Chapter Text
Prologue
1968
Under the hot lights of the live studio, Dr Schoneheiss and Dr Neuman were being grilled by the ABC host.
“And that’s your biggest worry?”
“Yes, any kind of virus, but most probably something similar to influenza.” Schoneheiss declared.
“Because of air travel?”
“Through the air. Coughing.”
“Uh – ha, I’m sorry, I meant people. On planes.” The host clarified. “Uh, that was something you described in your book.”
“Yes, a new virus in Madagascar, say could be in Chicago within a matter of weeks. And we end up with a global pandemic. Pan meaning ‘all’. The whole world becomes sick all at once.” Schoneheiss said matter-of-factly.
Dr Neuman had been silent up to this point, so the host directed a question to him. The studio had invested a lot to bring these two scientists to the show together, they better get their money’s worth.
“Hm, and, uh, Dr Neuman you’re also an epidemiologist. I presume the prospect of a viral pandemic keeps you up at night as well.”
“No.” Neuman replied without hesitation accompanied by the slightest shake of his head.
“No?” The host half smiled, mirroring Neuman’s posture with one leg crossed over the other as Schoneheiss sat bolt upright between them.
“No.” Neuman confirmed.
“All right, well, that’s our show.” The host laughed, getting the reaction he’d hoped from their live studio audience who chuckled along with him. They were quickly cut off by Neuman continuing his explanation.
“No. Mankind has been at war with the virus from the start. Sometimes, millions of people die, as in an actual war. But in the end, we always win.” He looked to the host as he finished, who was stumbling to grapple his full meaning.
“Uh, but you… uh, just to be clear, you do think microorganisms pose a threat?” The host asked.
“Oh, in the most dire terms.” Neuman said dramatically.
“Bacteria.” The host thought he was onto it.
“No.” Neuman corrected.
“You like saying no.” The host smirked.
“Yes.” Neuman replied, getting another laugh from the audience. Neuman noticed the host had a nervous tick of tapping his pen against his knee.
“Not bacteria. Not viruses. So?” The host opened it back up to Neuman, who replied quickly with:
“Fungus.”
This got a murmur going in the audience. A strange energy spread through the recording stage.
“Yes, that’s the usual response.” Neuman said before continuing. “Fungi seem harmless enough. Many species know otherwise. Because there are some fungi who seek not to kill… but to control. Let me ask you, where do we get LSD from?”
“Where do you get it from?” The host joked. The audience laughed.
“It comes from ergot, a fungus. Psilocybin? Also, a fungus. Viruses can make us ill, but fungi can alter out very minds.” The host’s smirk was slowly fading as Neuman continued. “There’s a fungus that infects insects. Gets inside an ant for example, travels through its circulatory system to the ant’s brain, and then floods it with hallucinogens, thus bending the ant’s mind to its will. The fungus starts to direct the ant’s behavior. Telling the ant where to go, what to do like a puppeteer with a marionette.” The host shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “And it gets worse. The fungus needs food to live, so it begins to devour its host from within, replacing the ant’s flesh with its own, but it doesn’t let its victim die. No, it… it keeps its puppet alive by preventing decomposition. How? Where do we get penicillin from?”
“Fungus.” The host interjected, proudly, earning a chuckle from his audience.
“Oh…” Schoneheiss mumbled. The host turned back to him.
“Dr Schoneheiss, you’re in distress.”
“Fungal infection of this kind is real, but not in humans.” Schoneheiss faced his fellow academic.
“True, fungi cannot survive if its host’s internal temperature is over ninety-four degrees.” Neuman confirmed. “And currently, there are no reasons for fungi to evolve to be able to withstand higher temperatures. But what if that were to change? What if… for instance, the world were to get slightly warmer? Well, now there is reason to evolve.” The host’s face was now crinkled into a frown.
“One gene mutates and an ascomycete, candida, ergot, cordyceps, aspergillus, and any one of them could become capable of burrowing into our brains and taking control of not millions of us, but billions of us. Billions of puppets with poisoned minds permanently fixed on one unifying goal: to spread the infection to every last human alive by any means necessary. And there are no treatments for this. No preventatives, no cures. They don’t exist. It’s not even possible to make them.”
Any and all jovial energy had fled the room and the audience sat in stunned silence at Neuman’s explanation.
“So, if that happens?” The host asked, his face deadly serious. Dr Neuman nodded.
“We lose.”
The host let out a nervous chuckle, looking from his interviewee out to the audience of unsettled people.
“Uh, we’ll be back.”
THE LAST OF US
Austin, Texas
September 26th 2003
The sun shone in though Sarah’s bedroom window, creating its familiar patterns on her pink walls. Illuminating her pinboard covered with polaroid photos and ribbons from school sports. The girl was woken by the ambient sounds of cars driving by and the next-door neighbor’s dog barking. Her sleepy eyes landed on the digital clock by her bedside. 7:08am.
She hopped out of bed and quickly crossed the hall to her dad’s bedroom door, where she could hear his alarm clock blaring. She knocked her fist to the wood a few times.
“Alarm.” She called, making sure her dad was awake. When she didn’t get any response, she called louder. “Alarm!”
Sarah waited for her dad in the kitchen, busying herself making scrambled eggs and bacon, Avril Levine playing on the radio.
Her dad, Joel, joined her downstairs as she was searching the overhead cupboard.
“Where’s the pancake mix?”
“Oh, was I? Yeah, I was. Sorry.” Joel felt guilty that he’d forgotten such a simple request from his daughter.
“I was gonna make you birthday pancakes.” She sighed, opening the fridge.
“You know I don’t really like pancakes.” Joel wasn’t sure if he was attempting to make her feel better or not. Sarah notices his shirt was inside out.
“I know you don’t like them. It was for my benefit.” Sarah was pouring him a glass of orange juice at the same time as he was getting himself a cup of coffee. Sarah held out the glass to him expectantly.
“Vitamin C.” She said. Joel swapped his mug for her glass, nodding obediently. She was always mothering him, but he was grateful for it.
A blue and purple light sparkled over the kitchen, created by the semi-transparent butterfly decal hanging from the window. Sarah loves that thing.
Sarah returned to the stove to tend to the eggs.
“You get your homework done?” Joel asked. Sarah gave him a knowing smile. Of course, she had. “Fractions?” They both chuckled.
“How old are you again?” Sarah asked, digging into her homemade breakfast.
“Thirty-six.” Joel said, scooping some eggs into his mouth.
“Gonna have to start wearing diapers soon.” Sarah jabbed.
“Who says I don’t already?” Joel replied, his eyes smiling. He made a face as he pulled something from between his teeth. “Shell.” He said.
“Calcium.” Sarah replied, defending her cooking, mock grinning with egg spilling out of her mouth.
“Lovely.” Joel said. “Is there enough for our Uncle Tommy?” He heard the garage door opening.
“Well, there would’ve been.” Sarah said, knowing her dad had ravaged most of the food himself.
The back door opened, and Tommy joined them.
“Ay! Still alive, you old fucker.” Tommy patted Joel on the back.
“Aw, he loves you.” Sarah said sarcastically.
“He’s dependent on me. Not the same.” Joel replied.
“I think it’s the same.” Sarah said.
“It’s definitely the same.” Tommy agreed, ganging up on his brother. “I thought I was having pancakes?” Joel shrugged, a little frustrated.
“We’ll pick you somethin’ up on the road. Concrete guys gonna be there?”
“Yeah, they said maybe.”
“Maybe? We can’t frame until we pour. We’re not getting paid until we frame.”
“Well, we could bring someone else on, get the job done faster.” Tommy suggested.
“No, no. I’m not splitting this job.” Joel went back to finishing his breakfast. “I barely wanna split it with you. We could work a double.”
“Literally? Today?” Sarah was disappointed. She was looking forward to spending the evening with her dad.
“I know. I’d be done by nine.” Joel tried to reassure. “By nine, right?”
“Yeah.” Tommy agreed, frustrated. Seeing Sarah’s disappointment Joel added:
“I’ll bring back a cake. I promise.” Sarah would have to settle for that.
Now no one was talking the radio seemed louder.
“…Continued disturbances in Jakarta, but are advising U.S. citizens…”
“Jakarta. Where is that, Middle East?” Joel sipped his coffee, having given up on the orange juice.
“Doesn’t ring a bell.” Tommy said. “It’s definitely a country. Or maybe part of Asia.”
“Jakarta isn’t a country.” Sarah interrupted. “Being a part of Asia isn’t mutually exclusive with being a country and in fact, it’s the capital of Indonesia.”
“Shit. Hope for us yet.” Tommy was impressed. Joel looked proudly at his girl.
Joel looked at his wrist to check the time but upon realizing he wasn’t wearing his watch he slapped his palm to the spot it should be before pulling out his Nokia to check the time.
“All right. Finish up quick, we’ll drop you off.” He said, collecting his plate.
“I’m still eating my eggshells.” Sarah said dryly.
“You got seven minutes.”
“Your t-shirt’s inside out.” She finally commented on it. Joel looked down at himself and saw she was right, blushing slightly in embarrassment.
“Shit.” He walked out of the kitchen as Tommy laughed, beginning to lift the shirt up over his head.
“He’s losing it.” Tommy smiled at Sarah.
Upstairs, Sarah collected her purple backpack before slipping into her dad’s room. She retrieved his broken watch from his chest of drawers and counted sixty dollars from his wallet. Beneath some things in the drawer, she noticed something shiny. She carefully lifted out a large knife. She flicked it open to examine the blade. It had carvings in the metal.
The horn honked from outside and her dad shouted for her. It was time to go. She returned the knife to its place and tucked the ‘borrowed’ money into her pocket.
Still wearing the same light purple shirt she slept in, Sarah left the house.
“Hey, neighbor!” The older man from next door called out to her.
“Oh, hi!” Sarah called back as Joel loaded his gear into the truck beside her.
“Connie was asking after you, since you haven’t been over in a while.” Mr Adler said. He was feeding his elderly mother out of his hand on the lawn furniture. It was nice to see her getting some sunshine. Sarah looked at her dad, not really wanting to commit to a visit.
“Make ‘em happy.” Joel said, returning to the garage for more gear. Sarah put on a smile even though she just wanted to spend that night with her dad.
“I could come by after school, but just for like a little bit?”
“Oh, she’ll take whatcha got.” Mr Adler said with a smile. He looked a bit like Santa Claus with his white beard and long hair. “Y’all can bake, whatever.” Sarah nodded. “Speakin’ of… we got a lotta extras here.” He presented a plate of biscuits he was unsuccessfully trying to feed nana. “Y’all want some biscuits?”
“Dad, you love biscuits.” Sarah joked to Joel.
“I do.” Joel said, trying his best not to keep a straight face. “But I’m on Atkins.”
“On what now?” Mr Alder asked. Joel didn’t have time for this.
“It’s, uh, you know what. We gotta run, but Sarah’ll be by later. She’ll stay as long as you want. Tell you all about Atkins.” He smiled, knowing he was volunteering Sarah for something she didn’t particularly want to do. It’ll be good for her.
“Great! I’ll let Connie know.” Mr Adler called out as the Miller’s got in their truck.
“Solid.” Sarah said to her dad, only a little annoyed.
Tommy was speaking with a cigarette between his teeth.
“Can’t tell y’all how exciting it was listenin’ to that fuckin’ conversation.”
“Put that out.” Joel gestured to the cigarette as he pulled on his seatbelt. Tommy did as he was told, dropping it out the window.
“Happy birthday to you.”
Bored in class, Sarah rested her temple on her hand, diligently copying down the teachers notes from the chalkboard. Looking at the clock, school was almost over. A glistening light danced over her paper. She looked up to see a kid a couple of seats over twitching their hand, making their silver bracelet catch the light. Their hand seemed to be spasming, but Sarah assumed they were just as bored as she was. Somewhere else in the room, someone coughed.
The bell rang and everyone gathered their belongings, ignoring their teacher’s final plea to pay attention. Homework was due at the end of class tomorrow.
Sarah jogged quickly to the public bus, needing to catch it into town. She got off just across the street from the clock smith’s shop.
Inside, tens of clocks ticked out of time with each other, all with different hands and faces. There was even one shaped like a cat, whose eyes moved back and forth as it ticked.
The clock smith, Nasir, examined Joel’s watch under a magnifying scope.
“Twenty.” The man declared.
“That’s it?” Sarah was surprised. She didn’t really know how expensive it would be, but she was expecting a lot more.
“Okay, thirty.” Nasir joked.
“Twenty’s good.” Sarah smiled as she pulled the money from her back pocket.
“It’s a spring. I’ll do it right now.”
Out the back, Sarah heard a phone ringing. As she was looking at the many clocks lining the walls, sirens in the distance grew louder. Two police cars, a fire truck and an army vehicle passed by outside.
“All day. I swear.” Nasir commented.
A woman emerged from the back of the shop. She looked surprised to see a customer.
“We’re closing. “She declared.
“Huh?” Nasir said. The woman replied in Arabic, flipping their door sign to say ‘closed’.
“We’re done for today.” She said to Sarah.
“It’s 3:15, we close at 7.” Nasir was obviously frustrated. The woman continued in Arabic before turning to Sarah again.
“I’m very sorry. He cannot finish.”
“I’m already finished.” Nasir protested. The woman argued as Nasir placed Joel’s watch in a silver-colored box and handed it over.
“You should go home.” And then she was urging Sarah out the door and closing the shade cover behind her.
Sarah finally arrived at the Adler’s home. Connie greeted her at the door.
“There you are, sweetie.” She ushered her inside.
“Sorry.” Sarah replied, knowing she was later than expected.
“I was getting’ worried.” Connie said.
“I was getting something for my dad.” Sarah gave an honest excuse.
The Adler’s black and white dog eagerly approached the visitor.
“Hi, Mercy!” Sarah leant down to give him a pet. “Hey, is everything okay? Like, on the news?” Sarah asked Connie.
“Like what, hon?”
“Well, no, there was just a lot of police and stuff on the road today.”
“Well that’s true every day, innit?” Connie said. “People out there need to get right with Jesus. Three nails, plus one cross, equals four-given.” Sarah followed her into the kitchen through the saloon doors. She’d done nothing to soothe the girl’s anxiety. “I was thinkin’ we’d make some cookies.” This perked Sarah up.
“Chocolate chip?”
“Raisin.” Connie replied and that little glimmer of hope in Sarah faded.
As the smell of baking raisin cookies permeated through the house, Sarah was diligently doing her homework at the table. Mrs Alder was trying to feed nana in the lounge.
“Come on, it’s green. You love that.” The timer on the oven buzzed. “Here we go!” Connie set down the dish and darted back to the kitchen. “I don’t know why I talk to her. She’s completely deaf.” She sighed.
Sarah put down her pencil, her gaze shifting to the cabinet full of DVDs. She walked past nana, who was staring blankly into the middle distance. She turned her back to her to examine the colored spines of the DVD collection.
“Wanna give me a hand?” Connie called from the other room.
“Be right there.” Sarah replied.
Behind her, without Sarah’s knowledge, nana began to twitch in her wheelchair, her body violently spasming a few times. None the wiser, Sarah pulled a case from the shelf and headed back to the kitchen.
“Hey, Mrs Adler, can I borrow this?”
“Oh!” Mrs Adler put on her classes to get a clearer look. “Yeah, sure. It’s one of Danny’s.”
Sarah didn’t want to be rude, but she was so bored and a little stressed, so she said she wanted to go.
“You know what? My dad’s gonna be back real soon. I should go.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you’re taking some cookies.” Mrs Adler never let her leave without some treats, raisin or not.
On her way to the door, Sarah passed nana and Mercy in the longue. Mercy was whining strangely at the old woman.
Dusk had fallen outside, and the pink-orange light was haloing Sarah’s tight brown curls and casting a glow on her caramel skin. She put her hand out as she passed the lawn sprinkler enjoying the cold water.
Loudly, three jets flew low overhead. Sarah watched them disappear over the horizon before walking the remaining short distance home.
Her hair tied back in a large ponytail, Sarah had the TV on in the background as she flicked through a magazine. Killing time until her dad made it home. A female reporter on the TV was saying:
“No comment today from the Austin Police Department regarding a rash of violent incidents across the city, some suggesting a new street drug may be to blame. More on that when we return with Manuela Sanchez reporting live…”
The keys jangled and the front door finally opened. Joel lugged himself inside and collapsed on the couch beside his daughter. “You locked the door for once. Good job.”
“Yeah.” Sarah turned off the TV. “It’s ten.”
“I know.” Joel groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. “They gave us the wrong size for the headers.” Joel sighed, taking off his work boots. “That doesn’t mean anything to you, I’m sorry.”
“Where’s the cake.” Sarah asked, knowing he didn’t have it.
“Shit.” Joel swore.
“Come on, man.”
“I’ll get us one tomorrow.”
“Swear, or you don’t get your present.”
Joel’s face perked up.
“You got me a present?”
“Swear.” Sarah pressed.
“On my life.” Joel whispered with a smile. Sarah grinned back, reaching behind her to retrieve his present from under the couch cushion. She handed him the silver box from the clock smith.
“Wow.” He said, opening it with care.
“Fixed it for you.” Sarah was proud. Joel took it out of the box and held it to his ear.
“Did you?”
“What?” Sarah’s heart dropped. Had Nasir not repaired it properly in the haste to close the shop?
“I don’t hear anything.” Joel let her pull the watch face closer to examine it. Then she saw the second hand ticking away happily. Joel laughed.
“That was lame.” Sarah chuckled too. “You’re lame.”
“Yeah, I know.” Joel admitted. “Where’d you get the money for this.” He put on the watch, its green band wrapping around his left wrist.
“Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs.” Sarah said, deadpan.
“It’s better than what I do.”
“It was only twenty dollars, which I stole from you.” She admitted. Her dad looked at her with a proud smile, knowing he should scold her.
“I could’ve stolen sixty, but I put the change back because I’m an honest thief.” Sarah defended. “Besides, it’s the thought that counts. And you were never gonna do it for yourself, so.”
Joel gave her a long, grateful look.
“Thank you.” He said, looking down at the watch again.
“Oh, there’s one more.” Sarah almost forgot, reaching back for the borrowed DVD. “Borrowed from the Adler’s.” Joel excitedly took the copy of ‘Curtis and Viper 2’.
“Oh, this is the one with the deleted scenes.” Joel was giddy.
“Yeah, imagine how bad those have to be.” Sarah poked. “C’mon, pop it in. While it’s still your birthday.”
After putting it in the DVD player, Joel sat back on the couch and Sarah snuggled up to him, hugging his arm.
“Don’t fall asleep.” He teased as she got comfortable.
“Course I won’t.” Sarah said. “It’s too riveting.”
But, an hour later, Sarah was in fact, asleep. Her head tucked onto her dad’s leg as the violent explosions in the movie continued to rage. Joel’s phone buzzed and he answered it.
“Hello?” He said softly, not to wake Sarah.
“Joel, it’s me.” Tommy was on the other end, sounding distressed. “Uh, I’m okay.”
“Yeah?”
“But I’m in jail.”
“Goddammit.” Joel sighed, leaning back further, and rubbing his temple.
“Wasn’t my fault this time.” Tommy clarified. “I was at the bar, some guy goes crazy, starts swingin’ at a waitress, I stepped in, knocked him out, cops show up- look, it doesn’t fuckin’ matter. You gotta bail me out.”
“Now?”
“It’s Friday, you don’t get me out tonight, I’m in here all weekend. It’s a fuckin’ madhouse, Joel. I gotta get out.” He could hear commotion on Tommy’s end.
“Well, which jail? Travis County?”
“Yeah, on Tenth.”
“Goddammit, Tommy.”
“I’m sorry. Please.” Tommy begged.
“Okay.” Joel hung up. “Fuckin’ idiot.”
Gently, Joel carried his sleeping daughter in his arms up to her bedroom. He pulled the covers over her, still in her shoes, and gave her a kiss on the head.
*****
It was 2:16am when Sarah was awoken by dogs barking outside and a dull boom in the distance. A helicopter flew loudly overhead and there were car alarms blaring. Sarah got up and went to her dad’s room.
“Dad?” She called out. No reply. She checked all the upstairs room. “Dad?”
Helicopters seemed to be getting louder overhead, and there were more sounds of fireworks. Sarah went downstairs and turned on the TV. The first channel was static, so she flicked over to channel nine. A national alert was displayed on the screen. A male voice was repeating:
“…indoors. Law enforcement and emergency services are in the area and will be in contact with further instructions. Stay indoors…”
There was a loud thud and Sarah jumped. She saw Mercy scratching at the front door. The dog was barking anxiously and whimpering. Sarah opened the door and Mercy began to climb her as she knelt down.
“Easy… what are you doing out here, boy?”
Another helicopter flew overhead, and sirens were growing in number.
“Come on, Mercy, let’s get you home.” Sarah tried leading the dog by his collar, but he resisted, whimpering wildly. “Mercy!” The dog slipped out of the collar and sprinted in the opposite direction.
Sarah turned back to the Adler’s house and saw the front door wide open.
“Mrs Adler?” Sarah softly called out. Still holding Mercy’s collar, Sarah tentatively approached the house, wanting to make sure her neighbors were alright. “Mrs Adler?” She made it through the front door, and saw the rug out of place, Mercy’s lead discarded on the floor. There was a clanking coming from the kitchen. Her heart beating in her ears, Sarah continued into the house. “Mrs Adler?”
She pushed her way through the saloon doors into the kitchen and her shoe slipped in a trail of bright red blood.
“Help me!” Mr Adler whispered from the corner of the kitchen, his neck and chest stained deep with red. Sarah instinctively went over to help but stopped short when she saw something even more terrifying.
Hunched over on the ground, on top of Mrs Adler, was the usually paralyzed, frail old nana. And her mouth was latched onto Mrs Adler’s throat. Her breathing was raspy. Nana finally seemed to notice Sarah and her head began to tilt upwards. Spewing out of nana’s mouth, breaking off from Mrs Adler’s neck, were tens of white, root like tendrils, moving slightly as she breathed. Sarah’s stomach dropped, her eyes wide with horror. Nana began to stand up, gasping before letting out a hoarse scream and lunging for Sarah.
The girl turned and sprinted for the door, making it out onto the street as Tommy’s truck caught her in the headlights. Her dad leapt out of the car.
“Get in the truck! Right now!” Joel yelled, pushing Sarah towards the open backseat door. There was a bone crunching sound and nana threw herself out the door, collapsing onto the concrete patio. A second later her body heaved itself up and her deranged eyes were locked on Joel.
“What are we doin’, Joel?” Tommy yelled, lifting a rifle. Nana charged at them, and Joel adjusted his grip on the wrench he was holding. Once in range, Joel swung hard and nana collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, this time she didn’t get up. Joel dropped the blood covered wrench down beside the body.
He turned to Sarah and saw her crying, her mouth hanging open. He was at her side immediately.
“You killed her.”
“Baby, I’m sorry.” Joel pulled her against him.
“Joel, we gotta go.” Tommy said.
“Sarah, listen to me.” He cupped his daughter’s face in his hands. “It’s not just Adler’s. But we’re gonna be brave and we’re gonna get out of this.”
There was an explosion of fireworks a few hundred feet away and Joel instinctively hugged Sarah to him.
“Hey, let’s go. Come on.” Tommy was getting in the driver’s seat.
“Get in.” Joel helped Sarah into the back seat.
“Joel?” A neighbor called out to them from across the street.
“Denise, you get back inside the house!” Joel yelled over the truck’s hood. “You lock your doors! Now!”
“C’mon, c’mon, get in!” Tommy yelled. The tires screeched as they took off.
“Get your seatbelt on.” Joel said to Sarah.
“Hold on.” Tommy said.
Mr Adler, covered in blood, had made it out of the house and clipped the side of the truck. Sarah heard Denise yelling at them, still in the street. Through the back window. Sarah saw Denise trying to help Mr Adler off the ground when another man threw himself at her and attacked her.
“You take 70—"
“71, I know.” Tommy and Joel were talking directions in the front. Police cars drove past them at the junction. Tommy turned them in the opposite direction.
“Daddy?” Sarah whimpered.
“We don’t know.” Joel replied.
“They’re saying it’s a virus. Some kind of parasite.” Tommy answered.
“Is it from terrorists?” Sarah asked.
“We don’t know.” Joel repeated.
“Are we sick?” Was Sarah’s next question.
“No, of course not.” He tried to reassure her.
“Why did things blow up?” Sarah’s voice was growing shaky.
“No cell phone, no radio. Minute ago, newsman wouldn’t shut up.” Tommy went on.
“How do you know?” Sarah asked.
“What?” Joel replied.
“How do you know we’re not sick?” Sarah was close to tears now. Joel looked back at her, but it was Tommy who replied.
“They’re saying it’s mostly people in the city. That’s why they got the highway blocked off.”
Out of the left window a homestead was ablaze. The whole house was covered with orange flame and light.
“God. That’s Jimmy’s place.” Tommy said as they passed the wreck.
“The Adler’s would take nana into the city. To the hospital for stuff.” Sarah put it together.
“That’s right. They would. That’s probably why.” Joel was doing his best to keep calm for her.
“But… you’d have to go a lot… right?” She whimpered.
“We’re fine, trust me.” Tommy reassured.
Coming up on the side of the road a family was trying to flag them down. Their car’s hood was up. A child was perched on a woman’s hip as the man waved his hands about.
“Here! Right here!”
“What are doing?” Joel whispered to Tommy noticing he’d hit the brakes.
“Got a kid, Joel.” Tommy said.
“So do we. Keep driving.” Joel urged him on, and his brother listened, driving right past the stranded family.
“We could put them in the back.” Sarah suggested, but they were already behind them in the rear-view mirror.
“Somebody else’ll come along.” Joel tried to reassure them, knowing how unlikely it was that anyone would stop for them. Tears spilled onto Sarah’s cheeks.
They were approaching the highway now, where a queue of red brake lights illuminated the horizon.
“Fuck! Everyone had the same fuckin’ idea!” Tommy exclaimed.
“All right, all right. Let me think it though, we’ll think it through.” Joel said.
“Fuck!” Tommy yelled.
“All right, take the field.” Joel ordered. “We cut across and we pick up on the west side.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. West, west, all right. Hang on.” Tommy agreed, taking them offroad into the field. Many cars copied them and followed them off the highway.
Over the crest of a hill, lights came into view.
“Shit! Fuckin’ army!” Tommy shouted.
“Isn’t that good?” Sarah was confused by his reaction.
“It’s good for them, that’s the highway we’re trying to get to.” Joel changed strategy quickly.
“All right, keep movin’. Head north.”
“Could be a lot of people.” Tommy countered.
“Well, we can’t go south, we can’t go east, we can’t go west. Hell else we supposed to go? Tommy, come on!” Joel yelled at his brother, who put them in gear and changed direction.
In the distance, a city appeared.
“Yeah, I know that place. This can work.” Joel said, a waiver of hope in his voice.
“Yeah, but then what?”
“I don’t know, Mexico. Just far, far as we can. How much gas?”
“Three-quarter tank.”
“Cut through town, golf course by the river, straight across, we pick up on the highway on the other side of the blockade… then we’re out.”
The truck made it back onto the road and into the outskirts of the town. Sarah piped up from the backseat.
“Maybe it’s everywhere. Maybe there’s nowhere to go.” Tommy and Joel exchanged troubled glances in the front seat.
An ear-piercing rumbling bellowed overhead and Sarah clamped her hands over her ears.
“What the fuck?” Tommy exclaimed seeing airplanes flying way too low to the ground shot passed the truck. A parade of police cars was blocking the road up ahead.
“We gotta go around. Grab somethin’!” Tommy swung the wheel and directed them left, the tires screeching.
People filled the streets, everyone running and screaming.
“All right keep goin’, keep goin’.” Tommy encouraged the vehicle in front of him not to stop.
“Shit, Tommy!” Joel yelled and Sarah screamed as an oncoming car nearly t-boned them.
People were attacking each other or running wildly in all directions.
“Tommy, you can’t stop here!” Joel said as Tommy slowed as not to hit people.
“I can’t drive through ‘em all.” Tommy said.
“Are you serious?! Just keep goin’!” Joel yelled.
The glass front of a nearby theatre shattered and screaming people cascaded onto the road in front of them. Joel’s voice kept getting louder.
“Go, go, go. Back, back, back, back!” He was banging the dashboard with his fist.
“I’m trying!” Tommy yelled back. Tommy put the truck in reverse and turned to look through the back window.
“Tommy, go faster! We gotta go!” Joel pleaded.
“I’m tryin’! There’s nowhere to fuckin’ go!”
“Find an alley!”
“What alley! There’s people everywhere!”
“Roll the fuck over them! We gotta get off this street now!”
“That’s what I’m tryin’ to do, Joel!”
“We’re gonna be okay. Just keep drivin’.”
Sarah was watching in terror as a shape got bigger in the sky. Lights blinking off its huge body. It was a passenger plane.
“Dad?!” Sarah got Joel’s attention.
“Holy shit!” Her dad turned around just in time to see the place crash down in a huge fireball, bits of metal shooting in every direction. “Move… move!”
A metal section, consumed by fire, came right for them, impacting the shop front to their right before ricocheting onto the truck, flipping them over.
After a few seconds of unconsciousness, Sarah found herself lying on the interior roof of the truck. Her dad was trying to untangle her legs from their awkward position between the seats.
“Sarah… Sarah!” He was gently shaking her awake. “Stay right there. Don’t move.” He turned to his brother. “Tommy, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
Sarah was breathing anxiously, trying to take in her surroundings. Out of the shattered back window, she saw someone hunched over a body, appearing to be eating their throat the same way nana was to Mrs Adler.
“Sarah… don’t look.” Her dad was saying. “You look at me… okay?” He was pulling her leg from where it was wedged, and Sarah winced in pain. “I’m sorry, baby, I know, I know.” Joel said. “Come here, put your arms around me. Come here, come here.” He hugged her body to his and lifted her up. “I got you. I got you.” He extracted them both from the wreckage and Sarah grunted in pain, her ankle felt like it was on fire.
“Are you okay?”
“Mm-mm.” Sarah shook her head.
“Are you okay?” Joel pressed, trying to understand.
“My ankle.” Sarah managed.
“All right, okay.” Joel processed this new information.
From the other side of the truck Tommy yelled:
“We gotta get off the street!” There was a siren wailing. “Shit!” Tommy ducked to the side as a police car crashed into the flipped truck, setting the whole thing on fire.
Still holding Sarah’s arm, Joel searched for his brother. The blaze was separating them.
“Tommy! Tommy?!” His head appeared in a gap in the flames.
“Head to the river! I’ll find a way. Get her outta here, Joel! Go!”
Joel made to move, and Sarah protested.
“We can’t leave him!”
“He’ll be fine.” Joel said. “Can you run?” Sarah tested the weight on her ankle and her face shattered with pain.
“No.”
Without hesitation, her dad scooped her into his arms, his elbow hooked under her knees.
“Keep your eyes on me.” He ordered. “Okay?”
“Okay.” Sarah nodded frantically.
“And don’t look anywhere else.” He searched his daughter’s eyes and saw only fear as she tucked her face against his neck. “Alright.”
Sarah was panting as they weaved through the backstreets and Joel suddenly stopped when he saw a man surrounded by dead bodies in the middle of a parking lot. At first it looked like he was the only survivor. But then his body twitched as he latched his mouth onto one of the bodies. He was infected.
As Joel searched for a way out, the infected noticed them, shooting upright and staring at them. He was silhouetted by a pair of headlights. As Joel began to back away, the infected man got up to give chase.
Joel crashed through a door into a diner and sprinted through the main dining room across the iconic checked floor. Sarah gasped in fear, clinging tightly to her dad, as she saw the injected man’s limbs flailing as he threw himself over the furniture to reach them. They raced through the kitchen and the infected crashed into the metal counters and trolleys before chasing them out the back door. The creature growled as it collapsed on the ground only to get right back up, unphased. Comeplete disregard for its own welfare.
Just as it was going to catch them a gunshot rang out. Sarah screamed, clinging to Joel. Her dad looked down and saw the infected man unresponsive.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe.”
“Don’t move!” Joel and Sarah were caught in the beam of a military flashlight. A male soldier aiming his gun at them.
“My daughter’s hurt. Her ankle.” Joel said.
“Stop right there!” The soldier yelled. Sarah untucked her face from her dad’s chest and saw the silhouette of the soldier.
“Okay.” Joel did as he was told, his heart beating out of his chest. “Easy now. We’re not sick!” He called out to the faceless soldier, illuminated by the truck lights behind him. The man spoke into his radio, lowering his gun.
“I got two civilians by the river, on of ‘em injured.” The radio beeped. “Ankle.”
“What about Uncle Tommy?” Sarah asked her dad.
“We’re gonna get you somewhere safe first.” Joel replied, looking for her eyes in the darkness. “Then we’ll go back for him, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry, repeat?” The soldier said to his radio. Joel took a half-step forward. “Hey! No one told you to move!” The soldier raised his rifle again. “Yes, sir.” The soldier confirmed to whoever was commanding him. “Yes, sir.” The radio beeped. The flashlight focused on Joel and his daughter again.
“We’re not sick.” Joel’s voice wavered. Sarah clung to him, her arms around his neck. She looked up at him, desperately afraid. “Sir…” Joel had never known a fear like this. “We are not sick!” He yelled and the soldier opened fire. Sarah screamed as she fell from her daddy’s arms and they both tumbled down the hill.
The soldier had followed, trailing Joel in his torchlight. Joel raised his arms to beg.
“I’m sorry.” The solider said.
“Please don’t.” Joel let out.
There was a gunshot and the soldier collapsed sideways. Tommy appeared; rifle raised. Joel grunted as he lifted his shirt to find a bullet had grazed him.
“Oh, God.” Tommy breathed, and Joel followed his eyeline to see Sarah lying in the grass, her hands grasping her belly.
Sarah was panting feverishly as Joel crawled to her.
“No. Oh no.” Joel panicked. “No, no, no.” Sarah was looking up into the black sky, her chest heaving and blood pooling over her stomach. So much blood.
“Okay… you’re okay.” Joel begged. “Move your hand, baby. Move your hand.” Joel tried to get a look at her injuries. The bullets had gone right through, ripping his little girl apart. Sarah was hyperventilating, unable to form words. Joel leant pressure down on the wound and Sarah cried out in pain, her weak little arms pushing at him. “I know, baby, I know, I know, I know, I know.” Joel sobbed. “I know it hurts.” Sarah’s breathing was haggard as she yelped in agony. “Come on, baby. You’re okay, you’re okay. I know, I know, I know, baby, I know. I know this hurts.” He kept the pressure on her stomach as she wordlessly begged him to save her. “You’re gonna be okay. All right… baby, baby. Listen to me. I gotta get you up, okay? I gotta get you up. All right? You come on.” He tried to lift her, his hand under her back. Sarah exclaimed in pain as he pulled her close. “I know, I know, I know!” Joel pleas grew louder. “Tommy, help me!” He wailed.
“Joel.” Tommy said weakly.
“C’mon, baby girl. I gotta get you up. Come on, we’ll get you up. Come on, baby girl.” He didn’t realize until he looked back that she was already gone, her eyes glossy and unmoving. Joel continued to try and collect her into his arms. “Come on… come- Please.” He held her limp body to his chest, feeling her warm blood spilling onto his abdomen. Filled with helplessness, anger, despair, and regret, he rocked them back and forth, refusing to let go of his baby girl.
TWENTY YEARS LATER
Boston, Massachusetts
2023
Outside the Boston Quarantine Zone, in a nature plumed neck of woodland, birds were chirping in the morning sunshine.
Uneven footsteps rustled on fallen leaves, little shoes. A small person, with one goal in his sights, wandered through the brush. Focused only ahead, his legs were growing heavy. He continued his trek for hours, stopping only when the concrete walls of the QZ came into view.
Stationed at the Quarantine border, guards in black combat gear saw a figure in an orange shirt approaching the buffer zone. The outsider stopped a hundred yards from the checkpoint, collapsing to the ground.
A pair of guards rushed to investigate, as was the protocol, the ‘WELCOME’ sign proudly painted on the imposing fortress behind them.
The strangler was a child, no older than ten. He was swiftly strapped into a wheelchair and once he was conscious, he was given a patch to fiddle with. A small comfort and distraction for him in this new scary place. It had FEDRA stitched into it in faded silver thread. ‘Federal Disaster Response Agency’ In smaller letters around the perimeter of the patch.
The refugee was wheeled into a clinical looking room. Long gone were the days of it once being sterile. In his little bound hands, he rotated the circular patch around and around.
A female FEDRA solider removed her helmet and knelt down in front of the child. She methodically checked the security of the straps on the wheelchair.
“We don’t want you falling out of the chair.” She said, a softness in her voice. “What’s your name?”
The boy stared back at her blankly, his lips slightly parted.
“Are you alone?” The soldier asked. The boy gave the barest hint of a nod. “And, uh, how did you get this?” She gently pulled back a rip on the knee of his trousers, revealing a bloody scrape. He didn’t respond, just staring back at her. Another soldier approached from behind, a device in his hands.
“There’s gonna be a little tickle right here.” She gestured to her own neck as the other soldier activated the device, tapping it to the child’s neck. There was a quiet zap and the scanner beeped. The soldier held the scanners screen for her to see. It was red.
The female soldier looked from her colleague back to the boy, her heart already aching.
“What if I told you that after we gave you some medicine, we’re gonna find you your favorite food to eat. Would you like that?” The boy’s eyes lit up and he nodded. “And then we’ll get you some new clothes and toys. As many as you wanna play with…” She managed to put a bit of hope in him.
The second soldier returned, holding a syringe.
“It’s just a little needle.” She reassured as the boy flinched, the needle already in is arm. “It’s okay.” She comforted him, offering him a smile and taking his tiny hands in her own. “You’re safe.”
*****
Flames of the cremation pit roared as the workers continued to dump body after body into its hot mouth. Scarves wrapped around their mouth and noses as a lame attempt at keeping the smoke from their lungs, the workers watched another truck arrive. More bodies.
Opening the truck bed and reaching inside for the first faceless body, Joel Miller felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find the woman he’d been working with looking at him with a broken expression.
“I can’t.” She said, gesturing to the body she was supposed to take. Laying in the truck bed, was the lifeless frame of a little boy in an orange t-shirt, his face covered by a cloth bag, and his limbs bound together, same as all the other corpses.
Joel took her place and hoisted the child into his arms, seemingly unaffected by the gruesome task. It was only a few steps to the pit. Joel dropped the body in and walked away, not lingering on it a moment longer.
The buzzer signaled the end of the shift and Joel joined the others queuing up for their pay. A stack of ration cards that could be exchanged for food and supplies.
“You got anything else?” Joel asked the clerk dishing out the cards.
“Nothing today.” The bearded man replied. “Tomorrow, we got street sweeping or sewer maitnence.”
“Which pays more?”
“That’d be the one with the shit.”
Joel nodded, accepting the job. He received a stamped scrap of notebook paper and the clerk added.
“Late crew, 4pm start.”
Done with work for today, Joel walked through the QZ. Citizens going about their daily doings. Lining up for rations, bartering and keeping out of FEDRA’s way. The usual graffiti was being painted over. Symbols of Fireflies and the resistance group’s catchphrase ‘when you’re lost in the darkness… look for the light’ being plastered over with white paint.
An execution was underway in the city center. A crowd had gathered to observe the hanging. A FEDRA officer read the accused from her notepad.
“Jason Choi, violation of EMC 342.3, unauthorized exit from a Quarantine Zone. Maria Elisiano, violation of EMC 342.7, unauthorized entry into a Quarantine Zone. Each of you have been tried in a military court of justice, and each of you having been found guilty by the court martial panel, and with a sentence of death by execution as empowered under the EMPA, Article 1, Section 5…”
The officer droned on as Joel slipped from the crowd, following the signal of a uniformed officer who was watching him. Joel strolled behind a building and saw his liaison waiting for him nervously, his hand fiddling with his firearm.
As Joel approached, Lee held out his hand full of ration cards.
“Come on.” He ushered Joel over, who took the paper cards and began to count them. “Or I could just shoot you.” Lee enjoyed making false threats.
“Yeah, but then what would you do?” Joel said, his eyes still counting the cards. “You’re short five.” He looked up at Lee.
The officer reached into his pocket and handed Joel a small foil package. Inside was a stack of homemade cigarettes. This would have to do for now. Joel tucked away his payment and fished out a plastic bag of pills, dropping one into Lee’s hand to inspect.
“Oxy?” Lee asked.
“Hydro.” Joel clarified.
“How old?”
“Three months.”
“From Atlanta?”
“I don’t know where he gets them from I just know they’re real.”
“If it’s real it’s from Atlanta. FEDRA’s got a factory down there in the QZ.” He fiddled with the pill in his dirty fingers. “Supposedly only makes two things.” He licked a bit of powder off the outside of the pill. “Pills and bullets, bullets and pills.”
“Well, the more you shoot people, the harder it is to sleep, I guess.” Joel grumbled. Lee chuckled.
“Oh, you guess?”
“You want ‘em or not?” Joel was keen to leave. Lee held out his hand and Joel gave him the bag with the rest of the pills. “I need the bag back.” He emphasized. It wasn’t easy to come by a plastic bag of this size these days. It was precious. Lee began to empty the pills into a velcro pocket in his vest.
“How we doin’ with the vehicle?” Joel asked.
“All set. Just had to get one last guy in the depot to buy in.” Lee replied.
“Okay, how much?”
“Four of them on that shift plus me… six hundred total. Look, those trucks are shitheaped for a reason.”
“And they don’t have any batteries. I know. I can see about two hundred for the other guys… two hundred for you.” Joel offered.
“Deal.” Lee agreed, folding up Joel’s bag and handing it back to him.
Lee sighed.
“Hey, do yourself a favor… stay off the streets for the next few nights.” He warned. “Fuckin’ Fireflies been blowin’ shit up all week. Two of our guys got shot this morning. Boss has got us working doubles. Guys are jumpy and tired. It’s easy to make a mistake in the dark.” And then he walked off, lifting his rifle back up in front of him and leaving Joel in the alleyway alone. “Stay safe.” Lee added as he was about to leave Joel’s line of sight.
“Yeah, you too.” Joel said under his breath. He wouldn’t pretend Lee’s warning didn’t make him nervous.
As Joel left the rendezvous spot, he saw another line of Firefly graffiti telling him to ‘look for the light’ in bright yellow paint.
*****
Robert shifted uncomfortably in his plastic chair, the bright bulb illuminating the basement seeming to add to his distress. He let out a heavy sigh.
“What do you want me to say, Tess?”
“I’m not asking you to say anything.” The woman sitting opposite him replied. Robert nodded, not believing a word.
“Sure.” His nervous fidgeting continued. “It’s not like I planned on… rippin’ you off. I’m sorry.”
Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos, lifted her head, revealing her bruised face to Robert again, blood caking her split lip and her right eye close to swelling shut with a purple bruise.
“Well, how about we just let it go?” She said. Robert sighed and stood up, beginning to pace. “What else are you gonna do?” Tess held her palms to the ceiling. “Ya gonna keep me here? Kill me?” She looked at the two young boys that were guarding her. Hiding a smirk, seeing one of their noses broken. Still feeling the pain in her elbow from when she smashed it against his face.
“Tess, c’mon.” Robert said.
“Then, Robert… what do ya want?”
“I want you to forget this ever happened.” Robert raised his voice, his tone desperate.
“Done.” Tess slapped her hands to her thighs and sat back in her chair, looking smug.
“Don’t do that.” Robert pointed a finger at her.
“What? It’s just a truck battery. I paid you for it, you sold it to someone else, and you spent my money. I mean, you think I’ve never done shit like that?”
“My guys fucked you up.” Robert gestured to her beat up appearance.
“Yeah, so discipline them.” Tess looked at the kid behind her again. He couldn’t be older than twenty. “You cut off a finger or whatever the fuck you want. I don’t care. They’re your fuckin’ guys.”
“What about your guy?” Robert tucked his hands into the pockets of his tracksuit. “Cause when he sees you, I mean, put yourself in my shoes.” Tess leant forward again.
“Look, he answers to me. So, I give you my word that he won’t hurt you. I’ll tell him that I got jumped by… some guys, and then you and I can just move the fuck on.”
Tess slumped back in her chair, the light catching the sweat and bruises on her face.
“Now, your shit has pretty much ruined my week, and I’d like to go home and drink ‘til my face stops hurting. So, are we good?” She was so done with his bullshit, and she wasn’t above fighting her way out of this. Robert looked at her nervously before giving a small nod.
“Yeah.”
The world exploded from the right side and Tess was blown out of her chair and sent flying to the ground. Dust and debris filled the basement. Tess coughed, her whole body including the inside of her mouth was coated in a thick layer of dirt from the blast.
She pulled herself onto her forearms and registered the body of one of Robert’s men laying in front of her. She looked over and saw his head cracked and blood spilling out of him. She instantly wretched and threw herself backwards, away from the corpse. Sitting up, she saw Robert’s chair tipped on its side and he was nowhere to be seen.
A voice over a loudspeaker loudly declared:
“All citizens must clear the surrounding area immediately.” Tess gagged again, lifting herself to her feet as the voice continued. “Do not return until FEDRA authorities permit.”
Tess pulled herself out of the rubble, coughing. She climbed through the now blasted wall of where she was being held. A truck was on fire in the street and there were bits of broken building freshly covering the sidewalk. She stumbled onto the street; her face contorted in distress. Trying to get her bearings, she saw a blood trail leading off to the left. Most likely Robert’s, the disgusting weasel.
She began to head away from the burning truck, following the trail of blood as a siren wailed.
“All citizens must clear the surrounding area immediately. Do not return until FEDRA authorities permit.”
Just as she was about to round a corner, Tess saw a squad of FEDRA soldiers decked out in riot gear making their way in her direction.
“Oh shit!” She gasped, quickly ducking back behind the building as a gunshot rang out. FEDRA began to fire back, their weapons raised high.
“Firefly, up top!” A soldier shouted. Tess was crouched, her arms wrapped around herself, protecting her head.
“Free Boston now, motherfuckers!” A man shouted from the adjacent rooftop, firing his rifle down at FEDRA.
Still covering her ears, Tess assessed her options. Heading towards her from the way she came, were a pair of FEDRA soldiers with riot shields. She ran her hands through her hair, close to desperate tears, before getting to her feet with her hands raised.
“They’re shooting!” She called out. “They’re shooting at us!”
The soldiers trailed their weapons to aim at Tess’ chest.
“On your knees!” One of them ordered.
“No, no! I’m not a F-“ Tess screamed as they stormed towards her. They knocked her off her feet, her body slamming into the pavement. Flat on her stomach, the soldiers wrestled her arms behind her back. She screamed louder.
“I’m not a Firefly!”
*****
In a lonely room with a locked door, a girl sat impatiently with a shackle around her wrist. The afternoon sun was warming her face as she passed the time lost in her own thoughts. Reliving every moment that landed her locked up in this stupid room. Her brown eyes glowed bronze in the sunlight.
At the sound of the door being unbolted, the girl stood. Ready for the daily medical assessment being forced upon her. The chain clanked as she moved. The same woman who visited her every day, stood before her with a clipboard.
The girl angrily kicked her empty food tray across the floor, landing at the other woman’s feet. She assumed she was some kind of doctor.
“Count slowly and clearly from one to ten.” The doctor instructed.
“One, two, three, four—” The girl sped.
“Slowly…” The doctor interrupted. “and clearly.”
“One.” The girl punctuated each number with spunk now. “Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Fuck… you.” She raised her middle finger at the woman.
“And hold out your—” As the doctor told her to hold out her arm, the girl was already doing it. Holding her hand steadily at arm’s length.
“State your name, slowly and clearly.” The doctor said, ignoring the girl’s attitude.
“Veronica.” The girl answered. “Same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before—” The doctor turned to leave. “Hey, people are gonna come looking for me!” Veronica yelled. “People from FEDRA. You hear me? Let me out or you’re gonna pay, motherfuckers!” They slammed the door and Veronica was alone once again.
“I’m not supposed to be here!” She screamed into the empty room. She sat back down, mirroring the position she was in before. On the wall in front of her, splattered on in red paint were the words, ‘when you’re lost in the darkness’. The girl sighed and tucked her head between her knees.
*****
Across the QZ, Joel climbed the stairs into the den of the radio man. A queue of people lined the walls outside the apartment, all scribbling down their messages on scrap paper. Hoping to get their words out to their loved ones.
Many gave Joel nasty looks as he cut in front.
“Hey, there’s a line!” One man shouted. Joel ignored him, heading right to the front and being let inside by the radio guys’ assistants.
Abe was sitting at his station, repeating a message back for one of his clients. He gave Joel a wave when he noticed him waiting.
“Correct, 73-Orlando. Out.” Abe said into his microphone. The woman who’s message he delivered looked tearful as she collected herself and left.
Joel took her place in the chair opposite Abe’s desk, the whirring of the radio equipment warming his right side. Joel dropped the packet of cigarettes onto the desk. Abe opened them and put a white stick in his mouth. Lighting it, he shook his head.
“Nothin’?” Joel asked. “Is there any chance it’s comin’ in at night? You’re sleepin’, you miss it?”
“Hm.” Abe hummed. “When I’m sleeping, Gabriela listens, or my son. The smart one, not the other one, God bless him. If Tommy responded we’d know.”
“And you’re talkin’ to the tower?”
“Every day.” Abe replied. “They gave him your message, they haven’t seen or heard from him since, and that’s it. It hasn’t been that long.”
“It’s been three weeks.” Joel said quickly. “It’s never taken him more than a day to respond.” Abe gave him a look.
“I’m sure he’s okay.” He took another drag of his cigarette.
Joel placed a map down on the table. It was old and stained but it still showed all the information it needed to.
“Show me where the tower is.”
“You can’t be serious.” Abe said, staring at Joel in disbelief. Joel returned with a stern glance. “Joel, it’s in Wyoming.” Abe stuttered. “All this open country? I mean, you’re a capable guy, but there are worse things than Infected out there. I hear everything on this. There are raiders, there are slavers—”
“But you’re sure Tommy’s okay?” Joel rebutted. There was silence and then Abe sighed.
The old man pulled out a pencil.
“It’s, uh, it’s the Cody tower.” He marked it on the map. “Q-Bar 4, but I don’t know exactly wh—” He couldn’t finish as Joel snatched up the map and made to leave.
Abe took a deep breath from his cigarette before calling his next client.
*****
His boots trudged up the steps to his apartment as Joel lugged himself onto the landing. He unlocked his door and went in, the evening light casting a pink glow over the single room dwelling.
Same as always, he heaved the dresser over a few feet and pulled up the floorboards beneath. He began unloading items from the stash, a hammer, a crowbar, a newspaper, and a bag of pills.
Joel spent the evening poured over the map; his finger tracing routes from Boston to Wyoming. He took steady swigs of liquor as he did so. Eventually, four pills joined the mix and he felt himself fading. It was the only way he’d get some decent sleep these days.
He collapsed down on the bed and let unconsciousness wash over him. Although he slept, it was never dreamless. He would be visited by Tommy’s shouts and Sarah’s terrified panting as she bled out in his arms.
Joel hardly registered the door opening and Tess dropping her keys onto the table. Joining him, Tess gently touched Joel’s leg before encouraging him to roll over with a hand on his shoulder. She lay down on the bed behind him, her arm wrapped around his torso, feeling the steady beat of his heart in her palm. Her body pressed against his brought some comfort. She was home safe.
Tess was already up when Joel rolled onto his back. It took him a moment to get his bearings. A baby was crying a few apartments over and a siren buzzed outside. Tess was in the kitchen, her back to him. The familiar sounds of her making coffee. They usually only had half cups because even the water is rationed. Joel slumped down at the table, fighting a mighty hangover. Tess set the coffee mugs in front of him and sat down.
They looked up at each other at the same time and Joel’s heart spiked as he saw his lover’s face cut up and bruised. He instantly moved forward but Tess put a hand out to stop him.
“I got jumped by a couple guys.” She sighed.
“What guys?” Joel said, not taking his eyes off her face.
“Just a couple teenagers. Said some shit, probably shouldn’t have.” Joel had his hands gently on her face, moving her to look in different directions so he could see the extent of the damage. His touch was tender, but she knew he was angry.
He left the table to grab things for first-aid.
“Come on. You know these guys were born after the outbreak.” Tess tried to downplay the situation. “Never learned how to argue. They just start swingin’.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Fuckin’ nineteen-year-old pieces of shit.”
“It’s a miracle you’re alive.” Joel returned, wetting a rag with some alcohol.
“It’s a miracle any of us are alive.” Tess replied, letting him tend to her. He held her chin as he wiped at her cuts in an attempt to disinfect them.
“These aren’t new.” He realized.
“No.” Tess confessed. “I was in FEDRA lockup all day.” Joel looked deeply at her, wanting her to explain more. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” She pulled Joel’s hands away from her face and took them in her own.
“I need you to take a breath.” She said slowly.
“What?”
“Joel—”
“What?”
“The guys who jumped me were with Robert. He sold our battery to someone else.”
Joel grunted and set his face in his hands.
“Nothing’s lost. Shit like this is gonna happen.” Tess tried to reassure him, leaning forward to be closer. “Now we just shake it off, and we go get our cards back, or the battery.
“I need the battery, Tess.” Joel slammed a hand down on the table as he got up. “Trucks no good without one, and if I don’t get to Tommy soon, he’s gonna die out there.” Joel stormed into the side of the apartment with the bed, already opening his floorboard stash.
“Okay, fuck it!” Tess spat. “We get our money back and the battery. But, Joel, listen, Robert is terrified of you.” She knelt beside him, an arm touching his back. “So you march outta here all Clint Eastwood, he’s gonna get wind of it and skip.” Joel stopped his scavenging and looked back at her, their eyes level. “I need you to take a breath.”
They stared at each other as Joel forced himself to inhale and exhale.
“Who’d he sell it to?” He asked.
“Don’t know.” Tess admitted.
“Well, where is he?”
“Don’t know… yet. But we’re gonna find out… quietly. Understand?” Joel gave her a little nod. “Now I promised Robert that you wouldn’t hurt him. But I would very much like for you to hurt him. So, let’s go hunt that motherfucker down, and get our battery and our truck and then we’ll go find Tommy. All right?”
Joel stared at her for a long moment.
“All right.” They nodded at each other, and Tess held his shoulder as she stood up. Joel fished two handguns out of the hole in the floor.
*****
In the dimly lit Firefly hideout, Marlene stopped and watched her crew stand to attention as she passed. She entered the war room unannounced. Kim and a couple of others were scanning a large map.
“The team in place at Southeast 3?” Marlene said expectantly.
“I held them back.” Kim said. “I have some questions.” Marlene removed her jacket and dumped it over the back of a chair.
“Hmm. Okay.” She said, annoyed that her orders hadn’t been followed promptly.
“We’ve been blowing up meaningless FEDRA targets spread out all over the QZ, for two weeks. We’ve already lost four people, and we’re—” Kim stopped, watching Marlene check her gun. “What’s the point of all this?” Kim let out a frustrated sigh.
“Is that your question?” Marlene said, pausing to look back at her subordinate. “That’s one of them.” Kim said.
“My answer is to follow fucking orders.” Marlene stated.
“And why do you have some random girl locked in a room? And the guys you have guarding her won’t tell me shit? Our people are asking what’s going on, and I don’t know what to tell them.”
“Tell them to follow fucking orders!” Marlene raised her voice, tucking her gun into her belt at her back. “You two, go to Southeast 3. Now.” She ordered the others to leave the room.
“Kim.” Marlene said quietly.
“Marlene.” Kim was getting even more frustrated.
“We are in a war against a military dictatorship to restore democracy and freedom. Does that sound about right?”
“Yes.”
“Are we winning? Are we beating FEDRA here? Are the Fireflies beating FEDRA anywhere?”
“Rebellion takes time.” Kim had her arms folded over her chest.
“You fight for twenty years, and you get nowhere, you’re not a rebellion. Just spray paint.” She gestured to a blue Firefly insignia on the wall behind her. Marlene approached the map table.
“We’re not hitting FEDRA ‘all over’ the QZ. We hit ‘em here, here, here, here, here.” She articulated to the pins on the map. “Where are we right now?” Kim indicated their location on the map. “I want FEDRA everywhere but here.” Marlene revealed her plan. “I want them as distracted as possible. Tonight, every Firefly in Boston is gonna gather in this building and we are gonna leave the QZ. Permanently.”
“We’re quitting?” Kim stared at her leader in disbelief.
“No. We’re taking that random girl locked in that room west.”
Marlene pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Kim.
“From our guy in the radio tower in Salem.”
“Is this real?” Kim asked after reading it, her eyes wide.
“I believe it is.” Marlene let out a tiny smile. “Keep it quiet.” They shared a nod; Kim was back on side.
“Whatever you need.” She said to Marlene. “Whatever it takes. We’ll get her where she needs to go.”
*****
Joel stood watch from a distance as Tess negotiated Robert’s location out of an informant. The meeting spot was in a crowded area, the dining section of a run-down restaurant.
He watched Tess hand over a small stack of ration cards to the young guy she was grilling, and he tucked them away in his shirt. The corner of Joel’s lips curled up, always impressed by Tess’s resourcefulness and cunning.
“Hey, friend.” A man approached Joel, avoiding eye contact. Joel kept his arms crossed. “Don’t worry. I don’t want anything.” The man said. “But if you’re feeling lost—”
“You tell me to ‘look for the light’ and I’ll break your jaw.” Joel cut him off. The guy backed off immediately, not wanting to mess with Joel now that his recruitment pitch had backfired.
Tess was approaching, casting the Firefly a quick look before joining Joel.
“Well, I mean, it cost us a couple of cards, but, uh, we got him.” They began to walk through the market. “He’s supposedly takin’ the battery to a red-tagged building. But get this… corner of Stillman and Cross.”
“The one Miguel used to use.” Joel said, knowingly.
“Yeah, I’m thinking so. I mean we can take the subway tunnel under Haymarket, get into the building form below and take Robert by surprise.”
“Pay this fucker back.” Joel added.
*****
Veronica angrily pulled at the chain attaching her to the wall. Grunting with effort as it refused to give. Water was dripping in through the window and now droplets were coming through the ceiling and getting her hair wet.
“Oh my god.” She mumbled, not giving up on yanking on the chain. She spat as a raindrop landed on her face. “Agh! You fucker!”
Defeated for now, she sat down against the radiator she was connected to. The door opened and she began her counting sequence.
“One, two, three, four…” She trailed off, realizing that it was a different person entering her cell. The woman was carrying her blue and green backpack, the little purple plush still dangling from one of the zippers. The bag was chucked across the room at her and she immediately began to dig though it until she had her switchblade secured in her grip.
Marlene sat down opposite the girl, not showing any sign of apprehension as the girl opened her blade.
“You’re not scared?” The girl asked. Marlene shook her head. “Then unlock me.”
“How about we start with ‘thank you’?”
“For what?” Veronica said.
“For saving your life. I am the one who told them not to shoot you, if you recall.” Marlene said.
“Yeah…” The girl muttered, flipping her switchblade so the blade went away. Marlene smiled softly.
“Why did you stop them?” The girl asked.
“We’ll get to that.” Marlene reached for her, and Veronica held her hand and her blade as far away from her as she could, deeply distrustful. Marlene revealed her intention by holding up a handcuff key. The girl relaxed, letting Marlene unlock her manacle.
“So… Veronica… How ya feelin’?” Marlene asked.
“The same. Is it gonna happen?” The girl’s gaze was intense.
“No.”
“So, can I go?”
“No.”
“I won’t tell anyone about any of this. I swear.”
“Where you gonna go? Back to FEDRA military school? You that anxious to be a soldier?”
“You think I chose that place?” Veronica spat. “They put me there when I was a baby. It’s for orphans.”
“They didn’t put you there. I did.” Marlene revealed. “Ellie.”
How did this woman know her real name?
“You my fucking mom or something?” Ellie looked at her, eyes wide and eager.
“Do I look like your mom?” Marlene said, as if her dark skin and tight curls weren’t enough of a giveaway against Ellie’s ivory complexion.
“Nooo, you do not.” Ellie admitted, looking away, her glimmer of hope extinguished.
“My name is Marlene. I’m the leader of the Fireflies in the Boston QZ.”
“Why would a terrorist dump me with FEDRA?” Ellie asked.
“Because it’s where you’d be safest, and you were safe there until you decided to sneak out. And terrorist? Was Riley a terrorist?”
That stung Ellie and she looked away. She shook her head, seeming as though words were stuck in her throat until she finally said.
“Why won’t you let me go home?” Her voice breaking.
“Because you have a greater purpose than any of us could’ve ever imagined.” Marlene replied, hope in her expression. This sparked something in the fourteen-year-old. “So we’re leaving tonight, and we’re taking you with us.”
A knock on the door interrupted them.
“He’s here.” Someone said from the doorway.
“Five minutes.” Marlene said, not breaking eye contact with Ellie. Marlene shuffled her body to face Ellie and she leaned in closer.
“What I’m about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone. Because if you do… I assure you… you will die.”
*****
It was thundering over the QZ as Joel and Tess approached the locked entrance to the subway. Tess kept watch as Joel brought a pair of bolt cutters up to the chain and made quick work of it.
The sound of rain pattering against the concrete echoed as they went inside. The pair removed their packs and retrieved their guns and flashlights.
“Okay. Ready?” Tess shone her light down the wet stairs ahead of them.
“Yeah.” Joel grunted, following her lead into the dark.
Water was dripping all the way down into the underground tunnel. They wandered down the tracks, trailing their flashlight beams off the walls, keeping their guard up.
“Oh, that’s the one.” Tess recognized the symbol on a doorway and climbed up onto the platform. She quickly picked the lock and pushed herself inside. Her flashlight slowly lit up the room one section at a time. Nothing seemed out of place until her beam caught an infected corpse plastered to the wall, tendrils and fungi sprouting from every surface.
“Oh fuck!” She screamed. “Shit!”
Joel raced in; gun raised. Their torches both lit up the corpse.
“This one’s done.” Joel declared, knowing they weren’t at risk unless they touched it.
“Yeah.” Tess sighed, her heart still beating in her ears. “I know. I just- I wasn’t expecting it.”
“Take it he wasn’t down here last time?” Joel asked.
“No.” They both stared at the array of fungus. “You think he came down here after he was infected?”
“Well, maybe down here is where he was infected.” Joel sighed.
Tess stared uneasily between Joel and the corpse.
“Let’s keep movin’.” She turned her back to them both.
Joel followed her though the tunnels until they reached a rusted ladder. Tess hooked her flashlight into her backpack strap, so she had both hands free to climb. Joel did the same. Tess looked up, steadying herself and then climbed onto the first rung. Joel followed a few seconds behind her.
Joel filled the silence as they climbed.
“It’s like they reframed the whole structure. Probably in the ‘80s. Everyone was cutting down on apartment sizes to sell more condos.”
“Oh. This has been ‘construction corner’ with Joel Miller.” Tess teased.
“How far up we goin’?” Joel asked after they had been climbing for a minute.
“Uh… this far.” Tess recognized the landing they approached and pulled herself off the ladder, Joel close behind.
“So, this… this opens into the ha-hallway.” Tess paused as her hand gently pushed at the trapdoor, finding it unmoving. “What the fuck? Someone put a piano in front of this?” She said as she continued to probe at the door. Joel sniffed the air.
"You smell that?” Tess did the same.
“Yeah… gunpowder.”
They looked down and their torches lit up a trail of blood leaking under the door. Fresh blood. They drew their guns. Without further hesitation, Tess pushed her bodyweight against the door.
“Tess.” Joel cautioned.
On the other side, with the force of Tess’s push, a body slumped over sideways. Bullet holes in its head and chest. Tess finished pushing through the door, her gun hand resting on top of her flashlight hand. She cast her light down on the body. It was Robert, and beside him lay the truck battery. She bent down to examine it.
“Well, the battery’s no good.” She reported. “And he still tried to sell it. Twice. You greedy fuck.” She resisted the urge to spit on him. In the distance a person winced in pain. Joel took up the front, his gun raised. He followed the sounds of indistinct chatter and a person moaning. Peeking around a corner, he saw a woman trying help another person off the ground.
“Shit, come on.” Someone groaned. As Joel silently approached them down the hall, a door to his right swung open and a small girl came flying out of it, yelling with a knife raised. Joel turned to the side and used the girl’s momentum against her, crashing her into the awaiting wall. She went down with a thud.
“Fuck!” She groaned, looking up at Joel, fiercely.
“Joel?” Someone called his name. He looked up, his gun still aimed at the girl who tried to attack him.
“Marlene?” He recognized the Queen Firefly.
Marlene and Kim had guns raised. Kim was freshly missing her right ear; it obviously having been shot off in the firefight with Robert’s guys.
“You okay?” Marlene called to the girl on the ground.
“Yeah.” She sighed, still staring up at Joel. She reached to try and collect her switchblade, but Joel’s foot came down first, trapping it under his boot.
“Ellie…” Marline warned. The girl stared ferociously at Joel. “Ellie!” She signaled for the girl to stand down.
Ellie finally noticed the bleeding wound in Marlene’s side.
“Oh shit!” She let out.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright. And you can’t be stupid like this.” Marlene and Kim lowered their weapons.
Tess finally joined them.
“So this is who Robert screwed us over with? The Che Guevara of Boston?” She stopped just behind Joel. “I mean, war must be goin’ pretty shitty for you to be buying from scumbags like him.”
“Yeah, it kinda has been.” Marlene exclaimed, her hand clutching her bleeding belly. “The merch was bad, and he obviously didn’t take ‘fuck off’ for an answer.”
Ellie eyed her switchblade again, looking up to see Joel staring down at her.
“Give me by knife.” She hissed.
“What do you need a car battery for?” Joel addressed Marlene. Ellie reached for her blade and Joel brought his gun back to her.
“Don’t.” Joel told her. Ellie raised her hands with her palms open.
“Not at her.” Marlene had raised her gun again and Tess pointed her gun at Marlene in return. Seeing Ellie down the barrel obviously distressing the Firefly. “Point it at me.” Marlene said firmly. Joel raised his eyebrows at Ellie before shifting his aim back over to the Fireflies.
“And to answer your question, I need it for a better reason than you do.” Marlene lowered her gun again, sighing. “No offense, but Tommy’s just one man.” Seeing Joel’s expression she added, “It’s our job to know things.
“To know things?” Joel repeated. “You’re the cause of it. You turned my own brother against me.”
“Okay, Joel.” Marlene let out.
“That was a lot of gunfire. FEDRA’s gonna be on the way.” Kim interrupted.
“I know.” Marlene sighed. “We were gonna move Ellie outta the zone tonight. But we won’t make it anywhere like this.”
Joel looked down at the girl, who in turn looked at Marlene. The Queen Firefly made a quick and vital decision.
“Not for a while anyway. So now I’m thinkin’… you’re gonna do it.”
“The hell we are.” Joel said.
“I’m not going with them!” Ellie yelled.
“Let me take her.” Kim said.
“Tess, we don’t have time for this.” Joel turned to his partner.
“Oh, you don’t have time?” Marlene called out.
“Who is she?” Tess asked, lowly.
“To you? She’s cargo?” Marlene answered.
“We don’t smuggle people. Sorry.” Joel argued.
“I can do it.” Kim but in again.
“Kim, you don’t have a fuckin’ ear on your fuckin’ head! Could you please?” Marlene shouted. She took a breath before continuing.
“There’s a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House.” Marlene explained. Joel scoffed. “I know what’s out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that very reason. But now I don’t have a truck, I don’t have a squadron, FEDRA’s five minutes away. What I do have is you. And I know what you’re both capable of. For better or worse.”
“What are they capable of?” Ellie asked quietly.
“You get her there safely and they’ll give you what you need. Not just a battery. The whole thing. Fueled-up truck, guns, supplies, all of it. I swear.”
Ellie looked curiously up at Joel.
“I swear.” Marlene repeated. Joel turned to Tess, who signaled with a head tilt that she wanted a word. Joel kicked Ellie’s switchblade down the hall, away from her.
“Asshole!” The girl shouted.
Joel went to stand by Tess, who said:
“You trust her?” Seeing Joel’s uneasy expression, she continued. “No, me neither, but she seems desperate.”
“Firefly vehicle usually means repurposed FEDRA stuff.” Joel added. “So, better than decent chance of makin’ it to Tommy in one of those. The second we hand that kid over—”
“Y’all talk this through, but please remember that I’m bleeding out.” Marlene interrupted them, blood still slowly pouring from her wound, her blood pressure dropping. Joel and Tess shared a knowing look, and they came to an agreement.
“Okay. Here’s the deal.” Tess said, turning back to them. “We’ll get her to your crew at the State House. But before we hand her over, they give us everything that we want. If not, we kill her, there and then.”
“Deal.” Marlene agreed.
“Really? That fast?” Ellie scoffed, offended.
“You are all that matters. My team will not jeopardize that.” Marlene said to Ellie. “Remember what I told you? Now go get your backpack.” Ellie looked at her with pleading eyes. “Now, Ellie.” Marlene pushed.
The girl got up and stepped back through the door she came flying out of a few minutes ago. Marlene nodded at Tess, who gave her a look that suggested history. Ellie returned, backpack in hand.
“Let’s go.” Tess said to her, starting back down the hall. Ellie glared at Marlene. The mother figure she had latched onto so quickly was already sending her away in the hands of strangers.
As Ellie turned, her body hit Joel’s shoulder as she passed. She swiped her knife off the floor and followed Tess with angry footsteps.
“Joel…” Marlene called after him. “Don’t fuck this up. Please.”
Without another word, Joel turned and left Marlene. He jogged to catch up with Tess and their new cargo.
It was still storming outside as the three of them walked the streets of the QZ. Ellie had pulled her hood up, covering her face from passers-by. She quickened her pace to keep up with Tess.
Ellie’s wet maroon converse squeaked on the wooden floor of the residential building. She followed her new caretakers to the end of the hall, where Tess unlocked a door. The older woman went in first and then Joel gestured for her to follow.
“Give us a minute, all right?” Tess said, slipping back out the door and slamming it in Ellie’s face.
“What the fuck?!” Ellie yelled through the closing door. She heard Joel and Tess’s conversation from the other side.
“So, what’s the plan?” Joel asked.
“There’s not a lot of options. There’s the short way or the long way.
“The short way’s pretty much…”
“That leaves the long way. Things look bad, we’ll come up with something. We’ll have to drop, head to Bill and Frank’s. Stock up on anything we may need.”
Their conversation continued as Ellie removed her backpack and picked up a thick book that was resting by a radio. “Number 1 Hits”. A music book. She flicked through its many pages, listing popular songs and the years they were released. Sticking out in the middle was a piece of paper that had been slipped inside. It read:
B/F
60 – nothing in
70 – something new
80 – X
“We leave after dark. Stay with the kid.” Ellie heard Tess again. Joel sounded frustrated as he replied.
“Wait. Why do I have to- Tess. Tess!”
The door opened and only Joel came inside. He took off his pack and slumped down on the couch.
“So, who’s Bill and Frank?” Ellie asked. Joel didn’t respond. “The radio’s a smuggling code, right? ‘60s song, they don’t have anything new, ‘70s, they got new stuff. What’s ‘80s?”
Joel stood and took the book off Ellie, slamming it down on the kitchen table. He returned to the couch, this time laying down.
“What are you doing?” Ellie asked, frustrated.
“Killin’ time.” Joel replied, his eyes already closed.
“Well, what am I supposed to do?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure that out.”
Ellie angrily picked up the heavy book and stormed over to an armchair, spitting out, “Your watch is broken.” on her way past.
Joel ignored her comment, repressing the memory that tried to resurface at the mention of the cracked watch face and its frozen hands.
When Joel woke, Ellie was sitting in the armchair, her legs tucked up under her. She was sitting underneath the blue butterfly decal on the window. The one that Joel traded way too many ration cards for because it reminded him of the one Sarah loved back home.
“You mumble in your sleep.” Ellie commented, noticing he was awake. It was dark out now. “I’ve never been on the other side of the Wall.” Ellie said, her hand resting against her face. “Look how dark it is.” Joel shifted into a sitting position. “You guys go out there a lot?” She turned to him.
“I guess.” Joel replied.
“When was the last time?” Ellie was asking these questions to reassure herself without explicitly expressing that she was scared.
“Maybe a year.” Joel sighed. “What’s it matter?”
“But you know where to go? So, we’re gonna be okay.”
“Yeah.” Joel eventually said, leaning back into the couch. Ellie’s gaze returned to the outside.
“So, what’s the deal with you anyway?” Joel’s curiosity got the better of him. “You some kinda bigwig’s daughter or somethin’?”
“Something like that.” Ellie smirked. There was a moment of silence before Ellie spoke again.
“Oh, the radio came on while you were sleeping.”
“What? What was the song?” Joel leant forward.
“He kept saying like, ‘wake me up before you go-go’?”
“Shit.” Joel whispered. Ellie smiled.
“Gotcha. ‘80s means trouble. Code broken.”
The cheeky thing tricked him. Used him to crack the radio code. Joel rose prepared to give her a lecture.
“Listen—" But, he was cut off by the door opening. Tess was back.
“The spot under Lancaster looks good.” She reported. “You got a jacket in your pack?” She said to Ellie.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, get it. It’s time to go.” Tess said as she gathered up her and Joel’s own jackets and a few other essentials. Joel’s look said ‘are we really gonna do this’ and Tess gave him a nod.
A FEDRA vehicle patrolled the dark streets. A recorded message playing out of the run-down speakers.
“Observe mandatory curfew to fight infection and insurrection.”
On the towers surrounding the border, guards were positioned on spotlights, searching for any sign of unauthorized exit or entry during the night. Or worst-case scenario, any infected that might wander too close to the zone.
Outside the concrete wall, Joel lifted a heavy trapdoor disguised under the dirt. He grunted with effort, pulling himself out of the manhole. Ellie followed, having no trouble pulling her light frame up. Tess exited last, replacing the manhole cover, and swiping dirt back over to conceal it.
Ellie stood up, completely visible to any spotlights that would shine their way.
“Hole shit. I’m actually outside.” She said, and not quietly.
“Jesus Christ!” Tess pulled on Ellie’s sleeve, making her crouch.
“Oh shit!” Ellie realized her mistake, seeing Tess flash Joel a look.
Tess turned back to Ellie to make sure she was listening.
“Okay, we’re gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone. You stay close and you follow my lead.”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Ellie nodded, embarrassed.
“Let’s go.” Tess said. Joel shook his head. He was sure this girl was going to get them caught or killed.
With Tess in the lead, they took turns ducking under an out of commission school bus. Crawling prone underneath its belly. Joel’s joints already complained as he crouched low to the ground following the girls.
A truck rattled past, and Tess pressed Ellie up against an overturned car. Ellie’s hand instinctively grabbed onto Tess’s.
Thunder rumbled above as Tess peeked out to assess. Satisfied the truck was gone, she gestured for the others to follow her.
The three of them approached a metal tunnel, some kind of old duct. Rain clanked down on the metal as they crawled inside. Tess signaled them to stop as a helicopter flew overhead. Its bright white light casting harsh shadows in the broken tunnel. Ellie had her eyes glued on Tess for guidance. They followed Tess as she moved out.
As they entered an exposed area, they were caught off guard by a FEDRA soldier urinating against a wall. They tried to sneak past his peripheral vision but the soldier began to shout.
“What the hell? Hey! Don’t, don’t move!” He zipped up his trousers and reached for his semi-automatic rifle. “Don’t move!”
Joel, Tess and Ellie stopped under his flashlight beam, hands raised in surrender, knowing they couldn’t outrun his gun. The soldier raised his visor.
“You gotta be shitting me!” It was Lee. The same trooper Joel had been bribing.
“Okay, let’s talk this out.” Joel offered.
“Turn around.” Lee ordered. “Get on your fuckin’ knees.”
“Hold on!” Joel said.
“Get on your fuckin’ knees!” Lee said louder.
“Now, hold on!” Joel repeated.
“What did I fuckin’ tell you, man?” Lee was freaked out. “I said stay the fuck home. Get on your knees.
Tess turned around first.
“Just get on your knees, get on your knees.” She said to both Joel and Ellie. She got down onto her knees, facing her body away as Joel and Ellie did the same beside her. “Listen, you let us do this run… we’ll split the cards with you.” Tess tried to barter.
“Oh, will you?” Lee said sarcastically.
“Yeah!” Tess confirmed.
“I’m so blessed.” Lee scoffed. “Hands on your head. Eyes forward.” When Tess didn’t move, he repeated himself, yelling this time. “Hands on your head!” The group complied this time.
“Really, man?” Tess huffed as the infection scanner was jammed against her neck.
“Yep. We’re doing this by the book.”
“Jesus Christ.” Tess let out. The scanner zapped her neck. The screen turned green. “Okay, what about three-quarters?” Tess was looking up at him over her shoulder.
“Unauthorized exit. They’ll hang you for that.” Lee said smugly. He moved on to Joel.
“Fine, everything off of this run, and half off on all the pills.” Joel tried his hand at convincing him.
“Half off?” Lee scoffed, the scanner zapped Joel and the screen went green. “All off. Risk my job for half off.”
The scanner zapped Ellie’s neck and she lunged around, stabbing her switchblade into Lee’s thigh, screaming.
“Ellie! Ellie!” Tess cried. “Ellie, what the-?”
Lee groaned, pulling the knife out of his leg.
“Fuckin’ bitch!” Lee fumbled around until both hands were on his gun. Joel pushed his way in front of Ellie, blocking her with his body.
“Get out of the fuckin’ way!” Lee yelled.
“Whoa, whoa! We can fix this!” Joel said into the spotlight of Lee’s torch.
“Move.” The soldier’s silhouette ordered. Joel’s ears began to ring. His breathing grew heavy and suddenly Sarah was clinging to him as he held her in his arms. Lee moved forward and Joel didn’t hesitate to tackle him to the ground, disarming him.
Joel began to punch and he didn’t stop. Pummeling Lee’s face until there was nothing left to recognize. Ellie watched on, something igniting inside her watching this man kill to protect her. No one’s ever done that for her before. Ever.
Joel’s punches stopped long after Lee had gone limp beneath him and he turned, expecting to see Sarah only to find Ellie in her place.
Tess scrambled over the ground and retrieved the dropped scanner; its screen was red. Red means positive. Positive means infected. Tess examined the device in disbelief.
“No, no! No, I’m not sick!” Ellie defended herself. Tess looked up at Ellie, afraid.
“Joelll!” Tess yelled, trying to bring Joel back to the present. “Joel! Joel!”
“I am not sick! I’m not sick!” Ellie begged. “Look! Look! This is three weeks old! Nobody lasts more than a day!” Ellie rolled up her sleeve and held her right arm out to Tess.
Tess grabbed Ellie’s wrist, bringing it close to her face in the darkness. Ellie’s arm bore the mark of ingrown tendrils that never breached the surface, faded teeth marks scarring her center forearm. “Does this look a day old to you?! You would’ve killed me!”
“I should fucking kill you!” Tess yelled. “When did it happen?”
Joel stared down at the blood coating his knuckles, the adrenaline blocking any pain he was bound to feel later.
“It doesn’t matter! You have to trust me! They’re gonna catch us if we don’t run!” The girl pleaded. A wailing siren was getting closer. Thinking fast, Tess grabbed onto Ellie, pulling her close.
“Joel, we gotta move.” She began to pull Ellie towards a break in the fence. “We gotta move, Joel!” She pushed Ellie though first, holding the wire back for the girl to squeeze through.
Joel half snapped out of his episode and picked up Lee’s semi-automatic. Tess had gotten through the fence and was holding tight to the girl.
“Joel!” She called for him to hurry up. Pinned to the fence was a FEDRA warning that read ‘Biological Contamination Area – DO NOT PROCEED’.
Joel looked back one more time to make sure they weren’t being followed before pushing through the hole in the chain-link and catching up to Tess and Ellie in the rain.
*****
Back inside the Quarantine Zone. Inside Joel and Tess’s empty apartment, the radio crackled to life. A familiar ‘80s tune began to play. “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode.
‘80s means trouble.