Broken Without You

Chapter 7

An hour later, you found yourself riding on horseback through the tall wooden gates of Jackson.

The whole community was surrounded by walls, keeping Infected and bad guys out. The place was huge. Bigger than you expected.

There were buildings everywhere. Houses lining the streets, some made before the outbreak, others newer that were constructed after. There were people everywhere, men, women, children and elderly all walking around and going about their lives. There was even a giant Christmas tree in the middle of town.

You glanced over your shoulder at Ellie, the two of you sharing one of the horses. She was looking around the community with wide eyes, seeming as shocked as you were while she took it all in.

"Tommy!" Joel suddenly shouted.

You quickly looked over just as Joel dismounted his horse and jogged across the street where a man with black hair and a denim jacket met him halfway before they engulfed each other into tight hugs.

You smiled softly watching the brothers reunite before you glanced over at Ellie who almost had a sad look on her face.

"It's okay. We'll get you back to your family soon." You reassured, although after overhearing the whole 'Firefly cure' thing, you weren't sure if that story about her parents was true.

Ellie simply nodded, but didn't say anything as she watched Joel and Tommy.

-

After a meal in the cafeteria Tommy and his wife Maria gave you, Joel and Ellie a guided tour around Jackson.

The community was bigger than what you first thought. They drew power from the dam nearby and had a working school, laundry, even used the old bank as a jail. They even had proper sewage, plumbing, water heaters and lights. This community actually worked. You had heard of places like this, but you never thought they were real.

"Hey, Joel, check it." Ellie called out, looking at the sheep in the yard before glancing over her shoulder at him with a grin. "Baa."

"So, are you in charge?" You asked, looking over at Maria.

"No one person's in charge. I'm on the council. Democratically elected, serving 300 people, including children. Everyone pitches in. We rotate patrols, food prep, repairs, hunting, harvesting."

"Everything you see in our town, greenhouses, livestock, all shared. Collective ownership." Tommy added.

"So, uh, communism." Joel said bluntly.

Tommy scoffed, "nah. Nah, it ain't like that."

"It is that. Literally. This is a commune. We're communists." Maria shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal, but you had to stop yourself from laughing at the look on Tommy's face.

Joel smirked at his brother, finding his shock rather amusing before Ellie suddenly ran over to a young foal sticking her head out the window of the horse stable.

"That's our newest one. Couple months old. You wanna pet her?" Maria asked, following Ellie to the stables while you, Joel and Tommy trailed behind.

"Yeah, what's her name?" Ellie asked, patting the foal gently.

"Shimmer."

"Shimmer. You're so beautiful. Y/N, come pat her!"

You walked over to the stable window watching Ellie gently stroke the horse's forehead with a bright smile on her face before you leant forward and started to pat the foal too.

"Well, I'm sure they'd like a shower, some new clothes. We can put them in the empty house across the street from us." Maria said from behind you.

A shower? That sounded like heaven.