Losing you ; Joel Miller

xxiv. Kansas city

[ The next day ]
EDEN

     " Where are we?" Ellie's eyebrows were tightly knit in confusion " Kansas City" they hadn't been having the best luck. Eden stared at the large truck blocking off the highway right by a tunnel. It would probably take a few extra hours to drive back and go around, she knew Joel was impatient, the longer he takes to find Tommy, the less likely he'll find him alive. " Screw it" the car jerked violently as Joel took a sharp turn " what are you doing?" Ellie questioned, eyes wide.

     " We can jog right around this tunnel... take the next ramp... and we're back on the road. Minute tops"

     " Where the fսck is the highway?" Joel was frustrated, Ellie was stressed, Ada was shrieking loudly, and Eden was exhausted. The blonde hushed the baby, trying to figure out what was wrong as Joel and Ellie quarrelled over how they were supposed to get out of the city.

     " This is my second day in a fucking car man- what the fuck is going on?! Why is she crying?" Eden could only sigh, worrying her bottom lip as Ada continued to sob. " Give her to me, you look at the map" Ellie trading with Eden before pulling the small girl onto her lap.

     " It should be right" Eden signed as Joel huffed in frustration " we just came that way- it's a dead end" Ada had miraculously gone silent in Ellie's embrace, her small hand's gripped one of the older girls fingers before bringing it in her mouth to chew on. " Jesus she's biting me- wait- stop!" Joel slammed the breaks, head whirring down to look at the teen.

     " Is that the QZ?" Everyone's attention had shifted to the large walls, which had been vandalised, the gates stood wide open. " Where the fuck is FEDRA?" Eden's stomach dropped, an uneasy feeling creeping up her spine. Something is wrong.

     " Hey!" Their eyes snapped towards the sound, noticing a man limp down the street. " Please help!" He pleaded, Eden gripped onto Joel's shoulder as he instructed Ellie to put on her seatbelt. " Aren't we gonna help him?" The teen asked with worried eyes, arms tightening around the baby in her lap.

     " He ain't even hurt." Joel grunted out, accelerating as the man jumped away with a loud fuck! Go go go! " Joel!" Ellie screamed as an ac dropped from a balcony, smashing into the front window of the car. " Crap!" They drove straight into a spike strip, popping all of their tires. They came to a brutal stop, crashing into a laundromat as Eden jerked forward, colliding with the dashboard violently.

The world spun around her, head aching as she felt blood trickle down her forehead. " Shit! You guys ok? Eden? Fuck-" before Joel could do anything, gunshots rang through the air. " Belts off! Fast!" They stumbled out of the car, Eden groaned as she wiped the blood away, snatching her bow and arrows from the backseat. The attackers yelled out orders about giving up their stuff, Joel gripped onto Ellie.

" Hey, you see that hole? Can you squeeze through?" The teen looked around before nodding, her eyes filled with fear. "When I say go, you crawl to that wall with Ada, and you squeeze through, and you don't come out until I say, okay?" She nodded again, her grip firmly holding on to the baby in her hands. " And they're not gonna hit you. Look at me!"

" They're not gonna hit you."

     Guns continued to fire around them, Eden's eyes were closed shut as she tried to stop her head from spinning. " You stay down, you stay low, you stay quiet."