CHAPTER TWELVE
The group continued on their journey across to Bill and Frank's, Joel stayed silent, Ellie and Lily continued to connect and grow a friendship.
While Lily and Violet were distancing from each other, Lily hated how they left Tess behind. And the fact that her sister was so fine. They had about a five hour hike left.
Violet couldn't wait to get back to her home and sleep in her own bed.
Frogs croaked in the distance as they walked across the overgrown path, Ellie decided now was time for more questions,
"You've gone this way a lot? No Infected? What about you Violet?"
Violet answered Ellie first, Lily snapping her eyes to her curiously, Joel replied shortly after, with brief and blunt delivery,
"I've actually never been there.
But we traded stuff sometimes."
"Not often, no."
Lily had noticed Joel scanning the place, if no infected why would both Violet and Joel be so on edge and on guard. Lily voiced her concern,
"What are you looking out for?"
Joel muttered, knowing how dangerous humans are, he was one of those dangerous people.
"People."
Lily's face dropped as she nodded, Ellie breaking the silence again asking,
"Oh. Are Bill and Frank nice?"
Violet knew Bill's reputation, he was grouchy and unnerving at times. Whereas Frank was a lot more sociable and kind. Joel answered simply,
"Frank is."
Violet zeroed in on the scar on Joel's head, wanting to show her sister that she could be a normal human being and ask questions and care for others.
Violet spoke softly,
"How'd you get that scar on your head?"
Joel scoffed, expecting the questions from the younger girls, not her. Violet smirked and jested the man,
"What? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?"
Joel rolled his eyes, trying to control his emotions. He sighed and replied,
"I didn't fall down any stairs."
Violet nodded her head, Lily giggling to her side. She hated fighting with her sister. After all Violet loved Lily more than anything, and cannot lose her, that's why she can't get too close to Ellie and Joel, she can't have more people to protect. To fucking fail.
"Okay, so what then?"
Joel sighed again and answered,
"Someone shot at me and missed."
Ellie spoke up next, smiling while walking, as Violet fell backwards to stand next to Lily, wanting to clear the air.
"See, that's cool. You shoot back?"
As Ellie continued talking to Joel, Violet softly whispered to Lily,
"I'm sorry about Tess Lil— really.
We had no choice.
She was doomed anyway, she sacrificed her life for us, to get us out. She deserved to choose.
Just please don't be mad at me,
you know we are stronger as a team. Just me and you."
Lily stopped before nodding and wrapping her arm around her sisters waist and Violet continued walking forward as Lily whispered back,
"I get it.
I was just angry.
I just— we are different, you are used to the death, the tragedy.
You did a pretty good job at shielding me from most of it."
Violet quickly kissed her forehead before continuing forward and hearing Ellie speak before being cut off by Joel.
"You know, seeing as it's just the four of us, I was thinking I should pro..."
Quick and reactive, knowing what Ellie was asking for, like they were going to give a gun to a fourteen year old. Joel spoke tired of all the questions, wanting to get to Bill and Frank's as soon as they could.
"No."
In a silly little accent, Ellie spoke loudly, causing Violet to flinch, unsure where she was, what danger lies lurking in the corner, she had travelled yes, but not this far. She had never needed too. Always had to get back to Lily.
"Cumberland Farms."
Joel turned around and spoke ordering the group to stay put as he searched for supplies he had stashed a while ago. Ellie questioned the man again before Joel snapped over hearing Ellie's voice,
"Stashed? Why do you have stuff stashed here?"
"You ask a lot of goddamn questions."
Violet rolled her eyes before speaking to the defence of Ellie, unsure why but doing it anyways,
"She's a kid, Joel.
Who's never been outside.
Of course she's going to ask a lot of questions. But seriously kid, sometimes too much."
As Ellie rolled her eyes at Violet after the dig at the end of the abnormally nice argument, Ellie answered Joel,
"Yes, I do."
As they got inside Ellie, asked again,
"So, are you gonna answer me or what?"
Joel sighed before rolling his eyes and reluctantly answering as Lily and Violet walked through the building looking for any sign of danger,
"We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear, which I currently am 'cause..."
Ellie and Lily squealed as they saw the gaming console, Mortal Kombat Two, Ellie rushed over giggling speaking to everyone and no one at the same time,
"No way! You ever play this one? I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There's this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth, and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones!
Ah. Oh, man."
Ellie sighed and stepped back from the machine in amazement, as she thought about how simple life would've been if she was born in a world without this damn apocalypse. Violet turned to Joel who searched at his head, Violet laughed loudly before speaking,
"You forgot where you put your stuff.
Nice one, genius."
Joel's head snapped up, glaring boldly at the woman before snapping back,
"No. I'm just zeroing in on it. It's been a couple of years."
Lily called out to Violet, walking away linking arms with Ellie,
"Okay, well, we're gonna take a look around, see if there's anything good."
Violet rolled her eyes, the probability that there was anything of value was ludicrous, the first thing to happen after Outbreak Day was extensive looting and 20 years later everything not nailed down had been taken, it was every man for themselves.
She spoke towards the girls,
"Trust me, it's all been picked over already."
Ellie turned back and shook her head walking towards the door intersecting the rooms, she spoke slightly unnerved holding tighter onto Lily's arm,
"Maybe, maybe not.
Is there anything bad in here?"
Joel like he had said on the first night with Ellie, smirked and answered,
"Just you."
Violet giggled before catching herself and wiping her face blank, Ellie made fake laugh noises as she answered,
"Ah. Getting funnier. fսck."
Violet's head snapped up at the alarmed noises Lily made, bringing her gun out and loading it quickly moving towards the room as Joel called out,
"You all right back there?"
At the sound of the two girls voices as they sounded fine, debris thudded onto the ground.
Lily and Ellie opened up a secret hatch and jumped in finding an infected crushed under a rock.
Lily jumped containing her scream as she watched the pitiful creature snarl and reach for them even though it had no chance of getting out from underneath that rock.
Ellie grabbed out her knife and ended the infected suffering as the pair jumped hearing Violet and Joel calling for them, unnerved by how they hadn't been bothered in a little bit.
Lily and Ellie walked out of the room as if on cue as Joel and Violet went to search for them, Ellie held up an object in her hand and like a smart ass spoke,
"Picked over, my ass."
Joel put the machine gun back into the hiding place, so Ellie questioned him about why he had done that. Violet knew that getting hands on ammo for that gun was almost impossible.
"What are you doing?"
Violet replied as Joel said the exact same thing. They looked at each other, nodding before awkwardly turning away from each other.
"There's not much ammo out there for this thing. Makes it mostly useless."
Ellie again asked for a gun, and again was shut down immediately.
As they continued on the their hike, Ellie saw a crashed plane. Joel and Violet looked back to see what she was on about. Violet didn't like planes, their were multiple crashes in her city, after infected killed pilots, passengers and brought the plane down on the city. It was mayhem. Ellie spoke with excitement as Lily watched in awe,
"Holy sh¡t. You fly in one of those?"
Joel answered the girl, remembering his years in the army. They were not fond years. But it did prepare him well for survival.
"A few times, sure."
Ellie's eyes widened as her imagination set off, thinking about how cool it would've been to be a pilot. To be in the skies.
"So lucky."
Joel spoke not using the example from when he was a soldier, but spoke of the times he flew economy and wanted to die. Violet flew once with her parents when she was about five, and even that she can't really remember.
"Didn't feel like it at the time. Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich."
Ellie's jaw dropped as Lily voiced her concerns, smiling at the man,
"Dude, you got to go up in the sky."
Joel replied coldly,
"Yeah, well, so did they."
Violet choked on her water she had just sipped, dark humour was her favourite, Ellie asked another question, asking how the outbreak came to be. Violet replied shrugging,
"It kind of went from totally normal to bat shit crazy in a day. I was only eight and I went to school Outbreak Day and it all felt so normal, until it wasn't."
Joel listened intently, at least he was old enough to take care of himself, although he lost his daughter, a failure he could never mistake, he couldn't imagine being eight and having to take care of your baby sister and somehow stay alive. Ellie questioned again going on a big rant,
"How? I mean... no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody's fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then, all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey."
Violet laughed, rolling her eyes at the insinuation, Joel answered quickly, not knowing how Ellie did not know any of this,
"It wasn't a monkey. I thought you went to school."
Ellie deadpanned Joel, remembering the piece of shit school she had to endure most of her life.
The school was just indoctrinating new soldiers into the fight.
Ellie spoke,
"FEDRA school. They don't teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic."
Joel sighed as they continued to walk starting to explain the long process, at least what he knows, Violet listened to the man drawl on and confirm the things she already knew,
"No one knows for sure, but, best guess... Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal... pancake mix.
You eat enough of it, it'll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on... they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse.
Then they started bitin'.
Friday night, September 26, 2003.
And by Monday, everything was gone."
Ellie smiled, Lily answering while nudging into Ellie, remembering the ludicrous comment she had made before,
"It makes more sense than monkeys."
Ellie turned to Joel and thanked him as Joel just nodded feeling uncomfortable again, the alarm bells blaring in his head. Too close, too close. They veered off the path, Violet shot her head up confused questioning Joel,
"Why are we going of the path?"
Joel answered quickly, exchanging a look that Violet didn't quite understand,
"We'll cut across the woods here."
Ellie interrupted Violet as she began to speak, Ellie questioned,
"Isn't the road easier?"
Joel cleared his throat, moving backwards stopping before speaking softly and awkwardly,
"Yeah, it's just... There's stuff up there you shouldn't see."
Ellie smirked at the man moving forward, Violet nodded, understanding that their was probably a mass grave that way, Ellie did not need to see that. Neither did Lily.
Lily and Ellie spoke one after the other,
"Well, now I have to see."
"Yeah now we have to see!"
Joel rolled his eyes reiterating his voice as they continued forward, Violet snapped,
"Seriously. Ellie. Lily!
Just stop."
They turned around as Ellie spoke defiantly,
"Can it hurt me?"
Joel spoke and said no but Violet glared at him, he should've lied, now they have nothing to fear.
Violet spoke rolling her eyes and turning away from Joel sighing as Lily spoke after her,
"You're too honest, man."
"Should've said axe murderer."
Lily and Ellie kept going as Joel and Violet reluctantly continued on the roadside, Ellie exclaiming not seeing the problem,
"Uh... whatever it was... think it's gone."
Lily and Ellie stopped in front of the mass graves. Lily gasped as she stepped backwards, while Ellie just stared in disbelief. Violet gave her sister a side hug, as Lily turned and sunk into her sister's chest not wanting to look at the scene any longer. Joel explained the situation as Violet nodded along.
"About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers... went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were goin' to a QZ, and you were... if there was room. If there wasn't..."
Ellie looked up in horror, questioning hoping that maybe these all were infected bodies, and it was necessary.
"These people weren't sick?"
Violet sighed before telling the truth looking into the pit, of decomposed skeletons.
"No, probably not."
Lily stepped back from her sister, shaking slightly as she tried to understand how this could happen.
Lily asked,
"Why kill them? Why not just leave 'em be?"
Joel answered quickly and simply,
"Dead people can't be infected."
END OF CHAPTER