Chapter 64: Civil War
'Only the dead have seen the end of the war.'
-George Santayana, 1922
Joel walked to the jailhouse with a sense of purpose. He left Becca with Maria and Betsy, knowing she would be in good hands. Hopefully, he wouldn't be very long. He wouldn't leave until he found out what he needed to know though.
He went into the jailhouse and already saw Harold standing there with a few deputies. He looked over at Tommy and Francis in their cells. They kept them apart. They didn't trust them inside the same cell together. They would scheme.
He was surprised the Deputies managed to look after them and they didn't escape.
Tommy looked horrible. His usual perfectly coiffed hair was messy and disarrayed, like he had been continuously running his hands through it. He was growing a beard and his clothes were rumpled.
Tommy had a black eye and a busted lip. Someone had beat him up. In another life it would've made him angry. Now he just felt…nothing. He would no longer have empathy for his brother. Not after everything he did.
It hurt for Joel to look at Tommy. The devastating sadness was new and fresh. He would be getting over this for the rest of his life. He never imagined his brother would do something like this. He didn't think he was capable of it.
He hoped they started talking, but he had something for their silence. He knew his brother better than anyone. He knew his worst fears and the things that made him tick. At least he thought he did anyway.
Harold shook his hand and jerked his head over to their cells,'They haven't said anything. They're not talking.'
Joel nodded as he stared at his brother. Tommy was sitting on the bed with his back against the wall. His head was hung low as he stared down into his lap. He wondered what was running through his mind in that moment.
'Unlock his door.' Joel narrowed his eyes as he kept his sole attention on his brother,'Me and him need to have a talk.'
A grin slowly spread across Harold's face. He seemed to be enjoying it too much. He was surprised when Harold came to help them. He still wasn't entirely sure this was all a ruse, but only time would tell.
Harold unlocked the door and Joel walked inside. Tommy slowly lifted his head up to look at him. He rolled his eyes and sighed when he saw his older brother. He really didn't feel like dealing with him right now.
Joel crouched down in front of the bed, looking over his brother's face or indifference. Could he really be this cold hearted? It was like he didn't even know him. He didn't recognize the man before him. This was someone he grew up, lived in the same house with and cultivated a business together. He couldn't reconcile it in his mind.
Joel sighed and shook his head,'Why did you do it?'
'I told you why.' He shrugged,'I did it because I don't want to live in a world where the infected coexist with us. I don't want to be sequestered in a town and I can't even leave because of what's out there.' He shook his head as he slid to the end of the bed to get closer to Joel,'Don't you want the same? Think about it. Think about what our future could be like. It's nothing personal.'
Joel glared at him as he stood up straight,'It ain't my future.' He pointed to the window,'Becca and Ellie are my future. You're trying to take them away from me. So you can better fuckin believe it's personal.'
Tommy looked up at him and frowned,'What happened to you? You used to be so…tough. You didn't give a damn about anyone other than yourself.' He snorted,'You used to give me fucking nightmares.'
'I'm still that same fuckin man.' He met his brother's gaze,'You can believe that. When are they coming? Where is the rest of the council?'
Tommy scoffed and shook his head,'Like I would tell you. You'll never know when they're coming.' He gave him a small smirk,'They'll come when you least expect it.'
Joel steeled his features as he grabbed Tommy's wrist. He pulled his index finger all the way, feeling the bone break. He made sure to break his trigger finger. He had a point to make after all.
Tommy screamed out loud in pain and gritted his teeth as tears filled his eyes,'Fuck! Why the hell would you do that?' He winced as his hand started swelling up,'Jesus fuck.'
Joel looked up at Harold, who was watching them in rapt attention. He didn't seem alarmed for afraid of what he was doing. He seemed to be…enjoying it?
Joel crouched down in front of him again and grinned,'It looks like it hurt.' He let out a deep sigh,'So I'm gonna ask you again. Where are they?'
'Leave the poor boy alone.' Francis spoke from his cell, the boredom laced in his tone,'He doesn't know where they are.'
Joel considered Francis had been lying to protect them, but he couldn't be sure. He didn't know anything anymore. Shit, he didn't even know his own brother.
'You shut the fuck up.' Joel growled,'You're next.'
Francis laughed softly and shook his head,'I'm looking forward to it.'
Joel's eyes widened in surprise. Becca told him her grandfather seemed like a sociopath and she was right. He was so consumed with trying to find a cure that it gave him a false perception of reality.
Joel grabbed Tommy's injured hand and broke his pinky, smirking as he screamed in pain,'Where are they?' Tommy remained silent as he took a deep breath, screaming,'WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!'
'I don't know!' Tommy wiped the saliva off his cheek after Joel screamed in his face,'I honestly don't fucking know.'
Joel had about enough of the lies. He slid the knife out of his back pocket. He saw Tommy's eyes widen in fear when he saw the weapon.
Joel smirked when he saw the fear in his eyes. Good. He should be scared after everything he's done.
He wasted no time in stabbing Tommy in his calf muscle. He screamed out in pain as the knife cut through the thick muscle. He twisted deeper in his leg, watching in fascination as his brother cried out in pain. The wound wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt. It would bleed too.
He slowly slid the knife out of his leg. Tommy covered up the wound with his hand as tears fell down his cheeks,'I don't know where they are. I swear I don't fucking know. Just stop. Please. Please stop.'
In any other time, Joel would have relented, but this was different. He hurt the ones he loved. Not just Becca and Ellie either. Maria and his nephew, Betsy, Am and Lizzie. He put everyone he cared about in danger. That wasn't something so easily forgivable. He was used to betrayal, but never like this. This actually put a number on him.
Joel kicked the wound on his leg and grabbed him by the hair. He pressed the blade against his throat. He could practically smell the fear emanating from his brother, which only satisfied him. He's forgotten how much he enjoyed this.
He leaned in close as he pressed the tip of the knife against his jugular,'It's taking everything in me right now not to kill ya.'
Harold looked at him concernedly and waved his hands in the air,'Joel, remember we can't kill them.' He nodded.'At least not yet anyway.'
Tommy chuckled softly and winced as the tip of the blade protruded through his skin,'I guess you'll be joining me in hell then.'
Joel narrowed his head and took out his pistol. He butted the gun against the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. He slumped forward onto the ground.
He stared down at his brother laying unconscious on the floor and placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head.
Harold looked down at Tommy on the ground and frowned,'You think he knows anything.'
'I don't know.' He shrugged,'It doesn't matter if he knows or not. Not to me anyway.'
Harold nodded as Joel walked out of the cell,'I'm sorry for what Tommy did to you.' He sighed,'That was a fucked up thing to do.'
He nodded and sighed,'You're right. It is.' He shrugged,'There's nothing to be done about that.'
Harold didn't say anything else as he unlocked Francis's cell door, letting Joel walk inside.
Joel sat down in the chair at the corner of the room. He looked over at the old man. He had two black eyes and a busted lip as well. He smiled to himself. He wished he could've been involved in the ass whooping. It's been a long time. He was itching for a fight. He would get one pretty soon.
Joel kept his gun situated on his knee. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the man for a few moments. There seemed to some resemblance to him and Becca. She had his eyes. Luckily, it's the only things she got from him.
Francis folded his hands in his lap and smiled softly,'My grandson in law is coming to visit me in jail.' He bounced his shoulders,'I feel so loved.'
'Fuck you.' Joel narrowed his eyes as he rested his elbows on his knees,'Do you really think this is gonna work? You're gonna kill your granddaughter for no reason? Our baby?'
He sighed as his shoulders slumped dejectedly,'The vaccine is almost at its final stage. Becca and Ellie are very integral to the process.' He held his gaze from across the room and shook his head,'This is going to change the world. A new order. Becca and Ellie will be remembered as heroes. Think about what this could mean for the future without the virus. We could rebuild and make everything new again. We couldn't make the same mistakes twice. '
Joel stared at him as if he were crazy. He lauded himself as a hero. He wanted to be the Leader of the new world.
Joel shook his head and scoffed,'I would rather live in this shitty world than to answer to you.' He took a deep breath,'Where are the council?'
Francis lowered his eyes down to his lap and sighed,'Since you're family and all. I'll give you a bread crumb. They're located in an underground bunker. You'll never find them. It's not in town either.'
Joel felt the rage burning him up inside. He got up from the chair and stomped over to him. He grabbed his right arm and turned it sideways, pulling it back as the man howled in pain,'Where the fuck is it? Or I'll kill you and you'll be a fucking leader in Hell.'
Francis gritted his teeth as the pain intensified in his shoulder and shook his head,'You'll never find it.'
'The fuck I won't.' He sneered as he twisted his arm all the way back, hearing the bone pop out of his socket.
Francis cried out in pain as he held his limp arm. Joel watched as he cried and doubled over in pain. He smiled to himself. Torturing people was just like riding a bike.
Joel walked out of the cell and slammed the door behind him. He felt frustrated all over again. Where the hell could the bunker be?
Harold watched as Joel paced back and forth,'What are you thinking?'
He shook his head as he glanced over at Tommy who was starting to wake up,'I'm thinking we need to find out where that bunker is? Do you have a way to get a map of the city?'
'Do I have a way to a get a map of the city he asks.' He stares up at the ceilings and held his arms out,'I'm the goddamned Sheriff. Of course I do.'
He walked over to his desk and pulled out a drawer. He took out a rolled up piece of paper and unwound it, laying it flat on the surface,'There's quite a few bunkers located underneath the city.' He pointed to a small blurb on the map located under what appeared to be Tommy's ranch,'That's one of them.'
Joel followed with his eyes as Harold pointed to over a hundred underground bunkers. He sighed and shook his head in disbelief,'Who built these things?'
'Not us.' He shrugged,'I think they were built in World War Two in case there was a bomb. They were here when I came here over fifteen years ago.'
Joel stared down at the map and placed his palms on the table, nodding his head,'How did you find out about this town?'
Harold sat on top of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest,'Ain't nothing too exciting if that's what you're asking.' He lit up his cigarette and inhaled it deeply, blowing the smoke out,'I was living and working in a QZ back in California.' He snorted,'If you call that a life. Sharon and her husband were there visiting. They were trying to spread the word around about Jackson. They said we could be free and live somewhere it felt almost normal again. Before the outbreak.' He shook his head,'I went with them because anywhere was better living in a QZ.'
Joel nodded silently, remembering his own time in a QZ back in Boston living in a crummy and flirty apartment with Tess. If you could even call it that.
Now he has himself a ranch. A beautiful farm with acres of land. He got himself a pretty wife, a daughter and another baby on the way. Life was good. He intended it to be that way again.
Harold sighed as tears filled his and he swallowed the lump in his throat,'I lost my daughter here. She went missing. I went to the council for help and pleaded with them to help me find her. They told me teenage girls run away all the time. That should eventually have to come back once she came up on an infected. I knew better. Kayla wouldn't run away like that. She wasn't the kinda kid who went running after trouble. Jackson's all she ever knew. I never found her body. I begged them tome and time again to help me, but they outright refused. They said she probably succumbed to the elements or animals, but I tracked and searched everywhere. No bones. Nothing. Not a damned thing.'
Joel's eyes widened at his declaration,'Name?' He sighed at the look of confusion on Harold's face,'What was your daughter's name?'
'Lily Anne Riley.' He blinked away tears and sighed shakily,'She would've been eighteen yesterday.'
Joel understood the pain on the man's eyes more than anyone. He's loved and lost too many. A daughter. The greatest tragedy of all. Children aren't supposed to die before the parents. It messes with the order of things. The natural cycle of life that continues to flourish and progress.
Who are we without the ones we've created? The council may be trying to cure their loved ones. He understood the denial and unwillingness to let go and move on. Joel and Harold understood their children weren't coming back. Others can't accept it.
Joel squinted at him. He sighed and placed his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently,'I'm really sorry for your loss.' He cleared his throat,'I lost a daughter too.' He swallowed harshly as Harold's eyes widened in surprise,'We shot on the night of the outbreak.' He whispered admittedly,'I dream about her every single night.'
It felt good to share this with someone. He had been unable to fully make Becca understand his loss. It's a horrifying commonality that no parent ever wants to have. They understood each other. He could lay his burdens out on the line.
Joel thought about the name of Harold's daughter. He thought what the kids in the tanks underneath the tunnel and wondered if his kid was somehow apart of that. He hated to be the one to tell him that, but he deserved to know.
He stepped back from him and held out his index finger,'I'll be right back. I need to check something out.'
Harold nodded, looking at him perplexing as he walked out of the jailhouse. He heard the groaning in their cells and rolled his eyes. Great. He was playing babysitter to two grown adult babies.
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It was starting to get late and everyone took shelter in the town hall. They all agreed to keep together at night when they were the most vulnerable. It almost seemed to be the only time they attacked. They didn't exactly know what kind of forces the council had
There was something sinister going on here.
Joel took his hat off and breathed in the night air. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. There was too much that needed to be done. He couldn't stop chasing. Every second counted.
He quietly opened the town hall doors as not to disturb anyone. He headed where Becca was camped out. She had her sleeping bag next to Maria's. Sebastian was sitting on her lap, falling in and out of sleep.
Rage welled within him and guilt. He felt guilty. His pregnant wife shouldn't be sleeping on a sleeping bag. She should be in her bed. Her home. Their home. Safe and sound.
He needed to make this right. He made up his mind. Bunker to bunker. He would burn through each if he had to just find them. If he didn't succeed he would die trying.
Becca looked up and smiled softly when he saw him walking towards her. He had a stern and no nonsense look on his face. He didn't come to sit with her. He was all business. She understood he compartmentalize things.
He bent down in front of her and looked over her weary face. She looked exhausted. She was also pregnant. He was afraid the baby wouldn't be able to handle the stress. It was taking a toll on her. He could see it in her eyes.
She had the warmest smile on her face as she looked at him. He felt special to be on the receiving end of those smiles. Amidst all this they never stopped loving each other. It's why they worked so hard to keep this. Everything they've endured will all be worth it in the end.
He cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked it softly,'You get any sleep?'
'No.' She shook her head and sighed,'I have too many things running through my mind.'
Joel nodded silently and frowned. He couldn't sleep either. His mind was always racing on a good day.
She looked over his face and ran her hand through his hair,'I know you're not going to listen to me, but you need to get some sleep too.'
He nodded and snorted,'Yes, mother hen.' He cleared his throat,'Tommy or Francis didn't talk.'
Becca wasn't surprised by that. They've both been betrayed by the ones they loved. She used to look up to Francis. He's the reason why she took a keen interest in apothecary and Science. She idolized him. She should've realized. You can idolize someone because you'll always be disappointed in the real thing and come to the realization they're just like us. Flawed and imperfect.
Becca looked out the window and frowned.'What's next? How do we find the council?'
'Harold told me about the underground bunkers in town. I'm gonna round up some men and try to find them.' He sighed,'There's over thirty of them so we're gonna have to spread out.' He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking or listening, but everyone was either sleeping or whispering amongst themselves,'Harold said his daughter went missing a few years back. You have that folder with the list of names?'
Her eyes widened and she nodded.'Of course.' She reached into her backpack and took out the folder, handing it over to him,'You really think her name is in there?'
He shrugged as he opened up the folder and went through the list of names. There were so many of them. His eyes scanned through the names which were organized alphabetically. It made it easier to search through the names. At least the council was good for something.
He got to the Rs and went down the line with his index finger. His eyes widened when he saw her name clear as day. Lily Anne Reilly-aged thirteen.
He took a deep breath, knowing Harold was going to be angry when he learned his worst fears were confirmed. He would be angry and have every right to be.
Joel grabbed the piece of paper and closed the folder, handing it over to her,'I'll be right back.'
She looked over his face and saw the dread in her husband's eyes,'You found her name didn't you?'
'Yeah.' He bent down and kissed the top of her head, whispering,'I'm gonna go tell him.'
Becca nodded as she watched her husband walk out of the town hall. She rested her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, sighing shakily. When is it going to be enough? How many more of them had to die for their cause?
Joel's heart was pounding as he made his way to the jailhouse. He dreaded telling Harold her name was on the list, but the man deserved to know. He would want to know. He knew in his heart she was dead, but you still cling to that hope they were alive. He witnessed Sarah dying in his arms and even he imagined her coming back. It was a coping mechanism.
When he walked inside the jailhouse, Tommy and Francis were laying in their beds. Tommy was groaning in pain and his flannel was wrapped around his knife wound to stop the bleeding. Francis looked calm as a cucumber with a smile on his face. He didn't look afraid or even in pain.
Could it be he knew something they didn't?
Harold was sitting at his desk reading a book. He looked up and saw the look in his eyes. He placed his book down and sighed,'What happened?'
Joel placed the piece of paper on his desk and slid it over to him,'I went through tunnels underneath the town and found rooms where they were conducting experiments on children to find a cure. Children who are immune.'
Harold's eyes filled with tears as he read his daughter's name,'Immune?' He shook his head in disbelief,'A cure? How can that be possible?'
'It can't. They found a way to stop it from progressing though.' Joel frowned,'By using our kids.'
Harold swallowed harshly as he crumpled the paper up in his hands. He was shaking with rage as he stared straightforward at the wall in front of him,'We're gonna take these fuckers out. Let's head to those bunkers. I'll grab as many men as I can.'
Joel nodded as he glanced over at his brother before walking outside. He couldn't look at him anymore. It hurt too much.
He looked around at the town, wondering what else was lurking underneath. He always knew this town wasn't perfect. He just never expected anything like this.
Harold gathered over sixty men. Joel told Becca where he was going. She wasn't happy, but she understood why. He swore to her that he would make it back in one piece. She didn't seem so convinced.
They were barely a couple miles outside of the perimeter when they heard the bomb go off. They all turned around, their eyes widening when they saw one of the buildings in town up in flames. Someone was bombing the town.
Joel and the rest of the men ran back to Jackson. His heart was beating wildly. It's begun.
They were here.