sunshine // joel miller

TWO

She looked into the mirror, seeing her younger, terrified self staring back at her. The girl who had lost her entire family in just a day, the girl who was left on her own with no chance of making it. The little girl who was still terrified of the dark, still terrified of the unknown.

She looked down, leaning her hands against the sink as she took a deep breath in and then out again, and tried to think rationally.

Joel and Tess were professionals, they knew what they were doing. They'd keep her and Ellie safe.

Those same people would kill them in a heartbeat if they didn't get what they want.

Marlene wouldn't let that happen.

Marlene could be dead from blood loss right now and she would never know.

The chances of Fran ever coming back to the QZ were close to none.

The chances of Fran making it out of this alive were basically impossible.

"Fuck," Fran whispered, holding her chest as she leans forward, breathing heavily. She was terrified, and they hadn't even attempted to escape yet.

There was a knock on the door, making Fran jump up and turn towards it, expecting someone to walk in.

"Fran?" Ellie's voice was heard, "you okay in there?"

"Yes!" Fran replied, "just washing my hands, I'll be out in a minute!"

That seemed sufficient enough for Ellie, and Fran heard the girl's footsteps waking away. The woman instantly turned back towards the mirror, pushing her hair behind her ears and taking one final deep breath, staring back at her reflection as she knew there was no way out of this.

And with that, she turned off the running tap and left the bathroom, seeing Joel was now in the room, sat down on the couch, Ellie stood in front of him with a book in her hands.

"So, who's Bill and Frank?" Ellie asked the man, who just gave her a deadpan look. Fran then walked further into the room, walking past Ellie and over to the couch, not realising that Joel's eyes were on her the whole time. But not her face, her shaking hands.

"The radio's a smuggling code, right?" Ellie continued, still staring at Joel, "60s song, they don't have anything new, '70s, they got new stuff." Joel stood up then, already bored of Ellie's interrogation, "What's '80s?"

Joel took the book off her then, chucking it on a nearby countertop as Fran tucked her legs into her chest, watching silently. She watched as Joel made his way back over to the couch before lying down, feet hanging over the edge.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked him as he closed his eyes, already sick of the girl.

"Killin' time," Joel responded, seeming to piss Ellie off as he gave her no more information. She was supposed to trust these people with her life, with Fran's life, and they weren't exactly helping her gain any trust.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Ellie asked him, gesturing to herself and Fran, who had now rested her own head on the arm of the couch, her body still small as she held her knees close to her chest.