Chapter 62: I've got friends in high places.

'The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.'

All Joel could do was stare at his brother as him, Ellie, and Am placed their weapons on the ground. He didn't understand what was going on. He was partially in denial, unwilling to accept that his brother would be capable of something like this.

The other part of him was filled with rage. How could his brother be apart of something like this? It didn't make sense. He felt like throwing up. He felt like killing him.

Joel and Ellie stared at each other. She had an uneasy look on her face, like she wasn't surprised. The kid's been used to people disappointing her. She expected it at this point. He should be used to it too, but not his brother.

Joel looked at his brother and shook his head,'What the fuck are ya doin, man?' His nostrils flared as he took a step closer to him,'You're one of them?'

Tommy shoved the rifle in his face as his three men surrounded them,'I'm doing what I should've done a long time ago. All my fucking life you've been trying to tell me what to do.' He shook his head,'You don't get to control my life anymore. What they're doing here is a good thing. It's going to help people. We're gonna change the world.' He looked at Ellie,'You're a selfish little bitch.'

Joel gripped the barrel of Tommy's rifle and jerked it out of her face,'You don't fucking touch her.' He cocked his head to the side,'Change the world?' He sighed,'You're still on that fucking shit, Tomas?' He narrowed his eyes,'You're still one of them aren't you?'

Tommy aimed the rifle at him again as he pointed ir against his chest,'Get moving.'

Joel scoffed as he turned around and began walking to the house. He held tightly onto Ellie's hand as they pressed the rifles in their backs. He looked over at Am and saw the fear on the young man's face.

He shouldn't be here. This wasn't his fight. Then again, it was becoming everyone's fight at this point. Jackson would be spilt in half. A civil war was about to begin.

Joel's heart was pounding as they walked into the house. His eyes widened when he saw Becca, Maria, and Lizzie tied up to chairs. He felt the rage blooming in his chest when he saw the bruise on his wife's face. He could see blood trickling from her bottom lip.

He went to go to her, but the guards grabbed his arms and held him back. He tried to fight them as he screamed with rage, cursing at them as they pushed him against the wall. All he wanted was to get to his wife.

Becca watched the scene in shock and confusion. She truly didn't know what was going on. She saw Tommy aiming a rifle at Joel, which didn't make any sense. Tommy was good. They trusted him.

Becca's eyes and widened as she watched one of the guards press their rifle against Joel's neck,'Get your fucking hands off him!' She pulled against the restraints as she looked up at Tommy, shaking her head,'What are you doing? Why would you do this to us?'

'Shut your mouth.' Tommy glared at her,'You've caused nothing but trouble ever since you got here. You and Ellie were supposed to die in that hospital.'

One of the guards grabbed Becca's shoulders to stop her from moving. It only seemed to make Joel angrier as he saw the guard's hands on her. He felt helpless and defenseless. He didn't even know his brother was betraying him this entire time. How the hell could he protect his wife?

Maria looked up at her husband in shock. Her heart dropped to her stomach. She knew her husband had been an ex Firefly, but he swore to her he was past all that. He turned over a new leaf.

Maria shook her head in disbelief as tears fell from her eyes,'You're apart of this?' She choked back a sob,'I married you. I had a child with you, Tommy. You told me things would be different. You promised me.'

Tommy sighed as he walked over to her, crouching down in front of her. He placed his hand on her cheek,'I'm doing this for us. So we can have a better life for our child. Francis is going to set the world right again. The vaccine will change the world and make it new again.' He gave her a small smile, whispering,'You can be apart of this too.'

She shook her head and spit in his face,'Fuck you. I don't want to be apart of any of this shit.'

Tommy bowed his head and wiped the spit off his face. He raised his head up to look at her. Hurt flashed across his face before it was replaced by indifference.

He stood up and squared his shoulders,'You'll never see your kid again. I never wanted that snot nosed kid anyway.'

Maria shook with rage as she lifted her foot up and kicked him in the balls, making him hunch over in pain. She snorted as she watched in satisfaction as he doubled over in pain.

'You touch my baby and I'll find a way to kill you.' Maria's eyes cut into him like knives,'You're gonna fucking wish you never said that. I can promise you that.'

Becca met Joel's eyes. He was being kept back by over four guards. She saw something in his eyes she's never seen before. Fear. It brought a chill down her spine. Her husband never showed fear in front of anyone. It made her uneasy about the situation.

What the hell happened in those tunnels?

She looked over at Ellie, who was being tied to a chair next to Lizzie. Their eyes met and Becca gave her a small nod. She tried to ensure her everything was going to be okay, but she wasn't so sure.

Tommy being apart of this changed things. His help would've been tremendous, but they knew it was a moot point. No one would help them.

Maybe this was the end of the road after all.

Betsy was beside herself as she watched her son being tied to the chair next to her. Am tried to calm his mother down, but she was upset and rightfully so.

Lizzie kept her features stoic, but as she looked up at Ellie, she started to break down.

Ellie sighed and scooted her chair closer to her, whispering,'I won't let them hurt you. I love you.'

Lizzie was crying softly as she nodded her head,'I love you too.'

Francis clapped his hands softly as he walked from the corner of the room to stand in the center,'This is so exciting. Everyone's finally here. We can begin.'

The guards managed to tie Joel to a chair, but they used a thick rope, knowing zip ties wouldn't hold him. They made sure to tie his legs too in case he tried to do anything cute.

Joel glared up at the man and shook his head confusingly,'Who the hell are you?'

Francis smiled warmly as he placed his hand on his shoulder,'I'm your grandfather in law.'

Becca sighed as she looked over at her husband,'I guess faking deaths is the Fireflies MO.'

Joel's eyes widened in surprise. He thought her grandfather was killed in a car crash. Who else was alive that was supposed to be gone?

For a moment he expected Sarah to walk through the door. It was his greatest hope, but he knew she wasn't coming back. He wouldn't want her to anyway. Not in a world like this.

Francis laughed and shook his head,'I'm not just a Firefly, my dear. I created them. They would be nothing without me.'

'And the Peacekeepers? You create them too?' Joel wanted to keep him talking since he seemed to be so forthcoming with information.

'The Peacekeepers were a…fringe group.' Francis rolled his eyes,'Your girlfriend was a real pain in the ass. She was more worried about you than the cause.'He grinned,'You seem real popular with the ladies.' He snapped his fingers,'Where are my manners? Congratulations on the wedding. Sorry I couldn't be there.' He frowned,'I wasn't invited. How rude, right? You gave us a child. We thank you for that.' He held out his arms,'Welcome to the family.'

'You're not family.' Becca seethed,'The only family I have is what you have tied up.' She shook her head,'You're nothing to me.'

Francis sighed as he feigned a look of hurt,'You've always been a sassy girl, Rebecca.' He took a deep breath as he backslapped her in the face,'Hitting you Bennett women seems to be the only way to shut you up.'

Joel screamed with rage as he watched Becca's face snap back with the force of the hit. He saw the blood trickling from her nose. He saw nothing but red.

The chair moved as Joel tried to lunge at him with his arms and legs tied up,'I'm gonna fuckin kill you. You son of a bitch! Get your fucking hands off her!'

Francis nodded to one of the guards and he hit Joel on the back of the head with the butt on his rifle, knocking him out. His head slumped forward on his chest.

Becca's eyes widened in horror. She shook her head and sobbed,'Please don't hurt him. I'll do whatever you want. Just…please. Leave him alone.'

Francis looked over Becca's face as he leaned in close to her,'You love him.' He nodded,'Good, I'll make he's there to watch when you save the world.'

Becca narrowed her eyes at him and snorted,'When you kill me you mean?'

'They're experimenting on people to try and create a vaccine. We saw everything in the tunnels.' Ellie pipped up as she looked up at Francis in disgust,'You killed kids.'

'Collateral damage.' He shrugged,'Their deaths weren't in vain. They died to make things right.'

'And the council?' Betsy laughed,'You their bitch?'

'No.' Francis smirked and waved his hand in the air,'They're mine.'

Becca didn't understand any of this. They meant to kill her and Ellie. They thought their blood would cure the world. The world didn't need to be saved. Humanity deserved what was handed to them. Natural selection.

She looked up at Tommy, who was standing behind Francis with a rifle in his hand.

Becca licked the blood off her lip as she sneered at Tommy,'You're a sheep. You walk around here acting like a leader when you're nothing but a follower. I hope you die.'

Tommy scoffed and nodded,'Ditto.'

Maria narrowed her eyes at her husband as tears fell down her cheeks,'You're a coward.'

Becca looked over at Maria, feeling devastated for her. She couldn't even imagine what she was going through. While she's had her fair share of horrible men in her life; they never hid the fact that were evil.

Tommy was hiding in plain sight. He fooled them all. He knew everything about them.

Becca's eyes widened in realization as she stared at Tommy,'You were the one who framed me.' She shook her head in disbelief,'You were there that night. You…you knew and you let it happen.'

Tommy shrugged as he sighed,'Someone had to get you away from my brother.' He rolled his eyes,'You two are attached at the fucking hip.

'It's called loving each other.' She glanced over at Maria,'You should try it sometime. You might learn something.'

Becca saw the sadness in Tommy's eyes for a brief second. She knew deep down he had feelings for Maria. Of course he did. Maria would never forgive him though. She knew her too well.

Francis sighed as he snapped his fingers,'No more questions. We've talked enough. Let's get down to business.' He turned to his guards,'I want Rebecca and Elizabeth taken down to the tunnels and prepped. Do whatever you want to the rest of them. I don't want any of them kept alive. Do you understand me?'

The guards nodded in affirmation as they walked over to them. They started untying them Becca and Ellie.

Lizzie started sobbing as Ellie tried to lean close to her, but couldn't move her chair anymore. Ellie should be scared, but she wasn't. Sadly, she was used to people wanting to kill her. Today was no different.

She didn't want her girlfriend to die because of her. She didn't want anyone to die. Not even herself.

She looked over at Joel, who's head was slumped down still knocked out. She hoped to god he was okay. He was usually the one who got them out of these messes. She relied on him. He couldn't save her. Not anymore. No one can.

Becca stared at Joel helplessly as the guard roughly grabbed her arms and yanked her up. She didn't want this to be the last time she would see him again. Not like this. They was so much she needed to say. So much they still needed to do.

Their baby. She started sobbing as she felt their baby move inside her. Their baby was still alive and thriving. She knew they would keep her alive until the baby was born. They would want her baby too.

They heard a loud bang as the front window in the living room shattered. Her eyes widened as she saw a severed head. She saw the dead eyed stare of the decapitated head peering up at her, it's mouth gaped open.

She felt the bile rise in her throat. Was that fucking Aaron?

Tommy and his men ran out onto the porch. Francis and his guards kept a close eye on the group, making sure they didn't go anywhere

Becca sighed in relief when she saw Joel beginning to stare. He needed to wake the fuck up. They needed him.

One of Francis's guards was shot in the head by someone coming from the kitchen. Blood and brain matter splattered all over her face as the guard slumped down onto the ground, dead as stone.

Becca turned around and her eyes widened when she saw Harold. She shook her head in disbelief. What was the fucking Sheriff doing here? Could Harold actually be coming to save them?

Harold's deputies shot the other three guards as Francis stood there in shock and horror.

Harold went to shoot him as Becca screamed,'No! Don't kill him.' She sighed and shook her head,'We need him for information.'

Harold lowered his gun as Tommy and his men ran in the door. He didn't hesitate to shoot his men, but hesitated with Tommy. He seemed just as surprised as everyone else.

'Drop your weapon now!' Harold aimed his rifle at him and cocked it,'Don't make me tell you again.'

Tommy slowly eased his rifle down on the ground. He held his hands up up and smirked,'These heroics aren't gonna work, Sheriff. They're coming.'

'I know.' Harold nodded and narrowed his eyes,'You think I don't know what's going on in my town? The council has been controlling us for far too long. We've had enough. I got half the town ready to fight. So you bring whomever you want and we'll be ready for them.'

Francis scoffed and shook his head,'You'll never be ready for what's to come. This has never been your town, Sheriff. We just made you think that.'

Becca used the distraction to run over to Joel. She untied his arms and legs. He was awake as he looked up at her blearily.

She held his face in her hands as she looked into his eyes. His eyes were drifting and hazy. He was disoriented and probably had a concussion. She felt the anger swelling within her. She was tired of people hurting them.

His eyes searched her face as he took a deep breath,'You okay?'

A small smile formed on her face. He was just knocked unconscious and learned his brother had been betraying him this entire time. He was asking her if she were okay. He was more selfless than people gave him credit for.

'I'm okay.' She nodded and stroked his cheeks,'Harold's come to help us.'

Joel's eyes raised up to Harold in surprise. The sheriff walked over to him and placed a rifle on his lap,'I can't let you have all the fun.'

Joel closed his eyes a moment as he tried to get his head straight. They knocked him out pretty good. He had a hell of a headache, but he was alive.

He snorted and shook his head,'Thought you were on of 'em.'

'No way.' Harold cringed in disgust,'I've hated the council ever since I came here. A lot of us have been planning to get rid of them. We've just never had the-'

'Balls?' Joel cut him off,'Or reasons?'

'Protection.' Harold stated simply,'We thought they were protecting us, but all they've done is take our loved ones away from us.' He cleared his throat,'I must say, I was wrong about you.' He looked at Becca and Ellie,'I'm really sorry. When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong.' He held his hand out to Joel,'Truce?'

Joel stared at his hand and shook his head,'You don't apologize to me.' He nodded to his wife,'She's the one you should be apologizing to.'

'I don't need it.' Becca shook her head,'Your help is enough.'

Tommy rolled his eyes and sighed,'So are you killing us or not?'

'No.' Harold scoffed,'I killed Aaron, but you're gonna tell me where the rest of the council is. We're all taking a little trip into town.' He held Francis's gaze,'You want a war? You got one.'

'You'll never win. You're not smart enough.' Francis shrugged,'You have no idea what's coming.'

Francis was right. They didn't, but Harold was right. Whatever it is, they would be ready for them. Many would die, but some would survive and the cycle would repeat.

Becca hoped her family was one of the lucky ones.