Chapter 28

Another day was over.

Another day in this strange community. Another day of hard work. Another day without Sarah.

It was now five days since they had arrived here, and until that current day, Ellie hadn't been allowed to visit. Why? Actually, the reasons had been nothing more than being as flimsy as they were confusing. All in all, it felt more like they wanted to keep them apart.

The 16-year-old teenager was currently sitting with the Jacobs at the dinner table again, like every other evening before, eating bread with some topping in silence.

During her way back from her work at the local blacksmith, she had witnessed how Laura Jacob had emerged from the small clinic. So, she definitely had to know something. Anything. And she would push the topic as long as it was needed in order to get her will.

"I wanna visit Sarah tomorrow," she threw into the quietness, and the reaction couldn't have been any clearer as Mrs. Jacob stopped chewing for a few seconds before she continued and swallowed down.

"I'm sorry, but your friend is still in critical condition and needs time and a lot of rest. I think…"

Suddenly, Ellie dropped her piece of bread and scoffed loudly. "You're tellin' me the same bullshit each 'n' every fuckin' day. You really think that my presence might kill her?"

"Watch your tone, Ellie! We don't tolerate such a language in our home!" Laura returned angrily with a piercing gaze and put down her cutlery as well. "I think it's time for you to finally learn proper behavior towards authorities. Because here, we don't speak like…like those savages outside."

"Well, good for you that I won't stay here for long and join those savages outside again, soon," Ellie blurted back, jumping up as well as Mrs. Jacob did.

The conversation was about to escalate, evident by the high tension that was filling the room. Only Faith's soft touch on Ellie's hand defused the situation far enough so that Mr. Jacob could also intervene.

"You both made your points, now please, sit down again and eat…both of you!" he said with a calm voice, signing at the two seats. And after the two women had sat down again, he then gazed directly at Ellie. "Ellie, you need to understand our rules. Back, when the cleansing began, we struggled with a lot of diseases. The flu, pneumonia, diarrhea, and so on. We had to take precautions eventually." He then sighed deeply, folding his hands. "As far as we know, your friend might suffer from a secondary infection. We don't know what it is and decided to keep her quarantined. This is why you can't see her at the moment."

He was right. Maybe Ellie wished that he wouldn't be, but a fact was a fact. Besides the cordyceps fungus, diseases were a huge problem in this world. Drugs and medicaments were rare and had to be used wisely. None of the still existing communities, not even the QZs were equipped for a full-blown epidemia. So, precautions were the best way to go. Even in Jackson, the sick were quarantined and isolated.

Accepting such a fact was hard. Especially, if your heart was involved. Ellie struggled with this acceptance. She missed Sarah. Missed her voice, her skin, her touch, her love. Sarah was her family of choice. The best family anyone could wish for. During the day, she was able to distract herself enough, but at night, it was a whole different story.

With each passing day it had gotten worse. First, it was just longing, but soon it had turned into sadness and now she couldn't hold back those tears anymore.

Not wanting to show any weakness in front of those people, Ellie got up and headed towards her room with fast steps. Once there, she sobbed. It was a mixture of sadness and anger, hate and desperation, and fear. She was afraid that Sarah might not survive the aftermath of her rescue. A trade of lives. An equation that didn't add up for Ellie.

No, Sarah had to survive! She simply had to. Anything else was not an option! Fate could not be so cruel and take her away, now that they had finally come closer again.

Closer. There was also this addiction for closeness. Ellie wanted to be with Sarah, wanted to hold her, wanted to feel her. Just thinking about hugging her, pressing her closer, induced a feeling of determination. She needed to see her, needed to feel her! Fuck Laura and her idiotic rules! Fuck quarantine! It was time to break the rules!

She was just about to prepare for her little act of rebellion as it knocked. She froze like a mouse that had spotted a cat in its path, remaining still and silent, hoping that the person on the other side of the door would go away.

"Ellie? It's me, Faith. Can I come in?"

Faith. Laura's daughter. A nice person, yet Ellie didn't trust her entirely. However, she also was the only person, who Ellie had some sort of relationship with in this town. Now she had to make a decision. Giving her some benefit of trust and involving her into her plans, or dismissing her with some cheap excuses?

Sighing deeply and wiping some wetness from her face, Ellie eventually made a decision, opened up and let the young woman enter.

"Please excuse my mother for being so harsh," she said and sat down on the edge of the bed. "She didn't mean ill, just…"

"Are you makin' excuses for your mom now?!" Ellie returned with a scoff and crossed arms. "Doesn't she have the balls to say it to me by herself or 're you just too ashamed for her fucked behavior that you're makin' up cheap excuses?"

Her words hit hard, silencing Faith for a few moments in which she avoided any eye contact, before she mentioned "She cares about us. About our community. A hard task, which sometimes needs a firm hand. Rules are order, and order protects us."

"Bullshit!" the young read-head scoffed again, shaking her head. "I'm not part of your community and, actually, I don't wanna. I belong out there. I belong to Sarah and she belongs to me. We've been through so much shit and nobody - NOBODY - 's gonna keep us apart! Not you, not your mom…nobody!" her whisper-yelled words hit again, causing Faith to twitch with every syllable. But she endured it, not even thinking about running away, which somehow impressed Ellie. But as the young woman kneeled down in front of her and held her hand, she was more than flabbergasted.

"Ellie, please don't leave us! Actually, I didn't plan on telling you, but I know who you are. I know what you are. We need you! You need to guide us. Please, give us the promised kingdom and deliver us from evil."

Shocked and with wide open eyes, the young girl steppen back. She knew what this was about. What Faith's implications were, and it spooked her.

"Wh-what…?!" she gasped and would have loved to bring more distance between them. But the small wardrobe was already in her back and the door was blocked by the other woman, who got on her feet again and closed in, enthusiasm shining in her eyes.

"Ellie, don't you see it? We waited for you for so long, and now you're here. You're the messiah. The person who has gotten sent down to earth by the Lord. I saw it in you from the beginning. In your aura. In your eyes. And now I'm sure!"

As the raven-haired woman had almost reached and tried to touch her, Ellie grabbed her hand violently and pushed her away.

"Don't touch me, you psycho!" she hissed, taking a stance that was signalling that she was ready to fight. "I am not your messiah, 'cause I don't give a fuck 'bout you or your fuckin' rules or that I have a stupid aura."

"It's not just your aura," Faith then said timidly, her sight being dropped to the ground as she was ready for a confession. "Two days ago, when my need to know the truth became unbearable, I secretly laced your food with some spores, and prayed to the almighty Lord that you wouldn't turn… And he heard me. He-..."

Ellie's fist connected fast and hard with Faith's face, the force letting her stumble backwards, where she tripped and fell onto the bed.

"You asshole!" Ellie venomously spat at her. "You fuckin' asshole! You were ready to kill me?!"

"No, I knew you wouldn't turn," was the young woman's calm reply as she slowly sat up again, holding the left side of her face. There was neither regret nor hurt in her eyes, yet only determination. "A woman with fiery hair and grass-green eyes. A savior with the devil's mark on her arm. The Lord spoke to us. Told us that you are the one. You-..."

Groaning in frustration, Ellie jumped forward and wrapped both hands around Faith's throat. She squeezed harder and harder. It was an act of desperation and hate. If not for her immunity, this crazy woman would have turned her into an infected. Would have killed her just for a superstitious hunch. This fact, plus the lack of remorse and that she and her bunch kept Sarah away from her, let something snap inside of Ellie. She was ready to murder this woman, for the reason of getting rid of her own frustration and to hopefully keep her immunity a secret.

For a moment, however, their eyesights crossed. Green eyes meeting brown ones. Burning hate meeting apathy. Faith didn't even defend herself. She just lay there, stoically, arms stretched out and throat easily accessible. She was ready to accept her fate and held Ellie's glare, which soon switched from merciless fury to surprise, then realization and eventually sadness.

The pressure decreased as first salty droplets began to drop from her cheeks onto Faith's dress, leaving wet spots. She couldn't do it! She simply couldn't murder someone in cold blood. Not someone as innocent and naive as this woman.

In the end, her hands lost grip around Faith's throat and she collapsed onto her, sobbing into her chest. Two arms then immediately embraced her and rocked her gently.

A hug. A simple hug. A small gesture, yet so powerful that, even received by an unwanted person, it meant the world to her, so that she accepted it without any protest.

"You're blessed," Faith then whispered into Ellie's ear as she brushed soothingly over her back. However, it also triggered that the young girl broke the contact and sat up again, frowning at the other woman.

"You have no idea!" she said with a bitter tone, wiping some tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "It's not a bless, but a fuckin' curse. Dozens of people already got hurt over this. Sarah… She's probably dying because of this. If I could, I'd gladly give it to you and be done with it."

For a couple of seconds, Faith stayed silent, contemplating the words she just received, before she answered.

"I believe you that this might be a burden, but like Jesus, you have to carry it with pride. Show your power to the people…"

"And get thousands killed?!" Ellie interrupted with a scoff and got up. "So far, this shit hasn't saved anyone, and it won't! As soon as word gets out, people will come and try to claim it. Your people will be the first to get slaughtered and the killing won't stop until I'm nothin' more than a pile of dissected meat."

"But we will protect you!" Faith tried to argue, yet only received a head shake.

"You just survived so long, because people didn't give a rat's ass 'bout you. If the real bad people come, you're done for. You barely have weapons, no militia, no protection. They'll come and rape, butcher and eat you, just for fun. Your paradise will burn, and I'll have this on my soul, crying over this before they chop off my head and try to find out why I'm immune. Believe me, you can't protect me."

Again, those words were harsh and sinister. A very dark and dooming point of view on this world that Faith had never experienced before. Yes, people from outside were coming to them regularly. Some stayed, many left again. But she never had heard such negative stories, not even from her mother. Pictures were forming in the back of her mind. Pictures of dead people. Of demons that were slaughtering children. Pictures of Ellie's decapitated head, dangling on her red hair from the hand of her murderer. These were pictures of pure evil. And only Ellie's firm grip on her shoulders let her snap back to reality. Two green orbs were deeply looking at her with determination.

"You mustn't tell anyone! Nobody! Especially not your mom!"

This fast grip and the adamant determination in her eyes was giving those words such an importance that Faith couldn't do anything else than nodding frantically. And for a moment it seemed like Ellie wouldn't let go of her, until she suddenly released her and retreated into a corner of her room, signalling that the conversation was over.

Quietly, Faith closed the door to Ellie's room. Her words were still swirling around in her head, making her feel slightly depressed.

How could people be so evil and cruel? The salvation was right there, within arm's reach, and yet it caused more pain than peace. A condition she wasn't able to comprehend. At least not with her limited sight of the world. She needed to think about it. Needed to bring those facts into order. In silence. By herself. In her room.

The rest of the daylight was now entirely gone, dipping the hallway in obscurity. A slight eerie atmosphere, yet nothing she couldn't handle. But as the young woman entered her own bedroom and found her mother sitting there in the dim light of a small lamp, let her startle and gasp in surprise.

"M-Mother! Wh-what…?"

"Have you done as I told you?" the older woman asked strictly and Faith immediately knew what she was talking about. The spores!

The day before, Faith's mother had approached her with a small, sealed bottle, containing some pieces of Cordyceps fungus fruiting body, telling her to lace Ellie's food with it. A horrible task, which she at first turned down, until she had been told the true identity of Ellie. Who she was, where she came from. Faith had asked, where this information had been coming from, yet hadn't received a proper answer. Still, she had eventually obeyed her mother, her own curiosity suppressing any second thoughts.

And she had been right! Ellie seemed to be immune, not showing any symptoms whatsoever. A wonder! The Messiah had arrived. Yet, the young woman wasn't so sure anymore if she would be the savior or the destroyer.

Faith struggled. Struggled with the truth and her beliefs. Her mother was keeping secrets from her. Secrets about where she got all that information from beyond their community from. About Ellie's use in their plan of turning Earth back into a paradise.

Ellie didn't want to stay, out of several rational reasons. Plus, she had asked Faith to keep quiet about her immunity.

Again, the mental pictures from before appeared in front of her eyes. The carnage. The sins. The victory of Lucifer. A warning? A premonition? Whenever the Messiah was mentioned, it was told that they would bring salvation. In her one dream, Faith had seen paradise, followed by the figure of a person in the center. But how had she come to the conclusion that the Messiah had to be immune to the plague?

It had been about two years ago and she had been very sick when the dream had come to pass. A sequence of fractured pictures, which she hardly recalled. She even barely remembered telling her mother about it. The part about the immunity had always come from her mother, who had told her that she had allegedly mentioned it. Then again, how would it be possible to conclude from this fractured dream Ellie's immunity and her appearance?

Strange! Very strange. So strange that Faith was struggling again. She was questioning literally everything right now, which was also triggering her curiosity.

"No, mother, I… I couldn't do it. What if she would turn and attack us?" she lied, her fear about the infected being the only real thing.

Sighing heavily, Laura Jacob got up from the bed and brushed some random wrinkles from her dark skirt, before saying "Don't be afraid, my dear, I locked her door every night and watched for symptoms. Our gladii are always ready." She then closed in on her daughter and brushed softly over her cheek. "Don't worry too much, my dear. Soon, all the suffering will be over."

The older woman was then about to leave as Faith asked "Why can't Ellie see her friend?" Causing her to stop mid-movement.

"I already said that she isn't well," was the short answer, which didn't convince the young woman in the slightest.

"But isn't getting taken care of by a beloved person not a good medicine as well?"

Slowly, Laura turned her head, gazing piercingly over her shoulder. Her voice was having such a dooming tone like she had never experienced it before.

"This woman is a sinner, and she will soon be sent where people like her belong. End of discussion. My word is final!"

The door slammed shut right beside her and Faith was left alone with a very uncomfortable feeling. Something was wrong here, and she needed to find out what it was. And especially Sarah's fate was something that was bothering her the most. She needed to find her, and then tell Ellie about her whereabouts.

Faith was a woman of belief. Since she had been a little child, her mother and father had taught her to obey the rules of the Book. Built on that, were the rules of their community that they had founded after the beginning of the big plague.

She had always followed those rules and every other word that had been coming from her parents. The words had been sacred. Up until tonight. Because tonight, she was disobeying for the first time of her life.

The community-wide curfew, all the same. Breaking and entering into the hospital, all the same. Disobeying her mother's orders, so what?!

Dressed in her only pair of brown work pants and leather work jacket, her raven hair bound into a bun and her feet clad with a pair of leather moccasins she had made a few years back during an internship with the local shoemaker, Faith waited until her parents had gone to bed before she snuck out.

Not being used to doing such mischief at all, her adrenaline level was above everything. Every creaking floorboard let her tiny heart almost jump out of her chest. Every moving shadow made her freeze on the spot for minutes before realizing that it was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Every howl of the wind outside almost caused her pounding heart to stop beating. And as she had finally made it outside, she finally was able to let go of the breath she had held in for the whole time, which made her feel dizzy and forced her to sit down for a minute.

But the real shock came as some grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with one hand, while the other arm choked her, so that she couldn't even emit one tiny sound and was forced to listen to the hissed voice in her ear.

"I almost thought you wouldn't make it, princess."

It was Ellie, and immediately all pressure released at once.

Sighing deeply and frowning in anger, Faith freed herself from the red-head's grasp and wanted to go all ballistic on her, but got stopped right away by a finger on her lips and a deep, piercing glare, followed by a head bobb and a quiet "Let's go!"

Together, both women snuck through the barely illuminated night, avoiding any sort of light by staying in the shadows as they were approaching the clinic.

"Why are you always so mean to me?" Faith suddenly asked as she tried to keep up with Ellie, who was obviously way more experienced with sneaking around. But the answer didn't come right away. Only when they had reached their destination, the young red-head feeled out with her senses one last time before she whispered.

"Because you're a stuck-up idiot, who's too cute and nice to be killed. There, you got it. Now, let's focus and get inside!"

After checking one last time that everything was clear and quiet, Ellie stepped towards the front door and wanted to break it somehow open. But Faith, who had needed a moment to process the teenager's words, then quickly stopped her and pulled out a key that was unlocking the unwanted barrier effortlessly.

"Well, that's one way to do it," was Ellie's dry comment as the front door swung open and gave way into the small foyer with the small reception in a corner. "So, where to now?"

"I don't know," Faith whispered back with a shrug. "She's probably in one of those rooms, but we need to be quiet, otherwise…"

She didn't come any further as two cones of light from outside dipped the entire front side of the hospital in a bright light, blinding the two young women, who realized that a bunch of persons were heading their way. But while Faith was only covering her eyes from the blinding light, Ellie had instinctively put up her hands and was waiting for her opponents to show their faces.

"What in the Lord's name is going on here?!" chimed Laura's enraged voice from the light, right before she was standing with her husband and two armed guards in front of the young women. "Not only did you two break the curfew by sneaking out of the house, you also broke into our hospital! That's…that's…"

"Where's Sarah?" Ellie asked with furrowed eyebrows as she lowered her hands again as she realized that there was no threat emerging from the guards, who were now lowering their flashlights.

For a long moment, the young teenager and the older woman were staring at each other, their jaws and hands clenched, whereas Faith merely sent a silent prayer that Ellie would hold her composure before making things even worse and that their punishment wouldn't be too severe. However, as her mother closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, all the tension decreased within seconds.

Faith knew her parents well. Knew their body language and small signs. The faint, soothing brush of her father's hand over her mother's back. The small piece of meditation to calm down, combined with an inner prayer. Her switch of demeanor from riled up to settled. Her parents - and especially her mother - were strict, not evil or cruel. They were always weighing and discussing back and forth before judging the event. And as her mother said a quick "Come!" before leading the way, it became more than obvious that she had given in to Ellie's demand.

They were heading towards the church in silence, and though the situation had been eased up, Faith realized that Ellie was still clenching her hands into fists. She tried to sooth her with a mild, comforting touch, yet the young girl simply squirmed away from it. No, they weren't friends and might probably never be, signalling that Ellie might have been right about that she didn't belong here. A sad fact. A fact Faith would love to ignore, so that she focused back on their destination.

Why would her mother lead them towards the church? Was Sarah there, and if this should be the case, then why?

The church was a place of prayer and only meant as a shelter in dire times, nor a hospital or an inn. Yet, there were parts Faith had rarely entered. The cellar, for example. And this was the place they were entering now.

Originally, the young woman had it thought to be nothing more than a storage for various things that involved annual plays or decoration, which were covered in dust and cobwebs. Yet, she was more than surprised to find a very clean, decorated and spacious hallway with several doorways.

"Before it became our new church, this house used to be the home of the town's most renowned prepper, Mr. Cole," Laura Jacob told as they were standing in this ominous, bunker-like structure. "When hell broke loose on earth, and my family, along with a few other people, decided to stay instead of following the military, Mr. Cole invited us in. He was a lonely old man, who had lost his poor wife years before the plague, yet he was a strong believer, attending the sermon every sunday. We survived the first two years down here, thanks to him. Sadly, he also passed away in the third year of the plague. In his honor and gratefulness, we converted this house and shelter into a sacred place. Our new church."

"Great…yeah, really fuckin' great. Nice story…and I don't give any shits! Now, where's Sarah?" Ellie commented dryly, and as an answer, Laura's husband unlocked one of several colorful decorated metal doors and signed the young girl to enter. And there she was, Sarah. Laying in a bunk bed, greeting her with a smile.

Forgetting everything around her, Ellie dashed towards her guardian and embraced her in a tight hug with tears and laughter of joy. A scene, which painted a smile on Faith's face, before she faced her mother.

"So, why is she down here and not at the clinic?"

"She was starting to scare our poor nurse Rachel, who then explained to me her concerns that this woman might act violently, if kept longer away from the girl. So, I had no other choice than to bring her here."

"Bullshit!" Sarah scoffed from the background, drawing everyone's attention towards her. "Why just telling half of the story, Laura? Why not tellin' 'em that you wanna kick me out secretly as soon as I'm able to walk?"

"Da fuck?!" Ellie then added after she broke away from her guardian. "Y-you wanted to throw her out?!"

"She doesn't belong here, Ellie!" Laura returned adamantly. "She would be a bad influence on others. Dangerous! People like her are always bringing trouble."

"How would you know that, mother?" Faith then also chimed in. "You barely know them. Maybe those are good people…?"

"We have eyes and ears outside those walls, Faith," her father then mentioned. "The gladii, spies, believers… Our network runs deep, even within the Fireflies…"

"Your network…?!" Sarah scoffed loudly, adding a few desperate laughter to it. "If the Fireflies 're involved, then you're rather a part of their network and not the other way around. 'Cause that's what they do, they infiltrate QZs and communities. I know, because I've done it for years."

"Wait! Does that mean that some of those fuckers might be under those people?!" Ellie exclaimed, her eyes widened upon fear as she pressed closer towards her guardian.

"That's nonsense!" Laura replied sharply. "Everyone of our associates pledges on the Book. That's a holy oath, nobody dares to break! I promise that you're safe here."

"Are those guys seeing it the same way?" Sarah then added with a frown, her sight fixed one something behind the Jacob-family.

The two guards who had accompanied them, were now aiming their weapons at them. And while Faith gasped loudly and took a step back, her father froze and her mother furiously approached one of the guards.

"What in the Lord's na-...?!"

The buttstock of a rifle hit the older woman right in the face, silencing her mid-sentence and sending her to the ground.

"MOM!"

Right away, Faith and her father were with the injured woman, who was intensively bleeding from her mouth, and tried to bring her away from the armed man, whereas one of them pulled a radio from his pocket.

"Lieutenant, this is Evers. We got the girl and the woman separated and trapped inside the bunker under the church."

"Good job!" answered a voice from the communication device. A voice that didn't sound familiar at all. "What about the Jacobs?"

"They're here with us. Risk was too high that they would've found out about our activities."

"Dammit! Listen, don't harm them! We need those idiots to keep the people in line, so don't waste 'em! I'll join you in a bit."

"Yes, Sir! Keepin' 'em alive."

They waited, always under the trained eyes of the guards. For how long? Faith didn't know. Furthermore, she was still very shocked how this night had developed. Their own guards had betrayed them, her mother was injured, and now they were even prisoners. A more than uncomfortable situation. Still, she tried to stay positive. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding. A situation that could be cleared with a few words. Yet, she also knew that this thinking could be very naive, especially if she recalled the glimpse into the outside world Ellie had given her.

Speaking of Ellie, the young girl was still at Sarah's side, exchanging whispered words and soft touches. They really were very fond of each other, which filled Faith with some joy as she realized that had finally been reunited. But the euphoria only lasted for a few moments until a young, dark-haired man, also dressed in dark clothes like a gladius, entered and let his gaze wander around the people.

"Okay, let's make this short. My name is Lieutenant Jake Weathers, and from today on, I'll take over command of this lil' social experiment. Alright?"

But if the young Lieutenant expected that this little shift of power would occur without a hiccup, then he was mistaken. Evident as Laura Jacob got back up on her feet again, hissing "How dare you to invade the Lord's sacred grounds?! You and your kind have no saying here. Now walk away before you will be struck down by the father's merciless wreath!"

The answer followed right away with a hard smack, sending the older woman to the ground again, followed by a kick to the stomach, causing her to groan and squirm even more. This time, Faith couldn't hold back anymore and stepped between her on the ground laying mother and the Lieutenant, pushing him away. Immediately, the guards aimed their guns at her.

"Don't you dare touch her again!" she, however, said defyingly with a threatening undertone. But if anything, the Lieutenant and his associates just chuckled upon this desperate attempt to act strong. Yet, such bold behavior could quickly turn into seeds of resistance, which then could easily grow into a whole revolution. He knew this and wanted to put the young woman into her place. But before he was able to lay his hands on her, a fist connected with his jaw, letting him stumble backwards again, where he collided with one of his guards.

Being overwhelmed by this sudden action, Faith could only watch as Ellie then used the chaos to attack the other remaining guard. Sadly, he defended himself too much and the little uprising ended before it had really begun as the Lieutenant regained his composure quickly and took the teenager into a chokehold, from which she wasn't able to free herself. Yet, it didn't stop her from struggling until her strength eventually faded and she was about to faint while the guards kept everybody else in check. Once every resistance had stopped and Ellie's body went limp, Weathers just let her drop to the ground, where she landed on all fours, gasping for air.

"Nice try, you lil' shit!" he said, breathing heavily, and then placed an additional kick right on her butt, causing Ellie to fall over and land right on her face. "Anybody else?"

Nobody resisted anymore. Not even Faith, who was now only taking care of Ellie, trying to lift her from the ground. Sarah, theoretically the greatest threat in the room, had only been watching. She knew that she was neither in the condition to fight, nor had the leverage to change anything. She was expandable. A bystander of this coup. Yet, a very curious bystander.

"Who are you clowns?" she asked cheekily, earning herself another bunch of chuckles, until the Lieutenant answered.

"We're the good guys," he said with amusement, before turning to leave. "Bring the ol' couple. The others stay here, just in case."

Forcefully, the two guards led the spouses Jacob out of the room, while Faith, Ellie and Sarah stayed behind as the heavy metal door fell into the lock.

"Ugh, motherfuckers!" Ellie groaned as she managed to get back on her feet and stretch her hurting body before she approached Sarah, some anger boiling inside of her. "Why didn't you help?"

Arching one eyebrow, the blond woman returned cynically "Do I look like I could take three armed guys all by myself?", and then patted a spot beside her on the bed.

"No," Ellie sighed eventually and slumped down beside her girlfriend, who stroked softly over her back. "So, who are those assholes?"

"Gladii, our swords…" Faith chimed in, taking a seat on the room's chair. "They're our guards, protecting our community against every threat from outside. Though, I don't know who they really are or how many there are since they mostly operate outside our borders. Mother makes a big secret out of it."

"No shit…" Sarah replied with a scoff. "Probably because it'd make her hands look pretty dirty. Those guys aren't believers or some radical Jesus-freaks. Those are professionals. Mercs. Or worse. And right now, they're takin' over the reins."

"B-but why?" Faith returned with a desperate sounding voice, sighing heavily as her shoulders slumped down upon the heavy weight of the current situation. "We always lived in peace. Nobody was bothering us or being hostile."

"I guess those guys were sleepers," Sarah concluded, earning quizzical frowns from Ellie and Faith, which told her that she needed to tell them more. "Sleepers infiltrate certain organizations or communities, gain trust or try to reach key positions, and then wait for a signal to let their masks fall and attack. The Fireflies did that a lot."

"And lemme guess, we were the signal…" Ellie then said and jumped up from the bed.

"You can't know that…" Sarah tried to soothe, yet failed as the young red-head spun around and snapped back at her.

"'We got the girl and woman separated…', does that sound like a coincidence?! They're after us… After me. Again!"

Restless, Ellie walked up and down the small room, her breathing quick and hot, until her rage exploded out of her.

"YOU FUCKIN' MOTHERFUCKERS!" she yelled and kicked relentlessly against the metal door as if she wanted to kick it in. "LET…US…OUT!"

But no matter how long she kept on doing this, the metallic barrier didn't budge and stayed close. They were trapped, with no way out and nobody to rescue them. Now being exhausted from her meltdown, the young girl eventually sat down on the ground and started to cry as the mental pressure became too high.

Loud sobs were echoing through the room, masking the slow steps that were approaching her, until two hands were softly touching her cheeks and a pair of lips were getting pressed tenderly onto her with salty water covered lips.

Ellie knew those lips. Knew their texture. Knew the fragrance of the person they belonged to. Sarah had managed to get out of bed and was now giving her the much needed comfort. A comfort she hadn't received for a felt eternity, and so she took it vigorously. Deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling herself even closer. It was such a solemn moment. A short break from the worries of the world. Their own, little bubble. A bubble that sadly got popped as Faith's hysterical voice.

"Wh-what in the Lord's name are you doing?!"

Reluctantly, Sarah broke the kiss yet not the contact by resting her forehead against Ellie's and whispered "I'll never leave you! I'll never give up on you! I'll always protect you!"

They both then got up again, the pain of the blonde woman's still sore wounds causing them to take it slowly while Ellie gave a helping hand.

Faith, on the other hand, was still flabbergasted by what she had just seen. Two women kissing each other?! That was strictly forbidden in the community since it was considered a sin. Her mother once had told her about the time before the plague. All the atrocities that had occurred. Murder, rape, war, same-sex-relationships, Sodom and Gomorrah. Humanity at its lowest point.

But Ellie was one of the good people. She was the Messiah. How could she be a sinner or do something evil? Or maybe Sarah was…

"Faith!" Sarah suddenly snapped at her and disrupted her train of thoughts as the older woman was surprisingly standing in front of her. Suppressing the need to back away, the young woman gazed at her with wide open eyes. "You need to put this fuckin' bigot bullshit aside now 'n' get a grip of yourself! If you wanna pray, then fine, fuckin' pray. But you need to understand that you're a hostage now. A bargaining tool, nothin' more. They use you to keep your parents in check, but this also means that they can't kill you unless your mom fucks up big time. You got that?"

Again, Faith nodded and stayed silent as no word wanted to come to mind. In a matter of merely hours her formerly ordered and perfect world had collapsed and crumbled to dust. Now the pressure on her was rising again. Rising to eternity. She felt the weight of the world again, driving her close to a panic attack. Only as her shoulders got grabbed tightly, she finally stopped shaking and was able to focus onto two stinging blue orbs in front of her.

"You need to keep it together if you 'n' your folks wanna survive this! You need to stay strong! And you need to help us gettin' outta here, 'cause, if Ellie's right, then she's as good as dead."

Help. What help? What stupid help had she to offer? There was none. She had lived her life, safe and sound, in a bubble. Protected by her parents and the community under the belief that she was a prophet. But it all turned out to be a lie. A huge pile of lies. Anger and desperation was rising inside of her. She would love to scream, she would love to cry, she would love to punish everyone who had lied to her.

Lying, one of the biggest sins, and her beloved parents had done it to their own daughter. An enormous betrayal from their side, inexcusable and unforgivable. And still, she wouldn't let her parents get hurt by those sinners. So, she decided to play along, underlining it with a nod.

Right on cue, the metallic door got unlocked and one of the guards entered. "You! The Lieutenant wants to talk with you. Let's go!" he said and signed at Sarah, who, at first, just frowned at him before following his lead.

"Keep her safe!" was everything Sarah said as she followed the guard, leaving open who she was talking to, before the door fell into its lock again.

She felt dizzy and tired, and if the wooden chair wouldn't be so uncomfortable, she probably would've slept in an hour ago.

But she mustn't sleep! No, not right now! Not while her best friend's condition was still unknown.

Wanting to get rid of her tiredness, Dina got up from her seat and walked around the hospital's foyer as she waited for a message. Just a small sign of life and hope.

Ellie was her best friend. A girl she liked very much. And after Cat's demise, she had become important to her, more than ever before.

Most people saw the young red-head with suspicion and kept their distance, though her immunity was still a secret. Still, Dina had already heard rumors about a strange aura that was surrounding Ellie, plus that she tended to be a loner, mainly in school.

As far as Dina knew, Ellie's grades were mainly mediocre to bad, depending on the classes. But not because she was a dumbass, yet because she lacked any interest in topics that didn't involve survival, combat or biology, especially Cordyceps biology.

Ellie, the badass red-head from Boston. Just thinking about this terminology caused Dina to scoff. Gosh, she had grown so fond of this girl. Well, actually a bit more than fond. More than once she had caught herself ogling this rather hot chick, especially when they had been spending their recreational time at the lake and she had been scarcely dressed.

"Dina?"

Maria's voice eventually pulled her back to reality. A second ago she had been at the lake, relaxing and laughing, and now she was back at the hospital, where the blond nurse's stern demeanor reminded her of the serious situation.

"How is she?" she asked, barely suppressing the need to grab the nurse and shake every word out of her.

"Exhausted, dehydrated, malnutritioned. Some minor wounds and cuts, blisters on her feet, but nothin' serious. I guess, most of the blood wasn't hers," Maria replied plainly before sighing deeply. "She must've walked for days without a rest…"

"Wait! You mean all the way from Salt Lake?!"

Again, Maria just sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. We can only wait until she wakes up and tells the story. If she wakes up…"

The infamous 'if'. If she wakes up. If! What if not?!

Again, Dina walked up and down, the uncertainty almost driving her crazy. If, if, if, fuckin' if! And it didn't get better as Tommy stormed in as well. Dina knew that he had been working his shift at the dam and had probably recently heard the news about Ellie's arrival. And, of course, his main concern would be about Sarah rather than Ellie.

"Maria, is it true? Is Ellie back?"

And of course she would tell him what she had told Dina. Understandably, he wasn't satisfied with this and wanted to talk to Ellie right away, which his wife - thankfully - denied.

"Can I see her?" Dina then asked, immediately earning a frown by Maria, who thought that she also wanted to disturb her rest. Yet, the young woman immediately added "I just wanna be with her. Y'know, being there when she wakes up."

"That's fine, Dina. But don't make too much unrest!" Maria agreed with a soft touch on the young woman's shoulder before she let her enter the main floor of the hospital while she stayed back with her husband.

Dina already guessed that Ellie was held in the quarantine room again, since nobody really knew what illnesses she had probably brought with her. A common procedure and nothing special. A normal fight with a Cordy was mostly enough to earn yourself some time in quarantine, so there was nothing unusual to this.

As presumed, Dina eventually found her best friend in the quarantine room, lying in a bed and sleeping. Cautiously, she approached the bed and looked with worry at Ellie. The young girl's beautiful face still had some injuries on it, paired with some bruises. Softly, Dina brushed over the young girl's face and whispered "What the hell happened to you?"