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BILL AND FRANK'S wasn't exactly what Cindy expected. She didn't really know what she thought it was going to be like, but she wasn't expecting the wired fence surrounding a couple houses with an electric coded lock. And, of course, Joel knew the code. They were all pretty tired after the last couple of days on the road.
The gate buzzed them in and the fence opened, but Cindy didn't fail to notice some sort of confusion on Joel's face? They walked past an old church and towards the first house there. It had a large American flag swaying above the door, and a pot of dead, yellow flowers rotting at the edge of the yard.
They walked up the path leading to the front door and Joel noticed the unlocked front door when he pushed it and it opened easily, raising his suspicions. The door hinges creaked as he pushed it open and stepped in first, gun in his hand at his side.
It was completely empty. "What the fuck?" Ellie whispered.
"Bill?" Joe called out. No answer. "Frank?" Nothing.
"You think they've... gone out, or something?" Cindy asked.
"I don't know." Joel answered and turned to the to girls. "You two stay here a minute. You hear anything, you see anything, uh, yell."
"What if they're gone?" Ellie asked exactly what Cindy was thinking. Joel turned but didn't answer - or maybe couldn't answer at the minute - before he proceeded down the hall. Cindy looked over at Ellie and nudged her shoulder.
"Think you can spare me one of those tampons?" She asked.
"Sure." Ellie replied, rummaging through her bag to come across the box of small-sized tampons. Cindy's periods had always been unnecessarily heavy and painful, and tampons weren't her first choice of period products due to this, especially the small ones. But they would have to do for now.
She heard Ellie press a couple keys on the piano as she descended up the stairs in search of a bathroom, which she found to her left at the top of the stairs. She shut and locked the door out of habit and pulled down her jeans and underwear, sitting on the toilet seat.
The thick piece of cloth that had previously been acting as her make shift pad was tossed into the bathroom bin beside her. She unwrapped the small product and undid the cardboard applicator before reaching down between her legs and inserting it, pushing it about a bit until it felt comfortable.
She turned on the tap across from the toilet after pulling up her pants and hoped it worked. A little dribble of water came out and she washed the blood clean off her hands, wiping the left over water on her top.
Next to the toilet, there was a window. Cindy took a moment to marvel at the preparedness of Bill and Frank, whoever they were. The fencing, the working electric of the gate, the trust Tess and Joel had in them
Joel, once establishing the bedroom door was locked and there was no sign of Bill and Frank, made his way back to Ellie. He instantly noticed Cindy wasn't with her.
"Where's Cind?" He asked.
Ellie briefly cocked a brow at the nickname - that was new - but quickly brushed it off, returning her attention back to the letter in her hand. "Uh, she's upstairs." She said and held the letter up. "It's from Bill. 'To whomever, but probably Joel'." She read off the envelope. "I figured I fell under 'whomever'. Came with this." She gestured to a key on the table, which Joel picked up.
"So they're dead?" He asked.
Ellie nodded. "Mhm. You... you wanna...?"
"Go ahead." Joel shook his head. "You do it."
Upstairs, Cindy heard Ellie's muffled voice. Couldn't tell exactly what she was saying, but she presumed it was to Joel. Until it abruptly stopped. Glancing back out the window, she witnessed Joel trudge out onto the lawn, crumpling a piece of paper in frustration. Be tossed it onto the floor and put his hand over his eyes.
Concerned, Cindy frowned and headed back downstairs. Ellie was sat at the dining table looking slightly uncomfortable. "What happened?" Cindy asked.
"There was a letter." She said. "Bill and Frank are dead. It, uh, mentioned keeping Tess safe 'n stuff."
"Oh," Cindy frowned. Wrong timing. Very wrong timing.
"What are we gonna do now?" Ellie asked, barely above a whisper.
Cindy saw the slight fear on her face. "We'll figure it out, Ells." She assured. "I'm not gonna leave you, whatever happens, okay?"
Ellie nodded. "You think anyone's come looking for you from the QZ?" She asked.
"I doubt it." Cindy said. "Probably just glad they have one less mouth to feed." She added. "Let me go talk to Joel. I'll be back in a second." She said and Ellie nodded and picked at her fingers.
Finding him in the garage, Cindy was quiet for a moment. She bit her lip, unsure of how to approach him. He had his hands rested on the bonnet of a car and his eyes were on the ground, his back facing her.
"Joel." She mumbled. He barely moved. Just turned his head slightly to acknowledge her presence. "I know that you don't, uh... that you don't really like, o-or wanna be with me and Ellie. You never really wanted to go ahead with this in the first place. And I really appreciate how far you've gotten us." She began. "You were just holding out until you got us to Bill and Frank's so you could finally leave and... go home, or whatever." She said. "If you could just show me the map. You know, what direction to go in, and stuff. And maybe help me get that car battery fixed up to get the truck working. I'll take Ellie, and the weight off your back. You'll never have to see us again. Promise."
Joel finally turned to face her, leaning against the car and folding his arms. His face was still stern and he let out a deep sigh. "You even know how to drive?" He asked.
"... yes." Cindy said, straightening herself up a little. "My mom taught me, uh, couple years after the outbreak. Haven't had much practice, but, uh, I remember."
Joel's eyes scan over her for a moment before he started walking back to the house, stopping briefly beside her so they were almost shoulder to shoulder. He turned his head to the left so he was looking at her. "I got a brother in Wyoming. Used to be a Firefly. I'll get you and her there, I ain't just gonna leave you alone out here." He said before continuing back towards the house. She smiled to herself.
Cindy tossed her backpack onto the back seat of the truck, examining the long journey ahead on the map that sat on the desk beside the truck. Inside, Joel revealed his decision to Ellie, who was also relieved he was staying with them.
