or questioning her decisions.

They were on their way down into the bunker again, the humming of the elevator the only noise that was overlooming the silence. A sad silence. An uncomfortable one. And Ellie hated those.

"I heard that - before the Cordy - people celebrated after funerals. Is that true?" she asked, looking at Sarah, who was leaning with her shoulder against the cabine's wall.

"Kinda," was her answer. "In some cultures it was celebrated to honor the dead. Others did it to tell themselves that life was going on and death was a part of it. Some religions even said that death is nothin' more than the start of a new journey."

"I like that last one!" said Ellie after a minute with a soft smile as she closed her eyes and imagined Riley in a better place, having a good life and waiting for her. But obviously, Sarah saw it differently.

"I don't believe in this crap! Death is the end. Shut down. Finite. Your body simply stops working like a broken machine, and everything that remains rots back into earth. All that stays are fading memories and a broken world of pain."

A ping signed that the elevator had reached the bottom and the doors slid open, allowing Sarah to leave the confined space. She already was about to storm off, but got stopped as Ellie, who didn't want to let this statement stay uncommented, held her arm.

"But what about the future? What about those you leave behind? Kids, relatives, friends… Should we think of us all as rotting corpses? Then why keep on fighting? Should we all do it like Tamara and just put a fuckin' bullet through our fuckin' brains?"

She was furious. So furious. The dam was breaking. First tears were emerging from her eyes.

"You think I'm doin' this shit here for fun?! Strollin' 'round the landscape with a stuck-up bitch. Why are you even fighting, if you think that everything sucks anyway?"

"Don't you dare to analyze me!" Sarah blurted back in anger, ripping her arm away from Ellie's grasp. "You lil' shit have no idea what I went through."

"You, you, you, you… Always you. Who the fuck cares?!" the young girl countered defiantly. "We've all been through some tough shit. We all lost someone we loved, because of this fuckin' fungus. This is why I fight, 'cause I'm the cure. My blood can make this world a better place."

But all Sarah did was to scoff pejoratively before she leaned in, hissing "You won't change shit! Even if you carry a cure, people will rather kill each other over it than using it for good. A giant pile of corpses over your blood. Nothin' more. Until the last of us will be nothin' more than a rotting piece of shit or a mindless slave of the Cordyceps."

Ellie heard those words, and they hurt. Hurt so deep inside. Was everything for nothing? Was she worth nothing? Was Sarah right? The dam was breaking down entirely now as pictures of her mother and Riley flashed through her mind. Reminding her that they were gone forever and would soon fade away. She began to sob. Once, twice… A flood of tears. She couldn't stand upright anymore and collapsed on her knees as she started to scream out her pain.

Sarah was just overwhelmed by this outbreak. What had she done?

"I'm sorry," she whispered with a shivering voice as she was feeling bad for having caused this. She had unloaded her own pain onto this poor girl. A vicious move. She had actually started to like Ellie, and now…

Crying herself, Sarah got onto her knees, too, and embraced the intensely crying girl tightly, repeating constantly "I'm so sorry!"

She took a deep draft from the cigarette, letting the dense smoke burn in her lungs for some time before she released it.

It had been some time since Sarah had smoked. Years, to be exact. Cigarettes had become rare, and the ones you'd get on the black market were merely dried grass with a hint of tobacco or worse, manure.

The ones she was smoking at the moment were pre-Cordyceps. Vacuum-packed and as fresh as possible. She actually never wanted to be a smoker, but Anna had coerced her a few times to try it.

Anna. Her Dad. Rotting corpses. Fading memories and pain.

God, why had she told Ellie such nonsense?

"Hey, chica, want some company?"

Carla was standing in the doorway of her occupied room, a bottle of whisky in her hand and a wry smile on her face. Of course, Sarah accepted with a slight nod, extinguishing the cigarette by rubbing it over the floor and signaling the Latina to sit down on the bed, beside her.

"How is she?"

Of course, the strong woman had heard Ellie's desperate cries and found her and Sarah, entangled and devastated. She had helped them back to the quarters, where Sarah had brought Ellie to bed. Carla had given them some time alone since she didn't know the history behind this emotional outbreak.

"Sleeping…hopefully," replied Sarah and took a deep sip from the alcoholic liquid. "It was my fault. I'm such a despicable bitch."

But all Carla replied, was to scoff "Boo-fuckin'-hoo. Nut up, chica! You fucked up, maybe. But that girl's tough. She's gonna get over it. And you need to stop feelin' sorry for yourself."

For a moment, Sarah thought about hitting the Latina right in the face, but instead she took the bottle again and emptied it.

"Got some more?" she then asked, already feeling a slight buzz from the alcohol. She needed it. She wanted it to numb the pain.

"I'll be back in a sec."

Both women continued drinking, talking about random things of their past. Eventually they had reached a point where the alcohol had taken over their brains. A bottle of whisky in one hand, all manners below room temperature and her steps very insecure, Carla was standing in the middle of the room, her voice loaded.

"C'mooon… Turn off this fuckin' long face already and get naked, 'cause I'm horny as fuuuuck!"

Carla was about to approach Sarah and wanted to kiss her. But instead, the blonde stopped her by keeping her at a distance with one stretched out arm and a hand on her chest.

"Okay, Carly. I think someone had a bit too much fun already. You better go ba-..."

The blonde couldn't even finish her sentence as the Latina's lips crashed onto hers, boldly and without any romance. It didn't feel good at all, yet Sarah guided them to the double bunk bed and turned them around so that Carla was the first one to lay down. Then, she broke the contact and just brushed softly through the muscular woman's short, black hair, making her moan in comfort and closing her eyes. Some indistinct mumbling then followed which soon turned into a quiet snore.

Satisfied that Carla had fallen asleep and wouldn't complain about the lack of sexual activities for the night, she stood up from the bed, feeling all dizzy and nauseated. Nonetheless she left the room with insecure steps as she wanted to take a walk in order to get her head free, but then stopped in front of Ellie's room and looked for quite some time at the closed door before she decided to take a peek inside.

The young girl had left on the lights and was lying curled up in the upper bed. She felt sorry for her. Becoming an orphan at 12, losing her best friend… Sarah could relate to her.

She passed the doorstep, and walked closer to the bed. Though she was wasted beyond her normal threshold, she awkwardly felt very clear in her head.

Ellie's face was towards her. She looked peaceful and calm, not angry and sad. And beautiful, like her mother.

Sarah knew that she shouldn't do it, but nonetheless brushed a loose strand of auburn hair out of the young girl's face, causing her to groan and squirm until she slowly opened her eyes.

Sarah froze, fearing that Ellie might get mad again. But instead, she whispered "S-Sarah…? What…?"

"Sssh…" the blonde replied and continued brushing through the teenager's hair. "I…I just wanna apologize for my stupid shit. I-I shouldn't have said what I said."

Without an answer, Ellie sat up and gazed for a moment into empty space, before she answered.

"Maybe…maybe you're right all along. Maybe…"

"No! I was wrong and you're right," was Sarah's defiant answer, which she said with a head-shake. "We should fight for a future. For kids like you and for…for our children…"

Those last words had literally dropped out of her mouth as she was caught in deep thoughts again. Which was disrupted by Ellie a moment later.

"Shit! You gotta be kiddin' me."

Immediately Sarah snapped out of it and looked at Ellie, who had her hand in her pants and when she pulled it out again, it was full with blood.

Again, Sarah could relate and did that with an understanding smile.l

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up!"

"I hate being a girl!"

True words for Sarah that made her scoff. Whenever she had her period, she was thinking the same, and that for nearly 20 years now. They were in the sanitary area of the bunker. At the moment, Ellie was undressing while Sarah had turned her back towards her.

"I know, I hate this shit, too. When was your first time?"

"If you really need to know, it was right after my Mom died, so two years ago. Luckily, Marlene and Riley helped me through this mess. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna take a long, fuckin' shower and wash that crap off."

As she heard Ellie's bare feet patting over the tiled floor, she took a short glimpse over her shoulder as the young girl just vanished in the group showers, before moments later the water started.

"Fuck yeah, that feels so gooood!" chimed the young teenager's voice from the shower, causing Sarah to chuckle. Hot showers were rare nowadays, and she was glad that Ellie could enjoy it for the moment. "You really should come and join me. This is so awesome."

"Nah, thanks, I'm good," returned Sarah, who was then met by Ellie's stern gaze as she looked around the corner of the doorway with a frown.

"You stink of booze, ashtray and fish like a sailor. Maybe you can live with that smell, but if I'm bound to drive through the country with you like this, I'm gonna barf the whole time. Besides, we've already seen each other naked, soooo…there's nothing I already know."

"Alright, alright…geez!" Sarah moaned in annoyance and began to strip down her clothes as well, which wasn't that easy since she had some trouble holding her balance. Sometimes it seemed to her like their roles had switched, Ellie being the grown-up and she being the teenager. Eventually, she entered the showers, seeing Ellie standing under the stream of hot water, back towards her.

Having gone through several decontamination processes, Sarah was used to shower naked with or in front of other people. She had nothing to hide. Still, it was a strange feeling regarding Ellie.

She took one of the showers at the other end of the room and turned the valve. At first, the waterstream that was hitting the top of her head was cold, which sobered her up a bit, making her mind clear. Then, the water became warmer and warmer until it reached an enjoyable temperature. She closed her eyes and sighed audibly as her body relaxed and the stress of the day got washed away. But as the physical and mental dirt got washed away, the scars reappeared.

Pain. Emotional pain. Heavy thoughts. The past. She remembered her first decontamination shower, back when she had been 12 years old and had just lost her Dad.

'Fading memories and pain… Rotting corpses…'

These thoughts were constantly swirling in her head, making her dizzy. She would've loved to scream, but instead threw up before she collapsed on her knees.

"Shit! Sarah!?"

Ellie's voice. Arms wrapping around her body.

"Are you okay? Fuck, say somethin'!"

Ellie. Ellie was like a copy of her mother, Anna. Caring, snappy, confident in their thoughts. Like her Dad had also been.

Her Dad. Buried and forgotten. Shot by a soldier.

"Stay strong, Babygirl!"

His last words. Still as clear as crystal in her mind. She had partially lied to Ellie. You don't forget. Some things will never fade. That's why the pain will always be present.

"Dad!" Sarah gasped as she saw her father, Joel, squirming on the ground after the soldiers had shot at them.

She only remembered those loud gunshots and how the world had been swirling in front of her eyes as she and her father had rolled down this muddy hill. She also must've hit her injured foot again, since it hurt like hell, making her hiss and grit her teeth in agony.

Gathering all her strength, the twelve-year-old crawled through the dirt towards her groaning father.

"Dad, are you okay? Dad!"

"S-Sarah…" Joel groaned under pain. "Go! Y-you need to go!"

She heard the stomps of heavy boots closing in and as she looked up, she gazed with watery eyes down the barrel of an AR-15, and for a moment it seemed like time had frozen, though she could still hear explosions, screams and even more gunfire in the background.

The soldier hesitated for a moment as he met her pleading gaze. And then another shot chimed, this time from close by. Blood was squirting out of the side of his head as the projectile penetrated the skull and he went down.

"Joel! Sarah! Are you alright?"

It was Tommy. He had saved them as he had shot the soldier. He secured the area one last time before he knelt down beside his brother and niece.

"Dad… I-I think he's hurt," stammered the young blonde, shock, panic and adrenaline making it hard to comprehend what's happening. But her uncle was there now and took the weight off her slim shoulders.

"It's alright, kiddo. Just lemme look, okay."

The young girl obliged and sat back a bit and looked down at her father. Blood was seeping out of his body from different wounds. By a miracle the bullets had all missed her or had gotten stuck in his body. He had saved her life.

"FUCK! Stay with me, Joel. You hear me, you stubborn son-of-a-bitch?" Tommy said as he examined his brother's injuries. "Damn, I can't stop the bleeding like this. Sarah, darlin', listen…" He softly touched the girl's shoulder, spotting it with her father's blood and gazed deeply at her as he got her attention. "Back there was an ambulance. I'm gonna get some medical stuff and will be back in-..."

Suddenly, Tommy's arm was tightly grabbed by his brother, making him look down at Joel who had him sternly focused.

"P-promise me… Promise me to take care of her…" he groaned, tightening his grip even more as he pulled himself closer.

"Joel, don't say-…"

"Promise me!" Joel urged even more, making it clear that he was about to lose the fight. And all Tommy could do was to give him a determined nod. With a deep sigh he let himself fall back onto the ground. His breathing was shallow and his skin pale. He then turned his head, looking directly at his daughter, who was now sobbing.

Sarah felt it. She somehow felt that nothing would be okay. She grabbed his cold hand, whispering "Dad…"

Joel's gaze never left her, yet begun to fixate on some point in the far distance. "Stay…stay strong, Babygirl! Stay… st- str-..."

One last breath escaped his mouth before his body went limp and his eyes slowly closed.

"Dad? Dad, no, please!" Sarah pleaded desperately as she shook her deceased father's body like he had just fallen asleep. But he would never wake up again and as this realization struck her mind, collapsed on him and cried a river.

After her father's demise, everything became just a blur.

From her uncle's tellings, she knew that the military had managed to slowly retake control over the area after a night of intense fighting. But the infection was still raging and losses among the soldiers were high. Her uncle had also told her that they would get evacuated to a quarantine zone in Austin, soon.

But there was one thing to do before they would leave. One last task. The burial of her father. But getting his body hadn't been an easy task. Sarah didn't know how her uncle had managed it, since she had been told to stay in her room out of safety reasons and because of her broken foot, but after two hours he had arrived with the body.

Now, she was sitting in a wheelchair in front of a pile of fresh dirt in the backyard of her home. That's all that was left of her Dad. Sarah had stopped weeping hours ago and, though sadness was eating her inside, she wasn't able to shed another tear. It felt like she was watching a movie. Things were just happening while her body acted on remote.

When her uncle told her to pack some important stuff, she just did it. When he put her into the bus, she just let it happen. When they were told to get in line, she just did it. Until her uncle's enraged voice let her snap out of it.

"What do you mean, I'm not on the list?!"

They were standing in one of several crowded lines in front of a military checkpoint, where countless people were waiting to finally enter the quarantine zone. Soldiers with gasmasks were patrolling between the rows and trying to get some order into this chaos. The deafening noise of constant chattering was everpresent, crying children and yelled orders mixed in between.

She heard a loud scream and even more desperate crying. Through the gaps of the masses she could see how someone was carried away. Some more screams followed, then an inhuman cry, yelled orders and then a barrage of gunshots. A panic broke out, but got quickly taken under control by another bunch of soldiers.

This all happened within a few seconds. A few seconds in which Sarah hadn't missed much of the argument between her uncle and a soldier with a list in his hands.

"Sir, my list only reads Sarah and Joel Miller under the given address. You're not on the list," said the soldier with a strict voice. "And until you don't identify yourself as Joel Miller, I can't let you through."

"Joel Miller was my brother, and you assholes shot him last night! I'm everythin' she has left, thanks to you motherfuckers."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sir. But I got my orders. Only persons who are on the list are allowed to enter the quarantine zone. Now get your ass outta line, go home and stay put until we get the situation under control!"

"And leave her alone?!" Tommy blurted back and grabbed the soldier by the collar of his uniform. Immediately, two other guards were lifting their guns and aiming at Tommy, who, however, didn't calm down. "You fuckers made her an orphan and now you say that she has to go through this alone?! She's twelve, for god's sake. How's she supposed to live on her own?"

Another two soldiers appeared and took him into a hold so that he was forced to let go of the man with the list, who said "That's not up to me. We get orders, we execute 'em."

"Fuck your orders! I wanna speak with your superior office!"

"That would be me," intervened a female soldier, stepping in between the arguing people. "What's the hold-up, Sergeant?"

"Colonel, Ma'am, this man is not on the list and resists to step back. He also claims to be this girl's uncle."

The female soldier, a mid-aged woman with red hair and freckles, who's name tag on the uniform read 'G. Williams' took over the list and let her gaze wander over the sheet of paper, saying "Miller… A quite common name."

"Ma'am, please," Tommy addressed her, making her look at his desperate demeanor. "Check my ID. Everything. I'm all she has left. Gimme work. Lemme do the garbage. Put me in a cell every night, I don't care. But please, don't take that last bit of family away that she has left."

A few times, the Colonel let her gaze switch between Tommy and Sarah, until she said "Take him into custody and check his ID. I'll take care of the kid until he's cleared to enter."

"Thank you!" replied Tommy as his hands were being bound behind his back. "Sarah," he then addressed his niece, "Go with her! I'll join you later, honey. Okay?"

Sarah was still sitting there in this old wheelchair her uncle had organized from somewhere, not moving a limb as her mind tried to comprehend what just happened. Her Mom was gone. Her Dad was gone. Now, her uncle was gone, as well. She was alone, all alone. Alone in this madness. Her world had collapsed overnight. The world she had built up with her Dad after her Mom had passed away only four years ago.

Standing in the middle of this chaos, the young girl began to cry again, her shoulders heaving with every sob. Even as she got taken away by the Colonel who led her past the checkpoint, straight towards quarantine processing. A quick blood test, an uncomfortable hot shower, a set of new clothes and a cast for her ankle, always under the watchful eyes of Colonel Williams, who then took her towards an apartment building.

The scenery inside the quarantine zone wasn't any different than from outside. Chaos, yelled orders, crying people. Whenever they passed a soldier, they saluted the commanding officer.

"I'll bring you to my quarters for the moment, until we cleared your uncle," the female soldier told her as they approached one of the entrances. "My daughter, Anna, will be there, too, and take care of you, okay. She's around your age, so I think you two'll hit it off pretty well."

Sarah didn't care who was taking care of her. She was exhausted and wanted to be back home, with her Dad. Not with some other kid.

"Anna!" called Colonel Williams into the apartment as soon as they had entered and were soon greeted by a lanky teenager with freckles on her face and auburn, long hair.

"Mom! You're home already?" she welcomed her mother, letting a hug follow.

"Sadly, no, but we have a guest." Having one arm around Sarah's shoulders, she introduced the young blonde. "This is Sarah. We'll take her in until her uncle's ID is cleared. Maybe you can show her around. Are you hungry, Sarah?"

But Sarah just shrugged with her shoulders, not giving an answer.

At the same time, the woman's radio came to life with a loud beeping sound.

"This is Charlie Papa One to Colonel Williams, come in!"

Colonel Williams picked the portable radio from her belt and answered the call.

"This is Colonel Williams, come in!"

"This is Charlie Papa One, we got a breach in decontamination bay one! Infected are about to enter the QZ. Requesting backup immediately!"

"Shit! Close the QZ and clear the area! Shoot anybody who wants to leave decon area one! I repeat, shoot anybody who wants to leave decon area one! I'm on my way with reinforcements, over!

"Understood, over!"

New screams and gunshots could be heard from outside as Anna looked with worry at her mother, who took her in a tight embrace right away.

"Sorry, my lil' sunshine, but I need to go."

"It's okay, Mom," replied Anna, pressing her mother one last time even closer. "Just…just take care when you kick this stupid infection's ass!"

The military woman then swiftly left the apartment while Sarah and Anna stayed behind.

"Don't worry, my mom's a doctor in the army, specialized in disease control and prevention. She'll handle this shit in no time," said the auburn-haired girl, giving the blonde a faint reassuring smile, which hadn't any effect on her guest, whatsoever, and faltered right away as soon as Sarah once again shrugged with her shoulders. "Alright. Silence it is."

Being annoyed, Anna sat down onto a stool at the counter of the open kitchen, drumming rhythmically with her fingers.

"So, you lost someone, huh? Mom, Dad, both…?" she then asked boldly, her eyes still on the other girl. "I know that behavior, y'know. I've been the same when my Dad died, three years back."

That hit a nerve, which became obvious as Sarah suddenly looked at her with wide open eyes.

"He was a soldier, too. Spec Ops. One day, an officer came by the house and told my mom that he'd died. She tried to be tough and sugarcoat it, but I realized right away that somethin' was off, so I cornered her and she then told me the truth. An IED had blasted him into smithereens, barely somethin' left to bury. I didn't speak for over a year, until I realized that life was goin' on and I was about to miss it." She then leaned in, focusing her gaze even more. "You want that, huh? You really wanna miss out on building a future as soon as this shit's over?"

Sarah didn't know what to answer or to think. Of course, life was going on, but she had just lost her dad and was now forced to stay with a strange girl in an unknown apartment until her uncle, hopefully, would be able to join her.

The gunfire outside intensified as well as the screams. Being curious, Anna got up from the stool and walked onto the balcony from where she had a very good view onto the checkpoint, Sarah followed a few seconds later.

Both then saw the chaos of hundreds of headless people and the military in between, trying to bring it back into order. Both girls stared at this scenery for quite some time before Sarah surprisingly broke the silence.

"A-are you sure that your Mom's gonna kill that Virus?"

"Fungus," Anna corrected her, still looking sternly at the event below. "It's a fungus. And yeah, my Mom's gonna kill that motherfucker."

They waited for hours. The sun had already set a while ago and the darkness of the night had taken over.

Meanwhile, the situation outside had calmed down again. People were still slowly seeping through the checkpoint while some units were busy cleaning up the mess from before.

During all that time Anna and Sarah hadn't talked much with each other, since the blonde had fallen asleep on the couch as the exhaustion from the last two nights had taken its toll.

Anna, on the other hand, was sitting on the recliner, listening to some music on her player and reading a book, dimly light only breaking the obscurity.

From time to time she glimpsed at the sleeping blond on the couch. She felt sorry for her, having lost both of her parents. She at least had her mother, but Sarah… she was on her own, plus that it remained unknown if her uncle would be able to enter the quarantine zone.

Though they had been off to a difficult start, Anna thought of Sarah as a nice person who could be a good friend. Let alone that she somehow was cute. Maybe they could become neighbors and go to the same school as soon as things have cooled down.

A strong knock on the apartment's door suddenly disturbed the peace, letting both girls jump in their seats. At first, they just shared a quizzical frown before Anna went for the door and opened it.

"Lieutenant Weathers?!" said Anna, a bit surprised to see the soldier, a young man in his twenties, wearing a camouflage uniform who was her mother's adjutant. But then she relaxed and rolled with her eyes. "Lemme guess, she has to work longer again?"

Normally, she would've expected that the soldier would smirk or at least give her a neutral shrug with his shoulders. However, his demeanor stayed dead-serious. Actually, Anna had already experienced this expression by another soldier, three years ago. She immediately had the realization that something had happened to her mother, making her back away a few steps, her expression showing shock and desperation.

"No!" she whiffed quietly, shaking her head in defiance as she took another step back.

"I'm sorry, Anna!" said the soldier and tried to approach the young girl in order to give her a soothing touch.

But again, she backed away and shook her head.

Anna was strong. At least, she had sworn this to herself after her father had died. Having a family member serving in the military was always bearing the consequences that this person might die during their duty.

But obviously, no matter how much you try to prepare yourself for this occurrence, it will still hit you hard.

"What… what happened?" the young teenager asked, tears already leaking from her eyes. "H-how did she die?"

The Lieutenant sighed loudly, also struggling with his feelings. It clearly was wearing on him, too.

"During the outbreak in Decon One, we tried to save as many as we could, but… Soon we couldn't distinguish the infected from the uninfected anymore. Grace… She had tried to save a kid when she got overrun and stuck in the middle of the panicking crowd when order was given to execute everyone, without any exception."

Anna froze, her eyes wide open.

"Y-you shot her?!" she said with a shivering voice, the message hitting her like a flash. "Y-you motherfuckers…"

"Anna," Weathers countered, trying to come close to the young girl, but to no avail. "She had violated the protocol, got overrun and was maybe even infected. She knew the risks and…"

With a loud scream Anna attacked the soldier furiously, pushing him and letting her fist hammer on his body. "You…fuckin'...bastards!"

"Anna… Stop!"

Being combat-experienced, Lieutenant Weathers managed to overwhelm her and pin the young girl to the ground, blurting "Are you done, Anna?! Your Mom knew the risks when she put her life on the line for this kid. She knew that this order might come and did it anyway. She died a fuckin' hero, and we all should honor that. Do you understand?"

Being pinned down and unable to do anything else, Anna's rage flared down with every passing second until she nodded in confirmation.

"Good," the Lieutenant said, letting go of the teenager, who only got up as far as sitting on the ground, sobbing quietly. "Listen, I know it's not much of a condolence, but I tried everything to prolong the order, but…" Once again, he sighed heavily as he recalled the events. "I'm gonna miss her too, y'know."

"Just go," was everything Anna spat back at him, though this time her anger was merely a cry of desperation.

Weathers understood. He understood too well and wanted to take his leave, but turned around one last time to address Sarah.

"Your uncle got cleared and will be here soon. You can use this apartment for the time being and take care of Anna until I find some new arrangements."

He then left, leaving the two girls behind. Anna was still sitting on the ground, crying and sobbing upon her mother's demise. Her world had collapsed in merely seconds, as well as Sarah's. She felt so desperate, so sad. Like never getting up again. Like everybody had left her and she was alone. So it came to her as a surprise as someone sat down beside her and took her into a hug.

Taken aback, Anna looked up and saw through the blurry veil of tears Sarah, who was looking deeply at her with welled up eyes, whispering "I'm so sorry!" before she embraced her again. But this time, Anna accepted the gesture unconditionally and was just grateful that she actually wasn't alone.

They both were now sharing the same feeling and pain. And it bonded them over the years to come.