Chapter 10
Time.
Underground, time was absent. Without a clock, you never knew what time it was, since the sky as an indicator wasn't visible.
When Sarah woke up, she didn't know how late it was. Only her inner clock told her that it was time to get up. Though, she wouldn't rush it. She took her time to let all her senses boot up and kept on enjoying the comfort of a cozy bed and the warmth of a person right beside her.
Instantly her eyes shot open as she let the last thought pass her mind again. She cautiously turned around and saw that Ellie was lying beside her, one arm draped around her body. The young girl was still peacefully asleep, breathing steadily as she was cuddling closer to her guardian.
It's been a long time since she had woken up like that, and she had to admit that it felt good. Somehow soothing. She also only partially recalled what had happened last night. The breakdown in the showers. How Ellie had helped her to get to bed. But then she had fallen asleep pretty fast, and this must have been the moment Ellie had joined her.
But why?
She had laid so much emotional crap on her and still had been forgiven. Why?
A question that only Ellie could answer her, but definitely wouldn't.
Nonetheless, she had to get up, and Ellie too, since they were about to have a long day ahead.
Softly, Sarah shook the teenager's shoulder, whispering "Ellie… We need to get up!"
Groaning a quiet "Fuck off!" and squirming, the young girl just turned away and tried to get back to sleep. But Sarah wasn't ready to let that slip and began to tickle her along the side of her body. Squealing loudly, Ellie flailed out and fell out of bed as she tried to get away, hitting the cold ground.
"The fuck?!" she exclaimed and looked with a grumpy demeanor and half closed eyes at Sarah, who simply returned a mischievous smirk.
"Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead!"
There were obviously a thousand R-rated curses that the young girl would've loved to throw at her guardian, but refrained from doing so. Instead, she mumbled a faint "Geez!" before she got up and started to get dressed.
Ellie was only wearing some panties and a top in white, as well as Sarah, both their undergarments taken from the old army-supplies. Plus some new pants for the young girl after she had made a mess in her other ones, which she put on right away since it was pretty cold in that bunker.
After being dressed, Sarah asked Ellie to get them some food for a good breakfast, while the blonde went to the room Carla was sleeping in. At first, she eavesdropped at the door, hearing a loud snoring from the other side. Quietly, she opened it and flipped on the light.
Carla was still laying in bed on her belly, one arm and her head hanging over the brim as she was drooling onto the ground. A normal sight after a alcohol-filled night. They had been drinking a lot. But since Sarah had been constantly drunk over the past two years, she was pretty much used to the slight headache in the morning. Yet, Carla might have it worse, since she had been far more drunk than the blonde.
At the moment, she pondered about how to wake the tall Latina up, swinging between loud and pranky, or cautious and lovely. Recalling how it felt to have a hangover, she chose the latter one and approached the bed.
"Carly?" she said with a soft voice, brushing through the Latina's short black hair. "Hey Carly, rise 'n' shine, my horny friend!"
Carla let out a groan and some mumbled, inaudible words before she slowly pushed her body up.
"Fuuuuck!" she exclaimed as she finally sat up, holding her head with both hands. "Remind me to never try to get you loaded again, so that I could getcha laid."
"You really tried that?!" Sarah chuckled dryly, resting her hands on her hips. "Better just ask me when I'm not down in the dumps, then you don't even need whiskey."
Both women then giggled in unison for a few seconds before Carla got up with a big groan.
"Puta de mierda, what was in that stuff? Feelin' like I wanna spill out my guts."
Petting the Latina encouragely on the shoulders, Sarah replied "You better take a cold shower and then we're gonna have a big breakfast before we hit the road with the supplies."
Carla agreed with a nod right away and left for the showers while Sarah went to the common room in order to look for Ellie. To her surprise, the table was already set and ready for a nice canned meal. However, Ellie was nowhere to be seen. Suspiciously, Sarah continued to look for her until she entered the storage area, where she found the young teenage girl aboard a Humvee, mounting the giant M2 .50 cal machine gun and emitting sound as if she was in the middle of a shootout while driving at high-speed.
"Vroom! Screeeech! Commander, we got incoming enemies at 2 o'clock and Cordies on our six. Gonna give 'em some heat, but we need back-up, asap!"
Leaning against another vehicle with crossed arms, Sarah enjoyed this scene with a giant smirk on her lips. Watching Ellie being a kid was just a soothing sight, remembering the blonde of her own childhood. A childhood that had ended way too soon and would never come back.
Or would it?
Being caught by this game, Sarah approached the military vehicle and was soon spotted by Ellie, who gasped out of surprise and blushed upon being witnessed playing around.
"Fuck! Uh, shit. Sarah, I uh…"
"Can a poor survivor come aboard and help you gettin' rid of those motherfuckers? I got quite an interesting resume, if it's of any use for you."
Dumbfounded, the young girl gazed at her smiling guardian for some time, before she regained her composure and played along.
"Uh, yeah… sure. Just hop in, the Cordies are right behind ya!"
"Thank you… Captain! Where to?"
"Back to base, we need to resupply!"
Now entering the game, Sarah got into the driver's seat and acted like she was the driver of the truck, steering it around sharp turns and racing through the landscape.
For the first time after many years, Sarah thought back to her childhood. How she had played such games over hours with her friends on the playset in the garden of hers and her father's house, before civilization had collapsed. Happy moments with a lot of fun. Fun that she was experiencing again. She laughed together with Ellie and played her role, until they had reached the imaginary base and the game ended.
"This…was…AWESOME!" called Ellie out as she was climbing down from the gunner's position and onto the passenger's seat.
"I totally agree… Captain!"
Hearing this unknown tone from her guardian, Ellie turned towards her, saying "Thanks! You, uh… you were awesome, too. Just…"
"It's okay, Ellie. Now c'mon, we need to eat and then pack our stuff and go."
A cup of coffee, dried bread and canned corned beef and juice. There weren't many possibilities in the post-apocalyptic world for a rich breakfast, especially when spending time on the road. So, it was no wonder that the three women were feasting greedily on their meal.
"Just askin'," Carla started a conversation, "where are ya heading anyway?"
Both Ellie and Sarah froze for a moment and shared a glimpse before the latter one plainly replied "West."
Of course, Carla didn't buy that this was the whole answer and acknowledged with a frown. "West? There's a lot in the west."
"Salt Lake City," Ellie then truthfully added as she seemed to be tired of this secrecy, which caused her guardian to silently shake her head. "The Fireflies have a hospital there and wanna try to develop a vaccine out of my blood."
Now Carla was all ears, her amazed sight switching between the two other women. "For reals?! The Fireflies can make a cure for this shit?"
"Probably…" was Sarah's cautious answer. "We don't know what's causing her immunity, yet. Best case: antibodies that can be produced by our own immune system and only need to be triggered by inactive fungus spores. Worst case: some us unknown chemical processes in the body that can't be artificially reproduced."
After this short lecture, she got ogled by the other two women with awe, like they couldn't believe that she had such an insight regarding medical knowledge. Which she commented with a deep sigh.
"I studied this shit some time ago and joined a research group that tried to find a vaccine before things went to shit and I bailed."
"Well, your geekiness just made me wet my pants. How come? Thought the eggheads died straight at the beginning of the plague," Carla mentioned, receiving a head-shake by Ellie right away.
"No, my Mom used to work in such a group, too. Guess that's where you met, right?" asked the young girl towards Sarah, who stopped eating in an instant.
"Nope. Met your Mom right at the beginning. She was 14 and living with her mother, a doctor in the military, in the Austin QZ. After her mom died, my uncle Tommy and I took her in. We teamed up, became like fire and ice, joined the Fireflies, but soon realized that we lacked the muscles to change something. So, we put our heads on the line instead and joined the scientists at the University in Colorado. For three years we studied together, plus one year of intense research. Over time, machinery failed, unrepairable, working conditions got worse and, eventually, your mom got pregnant from some random guy. That was the moment our team fell apart and I joined the scouts."
"Don't wanna shit on your life-decisions, chica, but… Why the fuckin' scouts?" asked Carla, gulping down her last bit of coffee. "I mean, you were a major egghead and your sweet ass protected. Why the change, instead of keepin' it going? You could've changed the world by now."
After a sigh of annoyance, Sarah threw her half eaten piece of bread on the plate, saying "You see any change in the world, yet? I don't, and it wouldn't be any different if I'd stayed" before she got up and left, without saying another word.
"Wow!" was everything Carla commented to that behavior, shaking her head, before facing Ellie. "You stayed very quiet. Weren't you a bit curious about her role in your Mom's past?"
But the young girl just shrugged and continued eating her breakfast like nothing special had happened.
"I am, but why stirrin' up her past any further? If she wants to talk about it, she will. We all have our baggage and she has a big one to carry. All I figured out so far is, that she and my mom used to be a couple and that my pregnancy fucked it all up. And who can blame her for being pissed at my Mom? I never met my father. Whenever I asked, she ignored the topic and went for a smoke. Eventually, she took that knowledge into her grave. And the more I think 'bout it, the more I hate her for that."
Not waiting for the Latina to finish, Ellie got up as well and headed for her room, finding Sarah there, sitting on the bed and smoking a cigarette, her head bowed.
Without hesitation, the young girl sat down beside her, saying after some time "You okay?"
"Yeah," was her short answer before taking another draft from her coffin nail. "Just thinkin' a lot, lately. 'bout you, Carly, Anna, my dad…"
"Carly?" Ellie returned with a quizzical frown. "Wow, you're really gettin' personal with her, dontcha? Thought you don't trust her?"
"Welp, I still don't," scoffed the blonde, extinguishing the cigarette. "But she has some charm that's hard to resist."
"Then maybe we should ask her if she wants to come with us. Could need the extra muscle, y'know."
Sarah froze for a moment as she was taken aback by this proposal, yet surprisingly considered it.
"You really think that this is a good idea?"
"C'mon!" Ellie replied with a smirk, bumping her guardian in the side of her body. "You like her. Maybe you need someone like her to finally loos'n up a bit. Or, how's the saying? To give ya that much needed fuck."
"Hey!" complained Sarah jokingly, also giving Ellie a push that sent her giggling onto the mattress. After they had calmed down again, both stayed silent for another minute. "But yeah, maybe you're right. Still…let's keep this idea to ourselves until we've delivered the goods, wanna see how things'll play out."
Silently agreeing on that matter, Ellie and Sarah packed everything they needed before they rejoined with Carla, who was also ready to leave.
They then prepared one of the trucks, fueled it before packing its bed full with goods. Food, water, clothes, fuel, a few weapons with ammunition. When everything was ready, Sarah opened the bunker's blast door and activated the cargo elevator that was bringing them back to the surface.
As soon as the heavy blast gate opened, the three women got blinded by the bright sunlight. According to the sun's position, it was early afternoon. Before leaving for the ferry, Sarah locked and secured the bunker again, also cutting off all essential power. She then got behind the wheel, Carla and Ellie being passengers in the cabin of the truck.
The drive to the ferry was also without any problem and the truck quickly loaded onto the platform where they secured it with some chains. And as the engine came to life and began to move them over the river, it was an emotional event for Ellie. She was happy and enjoyed the slight breeze with closed eyes and a soft smile on her lips. Soon, they would arrive at the other side of the river and then give those poor people all these much needed supplies.
A good deed. A deed that Sarah had initiated. She could've left those people to die, but instead had decided to help, despite the dangers.
Ellie then turned around again, finding Sarah leaning against the truck while eating one of those delicious protein bars. She wanted to walk over to her as, out of a sudden, the ferry stopped, causing Ellie to stumble a bit backwards.
"What's goin' on, Carly?! Did the engine break down?" said Sarah and immediately walked over towards the Latina, who was standing at the housed controls, staring into empty space. Ellie followed, stat.
Carla was holding the control lever in a tight grip and it was in the stop-position, making it clear that it had been her, who had stopped the platform.
"Carla, why are we stopping in the middle of the river?" Sarah kept on asking, touching the taller woman's shoulder softly like she was somehow worried about her. But all this evaporated in an instant with the answer.
"They're waiting for us…"
Breaking the touch and taking a step back, Sarah frowned and replied "Who's waiting for us?"
Carla's sight dropped to her feet and sadness as well as regret could clearly be heard dripping from her voice.
"Sullivan."
This took Ellie entirely aback. So much that her jaw dropped. But this betrayal was far worse for Sarah, visibly by her wide open eyes and the shiver in her tone. Surely, she always had mentioned that she hadn't trusted Carla, but now being proven right, was clearly a lot to take in.
"Y-you're shitting me, right?" she said quietly, at first, before she began to furiously yell at her. "Tell me, that this is a fuckin' joke!"
But Carla just shook her head, which drove Sarah over the edge. She drew her pistol and aimed right at the Latina's head, her hand and voice shaking even more while first tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Sarah…" whispered Ellie out of fear that the blonde would shoot, yet got ignored by her.
"Why?" she hissed, her lips shivering. "Gimme some good reason to not waste your ass right here and now!"
But Carla just scoffed "As if you ever trusted me, chica," and then looked at the other woman deeply. "But if you insist on knowing… When I was clearing the first station, I overheard Sullivan talkin' 'bout to attack us since his supplies were almost spent, too, and cut a deal with him that will save our people."
"How's givin' away all food to such an asshole's gonna save your people?!" Ellie intervened, not believing what she's hearing.
"What do you think will happen, if Sullivan finds out that we got such a source of supplies, kid?" Carla returned defiantly. "He will attack us anyway and kill everyone who resists and will leave the rest of us to starve. By cuttin' that deal I could convince him to let us back into the QZ and share those supplies. I even convinced him to give you all the stuff you need and let you go."
Sarah was still holding that gun in her face, her trigger finger itching. "You… You fuckin'..." But as hard as she tried, she couldn't shoot her. Instead, she lowered her gun and closed in, hissing "You think you saved your people? Tell ya what, you sold 'em out, 'cause assholes like Sullivan will kill you, Seamus and everyone who opposed him and enslave the rest. You fuckin' doomed us and your people, you stupid bitch!"
For a moment, the situation calmed down as all three were busy with their own thoughts. Until something caught Ellie's attention.
"If this was your plan all along and we'd be safe, then why did you stop the ferry, anyway? It's not like we'd be able to do anythin' against it."
"Pft, as if that matters right now," Sarah threw in and blurted "She fucked us over, big time."
"How about second thoughts, puta?!" Carla blurted back, giving Sarah a hard push that let her stumble. "I didn't know who to trust or what awaited us. At first, I thought that the stash was nothin' more than a small warehouse with some crates. But now… Fuck, with this weaponry we could easily fend off Sullivan and his goons! So, how about, we return to the other side and drive that truck over the next possible bridge and then-..."
Carla wasn't even able to finish her speech as a bullet impacted into the platform, right beside Ellie's foot, followed by another one that made a hole into the housing's glass.
"Fuck, get down!" yelled Sarah towards Ellie, leading the young girl behind the truck while Carla took cover behind the control panel. "Carla, get that thing moving!"
As the tall woman wanted to pull the lever, another shot pierced through the glass of the housing, missing her hand only by inches, followed by a loud voice that was chiming from a speaker or megaphone.
"Nice try, Carla. Switch the controls to remote and step out onto the platform! Your friends, too! Or we'll cut the cable and send you all to the bottom of the river."
Carla immediately complied, standing up with raised hands and walking into the center of the platform that suddenly started to move again after she had switched the controls. A strange whirring sound then echoed through the air, followed by an explosion a few yards away from the ferry. Grenade launcher!
"Hey! I told y'all to come out. Now move your fuckin' asses or the next shot will hit!"
Huffing out a quiet "Fuck!", Sarah and Ellie got up, as well, whereas she said to the young girl "Shove your holster behind your back and cover it with your hoodie, and put your knife in the back pocket of your pants! Don't worry, they won't search a kid."
Still being behind the truck and covered from the attacker's eyes, Ellie did what she was told to before both also stepped into the open, whereas Sarah already pulled out her pistol and laid it onto the ground a few feet away while Carla did the same.
They were slowly approaching the ferry station at the other side of the river and could already see Sullivan and his men, awaiting them fully armed.
With a rumbling sound the platform docked at the concrete dock and Sullivan along with a few of his goons stepped onto it.
"Carla!" he said cheerfully with stretched out arms. His toothy grin was clearly shining through his black beard with some gray streaks. He wore parts of the rundown uniform of FEDRA, plus a combat vest. Last time Sarah had seen him, he and his men had looked better. Still, he had charisma, a treat that should never be underestimated. "You really took your time. Already thought you'd forgotten 'bout me."
"Heeey, Sully…" replied the tall Latina with a wry yet insecure smirk, taking down her hands. "Y'know how'd is. Doin' things right needs some time."
"Huh," Sullivan scoffed, laying one hand on her shoulder before looking deeply at her. "And I already thought you'd developed some second thoughts about our deal, hmm?"
Confronting someone with plain facts. Sarah knew this tactic. And paired with the right tone it could easily be used to call out lies and deception. And as Carla replied with a shivering voice "O-of course not, man…I-I mean, it's just the three of us. No backup," she almost thought that it would let the situation escalate. But instead he just patted her shoulder and then turned towards Sarah and Ellie, giving especially the blonde a frown.
"Sure. And don't I know you from somewhere? Hmm…lemme think… Oh yeah, you're that Firefly that made a deal with us about passing the bridge. Haven't seen your bunch here in a while."
Sarah wasn't much of a person for smalltalk, yet delivered facts. She also wasn't easy to intimidate, yet returned Sullivan's gaze, saying "This truck and all its goods are property of the Fireflies. So, whatever deal she made with you, it's nullified. Let us all go and we won't have any trouble."
For a moment, he glared at the blonde with wide open eyes, like he couldn't believe what he just heard, until he plainly said "Oh! Looks like I was talkin' to the wrong person, then.", drew his pistol and shot Carla in the head.
"NOOO!" screamed Ellie as the tall woman hit the ground, and ran towards her, shedding tears over her body, while Sarah stayed in her spot, her from shock dilated, welling up eyes watching this heartbreaking scene. Just now she suddenly realized what her words had done and how much she and Ellie had started to adore the Hispanic woman, despite her betrayal. She also saw how Ellie was reaching for the gun, yelling "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"
Right away the blonde bridged the gap between them and took the girl's arms in a tight grip before she could pull out the weapon and doom them both. Being a hothead like her mother, Ellie fought against the restraining, despite that Sarah embraced her.
"Calm down, Ellie!" she whispered into her ear, waiting until the young girl would stop fighting before she looked deeply into her teary eyes, showing that she was hurting, too. "There's a time to mourn and a time to act. Right now, we mourn, later we act or we'll end up like her. You got that?"
Faintly, Ellie nodded as a signal that she understood and Sarah planted a soft peck on her forehead in return before she got up again, seeing that all guns were aimed at the two women.
"Please, keep that lil' shit on a leash," Sullivan commented dryly, putting away his gun. "Now, back to business. I don't give a shit 'bout the Fireflies, let alone that a lil' recently demised birdie told me that you're not even a part of 'em anymore, so… I'm gonna take that truck and the access to the stash, please. And that's the last time I'm gonna ask nicely."
"And what if I don't?" replied Sarah defiantly. "If you kill me, you'll never get inside that bunker, since I'm the only one who knows the access-code."
"Well," he then returned nonchalantly while flinging one arm around her shoulders, "I have that lil' girl there, who I can give a nice makeover while you watch. And if that isn't enough, there's also a bunch of people who I can use as well. Are ya sure that you really wanna play this game with me? Or can we achieve a common ground without such…inconveniences?"
Being disgusted by this unwanted closeness, Sarah had to gulp hard to suppress the need to just use the chance to kill this man, which would - undoubtedly - lead to her's and Ellie's demise.
"If you want the key, I have conditions."
"You're in no position to set any conditions! Because, if I wanted to, I just could torture that kid - right here, right now - until you fold and then cut off your fuckin' head and be done with it."
He let these words just stand in the open for some time, until he patted Sarah's shoulder as well, and plainly said "But…I wanna be a reasonable guy here and am open for a deal that we both can live with… For old times sake, y'know. I mean, these people and that bitch there used you and put you between the fronts. Not a nice move. So, why won't you, me and the kid just take that truck for a tour to my QZ and then we'll talk business there, okay?"
Seeing no other options, Sarah agreed with a nod, and with a signed command, Sullivan's men bound her hands behind her back while their boss picked up the dropped guns.
"Nice piece!" he commented on Sarah's pistol, weighing it in his hand. "Custom-made?"
"By a friend."
"Hmm," he hummed in return, turned off the gun's safety and sent three more shots into Carla's body as he wanted to make sure that she was really dead by testing the weapon on the deceased woman. One of the shots even hit her head again, opening the skull even more and splattering her brain all over the ground.
This sacrilegious act against a dead person she once considered a friend, drove Ellie mentally almost over the edge. An indescribable amount of curses and insults were laying on her tongue, ready to be blared at the leader. Yet, she held her shivering lips shut and vented her fury through flowing tears. She would've loved to simply draw her pistol and gun down Sullivan, yet quickly realized that she would get mowed down before even releasing one single shot. And though Sarah tried to stay cool, it was pretty obvious to the young girl that she was having an inner struggle as well, recognizable as she shut her eyes and averted her gaze from the Latina's mistreated body.
"I'll be damned," exclaimed Sullivan joyfully, once more scanning the gun in his hand. "This gun's the real shit! Almost no recoil and precise as fuck. Mind if I hold on to it? Don't think so."
Accepting defeat was hard, even for a seasoned scout like Sarah, which became very obvious to Ellie as she witnessed how her guardian's bound hands clenched into fists. Yet, the freckled girl was astonished how she could keep calm and swallow her anger down, knowing that there was nothing they could do against this.
"Alright," Sullivan then announced with a grin, clapping his hands. "Then let's get movin'! My Ladies, may I ask you to board the truck?"
Sarah obeyed reluctantly, entering the truck's passenger's side silently and with some difficulty, since her hands were bound to her back. Ellie followed her, mumbling a quiet "Fuck you, asshole!", which brought her a hard kick on her behind by Sullivan, which let her stumble and collide with the truck.
"OUCH! The fuck's your problem, dickhead?!"
Another hard smack on her cheek followed, letting her head rock to the right. The pain was so intense, that Ellie couldn't suppress her tears anymore and began to sob.
Sullivan was towering over her, ready to hit her again. "Y'know what I hate?" he asked rhetorically, not awaiting an answer. "Lil', disrespectful shits like you, who need a nice beatin' to get their fuckin' heads in line."
Once again, he raised his hand, ready to let another smack follow, as Sarah suddenly jumped off the truck and right between them, giving the abusive man a piercing glare.
"What sorta limpdick are ya, to beat up children?" she growled at him, standing her ground. "Pick on someone your own size, you ball-less fuck!"
"With pleasure!" he returned and hit Sarah right in the face with full force, causing her to stumble to the side. Then another punch hit her in the stomach, letting her bend over before another strike hit her face again, sending her to the ground.
Groaning and squirming, Sarah was laying on the ground and all Ellie could do was to watch as the leader of the group added an additional kick right into her stomach.
"See this, kid?" he then said towards the young girl, forcing her to look at him and his victims by violently grabbing her face. "This is what happens to rebellious bitches, like you, her or this piece of shit that's lying over there. Now move your asses into that fuckin' truck or I'll show you how I'll make you both my personal bitches!"
Being afraid of what else could happen to her and Sarah, Ellie obeyed this time without another word. This moment, it was her guardian who followed her as she cautiously and under pain climbed into the cabin of the truck, sitting quietly down, while Sullivan gave his men some orders and then took the driver's seat.
"Well, was this so hard?" he then asked before starting the truck. Both women didn't even look at him as he began to move the vehicle with a vicious chuckling through the gate of the building and onto the streets, towards the last intact bridge.
Being worried about Sarah, Ellie looked at her, seeing how her face had already begun to swell up, where Sullivan had hit her. Blood was flowing down her cheek from a cut on her left eyebrow and her sight was fixed on something outside the windshield.
Softly, the young girl patted her on the left thigh, whispering "Are you okay?".
But she didn't receive any answer, causing Sullivan to chuckle again. "Guess you pissed her off pretty bad by behaving like a brat."
And for a moment she almost believed his words, until she felt a slight poke on her hip. And while Sarah kept her gaze straight forward, Ellie looked down her side, seeing the blonde's bound hands gesturing something. Right away, the auburn-haired girl recalled the knife in the backpocket of her jeans. Cautiously and without making too much movement, she fumbled with her right hand on her backside, trying to find the entrance to her pocket.
"I don't get you bitches," Sullivan then mentioned dryly, startling Ellie for a second as she thought that she had been caught. "I mean, it's a rough world out there. Survival of the fittest 'n' shit. And you just waltz through the landscape without a second thought, behaving like you own the place."
She found her pocket with the knife, her finger brushing over the holster of her gun, which almost tempted her to use it.
"But tell ya what," the bearded man kept on rambling. "You women are weaker than men, 'cause you're lackin' our strength and finesse. You belong behind an oven and need to keep mankind alive by giving birth to children, and not jumpin' around in the open, where every low fucker could overwhelm and rape you."
Again, Ellie thought about numerous insults to throw at this person, yet had to bite on her tongue, because she knew that even one reply would shift his attention towards them, and Sarah probably thought the same as she kept quiet as well. Also, she let slip the thought about using her gun, yet finally brought forth her knife.
Knowing that the unfolding of the blade wouldn't go without some noise, despite the running engine and bumps on the road, she pressed the opening against the seat and then pushed the release button before letting it slowly unfold.
"What's the matter with you two?" Sullivan suddenly exclaimed, shifting his attention towards the two women. "No argument? No insultes? Not even one faint contra?"
"You're a chauvinistic, abusive douchecanoe. There! Said it. Satisfied?" returned Sarah, gazing at him with an angry glare while Ellie tried to cut her bindings.
Once again, Sullivan just chuckled and shook his head, his sight still on the road. "Good god, woman. I think you're up for another beating. Or maybe you just need a good fuck."
Since he was still distracted, Ellie tried to feel the restraints with her fingers and then led the blade towards them in order to cut them blindly. She had just found the restraints and wanted to start cutting, as the truck hit another bump in the road. The sudden momentum caused the blade to slip from the rope and bury into Sarah's forearm, who groaned audibly upon the pain.
"Shit!" hissed Ellie as she realized what had just happened, and this time, Sullivan became aware of this strange commotion.
"Hey! What the fuck are ya doin' there?!"
Panic started to take over Ellie's mind as she realized that they had been caught. In a desperate attempt, she tightly grabbed the already blood smeared knife and placed a swift stab at Sullivan, who, however, quickly raised his arm, which then got impaled by the blade.
"ARGH, FUCKIN' BITCH!" he groaned loudly and instinctively smashed his elbow into the young girl's face.
The blow was hard, hitting her right on the eye. The pain was so intense, that, beside that the hit eye went blind for the moment, her remaining sight became blurry. She felt how Sarah was climbing over her and onto the dashboard. A struggle broke out, accompanied by groans and yelled curses. Additionally to that chaos, the vehicle suddenly steered hard right and came to an instant stop as it crashed into an obstacle with a loud thud. The force was so high, that Ellie got thrown out of her seat and hit the dashboard. Glass was shattering, metal was deforming and one last time the engine revved up until there was only silence.
It took Ellie some time to overcome her confusion and gather her thoughts. Her entire body just hurt, especially her face.
"Fuuuck!" she sighed and tried to orientate. Sarah had partially broken through the windshield, her legs hanging outside while her body was laying on the dashboard. Sullivan wasn't doing any better himself, since he had hit his head on the steering wheel, blood seeping from the impact wound.
Fearing for Sarah, Ellie sat up and shook her guardian's shoulder, causing her to groan, but not to wake up. She knew that they both were having just a small window to escape Sullivan, as long as he was unconscious. Once again, she shook her shoulder, whispering "Sarah, c'mon!"
This time she squirmed even more and even opened her eyes, but so did Sullivan, though both were still confused. Therefore, Ellie was the only one able to act, and there wasn't much time to do so.
'There's a time to mourn and a time to act…'
Sarah's words reverberating in her mind, Ellie decided that this was the time to act and take revenge for Carla's death.
Her sight was focused on the still half-unconscious Sullivan while her right hand reached for the pistol that was tucked in the holster behind her back. At this moment, time was running slower, like thick honey. She raised the gun, wanting to align it with the bearded man's head, but at the same time - and probably out of instinct - he opened his eyes and shifted his gaze at Ellie and her weapon. She had almost the target in her sights as Sullivan hit her arm with his hand, swatting it away.
A shot broke, piercing through the partially broken windshield, only inches away from Sarah's head. In this confined space, the sound was so deafeningly loud, that everyone was instantly awake.
Once again, Ellie tried to aim at Sullivan, but he simply punched her in the face, right on the cheekbone. The pain was immense, forcing tears into her eyes and letting her forget her intentions for the moment.
Now being fully aware of the situation again, Sarah saw how Sullivan was reaching for her gun that was tucked in the waistband of his pants. He would shoot her and Ellie, without any mercy, that was for sure. And she was the only one able to stop him from doing so, since the young girl was out of commission for the moment. Sadly, her hands were still bound behind her back, rendering them useless, and her feet were hanging in the air, giving the blond woman no time to dart forward. The only thing she was able to do, was to use her slight acrobatic skills and spin around on her back by using the momentum of her swinging legs.
One booted foot hit his hand with the gun, swatting it out of it, the second one was supposed to hit his head. However, since the element of surprise was spent, he managed to move his head enough to soften the blow and therefore keep him in the game. Of course, she tried to let another kick follow, but being in a disadvantageous position, her attempt wasn't really priced with success.
Right on the contrary, Sullivan easily caught her foot and simply pushed, causing her to slide backwards and shoving her through the windshield and out of the cabin, where she landed on the hood of the truck and then fell to the ground with a shriek.
He would take care of her later. For now, Sullivan would take care of this little, annoying girl, who had caused so much trouble and would now…
As he wanted to look at Ellie, his hand already reaching for his still holstered pistol, he stared down the barrel of the girl's small handgun, with widened eyes.
Her face, now crested with another upcoming bruise, was dead-serious and her glare merciless, showing him that the situation was severe. She has brought as much distance to him as possible, her back against the passenger door. He would never reach her gun in time to prevent a shot.
"Easy, girl!" he said with a calming voice, slowly moving his hand away from his pistol and raising his arms. "Listen, we might've been off to a rough start. Let's just calm down and make a new deal, okay?"
Her hands and lips were trembling while new tears were rolling down her cheeks. Signs of weakness. An easy prey for a charismatic man like Sullivan. So, he painted his widest smirk on his face and slowly lowered his hands again.
"We both know that you won't shoot me," he said with a fawning voice while reaching for the girl's threatening gun. But out of a sudden, there was a change in her glare. A new nuance.
Determination!
From one second to another, her hands became calm as she pulled the trigger and released the shot. The projectile impacted into Sullivan's forehead and penetrated his skull, only to exit it with a fountain of blood, brain and bone fragments that was painting the, by the bullet broken window behind him. His limb body collapsed a second later right against the driver's door.
It was over. Sullivan was dead and Carla avenged. But why didn't it feel good? Why wasn't she happy? Why was she crying again?
"ELLIE!" Sarah yelled from outside, followed by hard bumps against the truck. "FUCK! Ellie, are you okay? Ellie? Sullivan, I swear, if you hurt her, I…"
Her stupor slowly loosening up, Ellie managed to unlock the passenger door and push it open.
Both women were staring at each other for a minute with wide open, welled up eyes, before Ellie began to sob again, jumped down from the truck and hugged Sarah tightly.
Yes, it truly was over, the supplies secured, Sullivan dead and both relieved to have survived this. But to what cost?
The wind in her face. The constant rumbling and revving of the truck's engine. That's all Sarah was able to feel at the moment as her sight was fixed on the road ahead.
Luckily, the truck had survived the crash and was still perfectly running. But not everything had pulled through that easily. Since the incident, Ellie hadn't spoken one word, but simply kept to herself.
"I know it sounds stupid, but… Are you okay?" Sarah asked parenthetically as she tried to show some empathy. A pathetic attempt and, actually, she didn't even expect an answer. But again, she was surprised by Ellie.
"Why don't I feel happy?" the young girl asked, her sight fixed at a random point in front of her. "I mean, I killed this asshole and took revenge for Carla, but… I don't know. It feels…so…empty and unimportant. Like nothin' has changed."
"Revenge's barely worth the effort, Ellie," the blonde replied while maneuvering the truck through the streets. "People think that it's some sorta revelation and, at first, it feels good 'n' shit. But the more time passes, the more your brain realizes that it's nothin' more than another burden on your soul. Another punch on your kill-card. If you can live happily ever after with it, then congrats, you're an official badass psycho-motherfucker." She then stopped the truck, touched Ellie softly by the shoulder, while looking deeply at her. "Ellie, you didn't kill him outta some revenge, but to defend yourself."
"You sure 'bout that?"
"No," Sarah returned and moved the truck again. "And it doesn't even matter, 'cause the only important thing is that you're okay."
Important. Why was Ellie so important? Because of her immunity? Why her of all people in the world? Why Anna's daughter? And was she really only important because of her immunity or… Maybe something else?
They eventually reached the hideout and were immediately let in by the people and awaited by Seamus, who approached them as soon as they had parked and exited the truck.
"I thought I said that we don't need yer stuff," said Seamus, his arms crossed. But Sarah was more than capable to give him contra.
"You really wanna keep acting butthurt over some shit that happened days ago and turn down those much needed supplies?" she replied, crossing her arms as well as she looked over her shoulder and witnessed how the Scottish man's people were starting to check and unload the truck's goods, Ellie helping them. "Guess your people wouldn't agree."
Letting out a deep sigh, Seamus shook his head, before he talked himself into rage. "Ye women are drivin' me crazy. We wanna live in peace, not provoking Sullivan. But that's somethin' Carla never understood, and neither did you. Where's this ox-headed woman, anyway?"
Sarah's demeanor faltered instantly, saying more than a thousand words. But then her frustration took over and she couldn't do anything else than to blurt at him. "She's dead. Shot by Sullivan as she fought for this stuff over there. She died for YOU and those people. If she wouldn't have put her head on the line, you maybe would live in peace for a while before you'd also starve in peace."
For a moment, Seamus' demeanor saddened and his gaze dropped. He sighed deeply again, replying "But what 'bout Sullivan? He knows what we got now, and this truck is nothin' more than a large target for him. A reason to start a war."
"Sullivan's dead, too," reassured Sarah, her tone now calmer again. "Carla's last deed, before she died. And there are enough guns 'n' ammo in that truck to fend off his remaining goons… If they don't kill each other over the gap of power beforehand."
It was a lot to take in for the Scottish man. Carla dead, a truck full of supplies, and Sullivan's men in disarray upon his demise. The whole situation had changed overnight. The status quo was gone.
Sarah realized that the gears in Seamus' head were grinding. He had to adapt and would need time. Time that she and Ellie didn't have. They had to move on and reach Salt Lake City before Winter would come and make travel even more challenging.
She pulled Tamara's necklace with the dog tag and the vault's key, which had been hanging around her neck, over her head and handed it to him.
"This is the key to the bunker. I engraved the code onto the dog tag. Take good care of it. Whoever holds this, rules the city. Just promise me to lead these people into a better future!"
Seamus gazed at the necklace in his hand for quite some time, lacking any words. He just didn't know what to say. Was this key a blessing or a curse? Was he ready to take over such a responsibility? Would he be able to uphold this promise?
But as he was finally ready to bring forth some words, he realized that Sarah wasn't there anymore. She actually was just leaving the compound with her car while Ellie was still helping his people with the goods.
"Oy, wee girl!" he approached the 14-year-old, catching her attention. "Where did she go?"
"She said that she has some open business to take care of. Dunno what it is. She just said that she'll be back after dark," Ellie replied while carrying two assault rifles into the compound's improvised armory.
These two women were an enigma to the Scottsman. The older one always had a big scheme and the young one didn't seem to care at all. An explosive team. Volatile and dangerous. He was simply seeing forward that those two would leave soon and hopefully would take all the trouble with them.
The sun had already set and only a small strip on the horizon was painted orange. The dark water of the river was lapping in the docking bay of the ferry system.
Sullivan's men were standing guard as they were ordered, holding the tall building and waiting for their boss to return, Harold being one of them.
He usually wasn't a bad guy, per se, yet had just taken his chance as the management in the QZ had switched. Yes, Sullivan was a brutal son of a bitch, yet it was better to be on his good side instead of the bad one. Although it meant to ignore things like the shit that had happened before.
He used to know Carla, back in the old days while working as a mechanic. And seeing her die like that was just cruel. She hadn't deserved it to go like this. But the sides are clear and he wouldn't risk his life by rebelling against his bosses actions. No, he would do as he was told and guard this ferry.
Night had now entirely settled, dipping the landscape in a total obscurity that was sometimes enlightened by the bright moon, when it managed to pierce through the clouds. A Clicker's scream could be heard in the distance, signing that it was time to close the gate and settle in for the night.
A car's engine could be heard in the distance, its headlights painting the path through the streets it was taking. One thing was for sure, it wasn't the truck Sullivan had taken, which got confirmed as a station wagon came around the corner, heading straight for the ferry building.
Wondering who this was and not awaiting some company, Harold called for the others and got ready for combat.
The vehicle parked right in front of them, the headlights being too bright so that Harold couldn't see who was driving.
The car's door opened and a woman left the vehicle. It was the same woman that had traveled with Carla and that little girl and had been taken by Sullivan with the goods to the QZ.
The blond woman approached them, her face a diary of pain as it was plastered with several hematoma and cuts. She was carrying something chunky in her hand. And it became clear what it was as she tossed it on the ground in front of their feet, which got brightly illuminated by the car's headlights. It was Sullivan's cut off head.
Harold and his men took a step back as they gazed at the bloodied head with half blown out back, the hole in the forehead and the twisted eyes. Sullivan was dead, probably killed by that woman. Yet, nobody dared to attack her, but rather stood down.
"What do you want?" asked Harold, his weapon still at a ready in case of any imminent danger.
"I already figured that none of you would risk their necks for this son of a bitch," she replied and stepped closer. "All I want is Carla's body and makin' an offer."
A body and an offer. During his time at Sullivan's side he had heard a lot of threats, pleadings and curses. But seldomly it had been an offer. He would make things different from Sullivan. So, he decided to listen.
Another burial. The second one within days. And it was way sadder than the first one. Ellie had actually planned to stay tough, but seeing Carla, a friend, getting buried was too much to take in. She was crying, letting those tears flow, and - surprisingly - Sarah was doing the same, yet not as much.
Sarah, her tough-as-hell guardian was showing feelings in public, a rare occasion. Especially in front of all those people that were attending the funeral.
For the people of Pittsburgh, Carla was and died a hero, who had also killed the most feared man in the city. The people had simply believed Sarah's story without any doubt. Heroes were role models, encouraging others with their actions, and Sarah had used this. Plus, Sullivan's men had agreed to Sarah's deal so far as to live in peace with the others for the time being. Well, at least until someone like Sullivan would take over again.
In Ellie's eyes, Sarah was the real hero, but obviously that didn't really matter to the blonde. She just wanted to get away and - somehow - Ellie could relate. They were foreigners here, watched and mistrusted. No matter that they just saved a lot of lives. Yes, they had gotten politely invited to at least stay the night, but probably just out of hospitality.
After the funeral, Ellie walked around the premises, but people avoided her. For them, she was simply infected and not immune. One of the kids even threw a ball hard at her, deliberately. It hit her right on the head, adding another shiner to the collection of the other injuries Sullivan had given her. She would've loved to cry and crawl into a dark hole to hide from the world. But what would've been the use of that?
She instead gave the kid a death-stare with her teary eyes, drew her knife and cut a wide slit into the ball. A short hiss later, it deflated and was useless. Everyone was looking at her again, but Ellie didn't care. She put the knife away again and walked on, suppressing the emerging tears. A moment later, she got taken into a tight embrace by Sarah.
Sarah, her guardian. The only person in this crazy world she trusted at the moment. And the only person she felt comfortable around. Very comfortable. She liked to be close to her, because the lanky woman gave her strength and encouragement.
"C'mon," she eventually said, brushing softly through Ellie's auburn hair. "Let's get outta here. We did enough, the rest is up to them."
Side-by-side they headed towards their car, which was packed up to the brim with supplies. Ellie had actually asked if they could take one of those Humvees with a machine gun on top, but to her dismay, Sarah had objected to this idea, since such vehicles were consuming too much gas. Gas that was already rare anyway.
As they were approaching the car, they saw that someone was leaning against it, blocking the driver's door. It was Seamus, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest and a serious demeanor.
"So, yer leavin' already?" he said without any anger in his voice, making it clear that he didn't want them to leave. This, however, surprised Sarah, since she used to have the impression that it had been him who had thrown her and Ellie out.
"Thought you'd be happy 'bout that," she replied, crossing her arms too. There was a lot of anger in her voice. But not just anger about the Scott, but also about his people, who didn't show much appreciation. "At least, you told us so, two days ago. And your people seem to agree."
He sighed loudly, his arms dropping.
"Listen, I'm merely a simple man. I came here as a tourist, only possessing what was in my backpack. From one day to another, the whole country was under a bloody lockdown. I couldn't go home. Only by chance I was allowed to enter the QZ. I worked as a janitor, nothin' more. Just a wee man in the big shite. And then that shite got real. Sullivan knew that with his bloody revolution he would cut us loose from FEDRA's supplies. So, he threw everyone out who he didn't seem worthy in order to save some food. Whole families and low workers, or people who didn't agree with him. These people didn't know what to do or where to go, some even panicked. So… It was actually Carla who took the initiative I…"
Sarah wasn't the sensitive type. She always spoke what was on her mind, no matter if it would hurt someone's feelings. Sometimes, people just needed to hear the plain, hard truth, and then it was on them to handle it.
"I get it," she eventually returned, rolling with her eyes. "You never wanted to take this responsibility, you're no leader, bla-bla-fucking-bla... But tell ya what, you took it. You led those people. You didn't sit on your ass like most of those lil' wimps over there and did somethin'. Did you make some mistakes? Yes, who doesn't? But this makes you human. Nobody's perfect. Not me, not you and not even Carla. We all made mistakes and learned a lesson. That's life."
Seamus sighed audibly again, his mind starting to work again. For Sarah, this conversation was as good as over. She had enough. She only touched his shoulder one last time and said "If you want it or not, you're in charge now. And if you don't lead those people, you'll all die."
She then left him there standing and got in the car, starting the engine immediately.
"Didn't you overdo it a bit?" Ellie asked with a wry smirk, her amused tone telling that she wasn't serious about this. Yet, Sarah stayed serious as she drove the car through the compound's open gate.
"He needed to hear the truth. Because, if he isn't strong enough, another asshole will take over and we can only imagine what a dick like Sullivan would do with this cache of guns 'n' ammo."
The sun was now setting on the horizon and soon, night would fall and the infected roam the streets. Also, they still had to get on the other side of the river. Sullivan's former goons would let them set over the stream, that's one part of the deal she had made with them. And then they would finally continue their journey West.