Chapter Two
Are you scared?
The walk back to where they'd be staying up until escaping was a quiet one. No one said a word to each other as they navigated the streets, the rain gushing down onto them and ruining their clothes.
Fran stayed close to Ellie the whole time, feeling the most comfortable when she was by her side. She can't say she wasn't relieved when Ellie tucked herself in next to her, using Fran's body to shield herself from Fedra officers that passed. She was a missing girl after all, and if the three adults were found with her, they were sure to be hung for kidnapping a Fedra student.
When they did finally make it to the small apartment, Fran realised it wasn't far from her own. Only a street and a small walk away. It was a little more run-down than her own place, and didn't exactly feel lived in, but it was good shelter.
"Give us a minute, all right?" Tess was the first to speak as they finally reached the apartment, closing the door behind Ellie and Fran, instantly making the younger girl turn.
"What the fuck?!" Ellie yelled out, thinking once again she was being locked in a small room for god knows how long. Fran was the one to calm her, putting her hands on her shoulders and directing her away from the door.
"Leave it, Ellie," Fran said quietly, letting Ellie walk away from her to explore the small entryway to the apartment. Fran stayed close to the door, hands wrapped around her stomach as she listened to the conversation going on outside.
"So, what's the plan?" Joel's voice was the first to be heard as she leaned her back against the door, looking up at the ceiling.
"Hm. There's not a lot of options. There's the short way or the long way. The short way is pretty much..." Tess was speaking now, and the fact they were figuring out a route just reminded Fran of how real this whole situation was. She hadn't been outside the QZ since she arrived back in 2006. All she knew was it was still carnage out there, infected crawling all around the streets, people out for blood...
"That leaves the long way," Joel spoke again as Fran closed her eyes, hand on her chest as she tried to calm herself, "Things look bad, we'll come up with something."
Fran looked over to Ellie then, trying to remind herself why she was doing this, who she was doing this for. She knew if she was Ellie's age she'd want someone like her with her. Who knew what these smugglers were capable of?
"We'll have to drop, head to Bill and Frank's... Stock up on anything we may need." Joel continued on, unaware of the Italian girl listening in on the other side of the door.
Fran stepped away from the door then, knowing anything they said would make her more anxious. She wasn't great with stress at the best of times, let alone when she knew she was walking into certain death.
"You okay, Fran?" Ellie spoke up then, her voice echoing through Francesca's head as she blindly made her way through the apartment, looking for a bathroom to try and calm herself down in. She didn't like being seen like this.
"Sto bene," Fran mumbled to the girl, before walking through an open door and into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, leaving a confused Ellie on her own and walked up to the small sink.
She turned the tap on and cupped her hands together to collect some cold water, before rubbing it on her face. Cold sensations always helped to calm her down as the freezing temperature made her gasp and collect her breaths.
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.
"Your friend's got it figured out," Joel said, his head gesturing to Fran who just shrunk backwards at the fact she was being acknowledged, "you'll figure it out."
Ellie grabbed the book that Joel had snatched off her, before walking past the older man, "Your watch is broken." She said as if he didn't already know, and sat down next to Fran. Fran kept her eyes on Joel then, watching his expression harden in anger at the acknowledgement, before it fizzled out and he closed his eyes.
Fran's eyebrows furrowed at that, her eyes moving from his face to his wrist that held the watch, his other hand now covering the face of it. It was clear the watch held sentimental value, broken or not.
That was one thing that Fran had picked up on after all her years in silence. She could read people easily - whether it was figuring out if their intentions were good or bad, or whether they still had a heart or not. Joel was clearly a guarded man, but whatever value was hidden in that watch made it clear that there was some form of pain in him. Some real hurt.
"Are you okay?" Ellie asked after a moment of silence, looking over at Fran who was still staring at Joel. Fran just nodded her head, closing her own eyes, making Ellie roll her eyes, "old people..."
"I'm not old," Fran mumbled back to her, making Ellie smirk.
"You totally are," Ellie bit back, making Fran shake her head, but the girl didn't respond.
All that was heard were pages flipping from Ellie and the soft breaths of both Fran and Joel. Joel mumbled every once in a while as Fran stayed tucked into herself.
Hours passed as the day went on, the sun flying through the sky and starting to set as Fran was woken up by the feeling of Ellie poking her leg. It made her jump, before settling down, sending Ellie a small glare.
"Sorry," Ellie fake cringed, not at all apologetic, "I gave you a couple of hours, and I'm bored."
Francesca sighed, leaning her head back as she stared up at the ceiling, a small headache starting as she sat up, looking over at Ellie who was still messing with the book from earlier.
"Finally broken the secret code?" Fran asked her then, trying to create conversation, and Ellie just shook her head.
"Nah, I've got a plan to crack it, though," Ellie says, making the girl nod. Fran ran a hand over her face before looking at Joel again, the man mumbled in his sleep.
"Are you okay?" Ellie asks her then, her voice softer.
"I'm fine," Fran nods, "are you alright?"
"Nervous," Ellie answered honestly, and she had every right to be. What they were about to do was nerve-wracking - caught by FEDRA and they hung, caught by a monster and they're ripped apart.
"We'll be fine," Fran tried to assure her, but it was hard when she knew her words held no true promise. Fran was just as scared as she was, if not worse.
"Is it had out there?" Ellie asked quietly - the way it had been described to her, FEDRA was doing a great job at keeping infected away, serving the people as they should. She didn't exactly believe them. Anybody can make themselves out to be the hero, it's whether they can be called out on it that matters. She trusted that they served the people, she didn't trust that they were keeping infected away. She had been infected inside a soon-to-be safe zone, Riley had been too.
"I couldn't tell you," Fran says with a soft smile, "I've been in here longer than you've been alive."
"And you say you're not old," Ellie jests, making Fran roll her eyes and shake her head, biting back a smile as Ellie laughed.
When silence blanketed the room once again, the humour left with it, Ellie got up from her seat and made her way over to the window, looking out at the dark view.
"Are you scared?"
Fran stayed silent at the question, refusing to look over at Ellie. Of course she was scared, anyone in their right mind would be. The outside world was terrifying, and overhearing Joel and Tess' conversation earlier didn't help her nerves.
"I am," Fran said quietly.
"But, we'll be okay, right?" Ellie asked then, staring at the side of Fran's face with hope gleaming in her eyes.
"We will," Fran nodded, her answer more to reassure herself than Ellie. She knew Joel and Tess would protect them, they needed a car battery after all, and Ellie was their only chance of getting it.
Fran had no concept of how far they'd be travelling, the outside city no longer in her memory. She knew it was going to be difficult, and she knew it was going to be dangerous. The fact Marlene was getting every firefly out of there, and a whole squadron just to protect Ellie was enough to convince Fran that the journey was not at all safe.
She hadn't seen an infected up close to two decades, and the thought of running into one absolutely terrified her. The screams and clicks from them were still stuck in her skull, leaving a pinching feeling at the back of her head. They were awful, and it was horrible knowing that they were once people, now controlled by something people used to eat for fun.
"You mumble in your sleep." Ellie's voice dragged her out of her thoughts, making her look at a stirring Joel, the man not exactly pleased to be awake, "I've never been on the other side of the wall. Look how dark it is."
Joel sat up then, staying silent in hopes that the small talk wouldn't continue. He'd slept to avoid it.
"You guys go out there a lot?" Ellie asked then, Fran also wondering. She hoped it was often, just so they definitely knew the way. If they got lost they were absolutely fucked.
"I guess," Joel answered, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up.
"When was the last time?" Ellie continued her small interrogation. Seeming to annoy Joel more.
"Maybe a year." Joel sighed as he stared at his hands, "What's it matter?"
"But you know where to go... right?" Ellie asks the man then, and at the sight of the young girl growing nervous, she decided to speak up.
"So we're gonna be okay," Fran added, making Joel look over at her, a silent adult conversation happening between simple glances. Joel wasn't completely confident - you couldn't be when everything was changing so quickly out there, but he had backup routes. This man knew what he was doing.
"Yeah," Joel answered quietly then, putting his arm along the back of the couch, tearing his gaze from Fran over to Ellie, "So, what's the deal with you anyway? You some kinda bigwig's daughter or somethin'?"
"Something like that," Ellie mumbled back, knowing she wasn't allowed to tell him the truth. Joel didn't seem to believe her, making her change the subject to something he could believe, "Oh, the radio came on when you were sleeping."
"What?" Joel asked quickly then, leaning forward in his seat as Fran furrowed her brows. She was a light sleeper and she hadn't heard the music. "What was the song?"
"He kept sayin', like, like, "Wake me up before you go-go?" Ellie quoted, acting confused as she stared at Joel's expression. The answer to the code being his reaction.
"Shit," Joel whispered, looking down at the ground as he played with his hands, clearly growing nervous about something.
"Gotcha," Ellie smirked then, before looking at Fran, "80s means trouble. Code broken." Fran smiled at that, Ellie sending her a mischievous wink as she shook her head. Joel wasn't impressed whatsoever, going to tell her off.
"Listen..." before he could get another word in, Tess walked through the door, closing it behind her and making the three look over to her, Fran turning in her seat.
"The spot under Lancaster looks good," Tess tells Joel, making him nod as she turns to Ellie, "You got a jacket in your pack?"
"Yeah," Ellie answers.
"Okay, get it. It's time to go," Tess says, making the girl stand up and exit the room. She'd put it by the bathroom after hearing Fran inside, accidentally leaving it there, "what about you?" Tess then asked Fran, and the girl simply shook her head.
"Do you have anything with you? at all?" Tess then asked again, seemingly frustrated with the woman.
"I didn't know I was joining along for this trip until you two did," Fran is quick to defend herself, "I'm sorry I don't carry a survival bag with me everywhere I go."
Joel and Tess shared a look at that, the girl was clearly not prepared for what was ahead. But if there was no Fran, there was no Ellie, there was no car. Just one very pissed off Marlene. To be honest, Joel had no hope for her getting through the mission alive - she almost cried at the sight of blood. Not even her blood, somebody else's.
"How are you shooting-wise?" Tess asked the girl then, like that was a normal question to ask. Fran just looked at her with wide eyes, "close combat?" She shook her head, "hand to hand?"
"For god's sake," Joel whispered as he saw the girl shake her head once more, putting his hand up to rub his eyes, pained by the fact they were having to bring along dead weight. Just one more person to protect.
"Okay," Tess sighed, before walking around the room and picking up random items. She left the room, leaving Joel and Fran on their own, and Fran was really hoping Ellie would come back at that moment.
"Remember out there that we are being paid to transport Ellie," Joel spoke first, looking at Fran with hardened distasteful eyes, "not you. You are not important to us on this mission. You step up or you die."
Fran just nodded at him with wide eyes as both Tess and Ellie re-entered the room, Tess throwing a bag and a jacket that used to belong to her at Fran. Fran barely caught the bag, let alone the coat, feeling suddenly more out of place than she had in years.
-
Actually getting outside of the walls was not an easy feat. They'd started off going underground through the old subway tunnels, the only light being their torches, and the darkness didn't exactly help Fran's already pacing heart. She kept Ellie close, more for herself than the younger girl, but Ellie seemed to find comfort in it also, so she didn't mind.
They started heading up a ladder that they'd been told was outside the perimeter of the QZ. The ladder was extremely grimy, and the dirt it left on Fran's hands made her feel nauseous, but this was only the start, and she knew it.
They came out of the hole rather quickly, Joel first, then Ellie, then Fran, and finally Tess. The ground was muddy from when it had rained, and Fran instantly started wiping it off of her hands and onto her jeans as she breathed heavily.
"Holy shit," Ellie gasped as she looked around, excited at the sight of the world around her, still staying close to Fran, "I'm actually outside."
"Jesus Christ," Tess whispered, grabbing Fran's arm to make her duck, Ellie copying just as a light shone over their heads. The first close call of many.
"Oh shit," Ellie whispered as Fran put her hand on her shoulder, moving the girl closer to her so she was more sheltered.
"Okay, we're gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone," Tess whispered to the two as if they had any clue about what that meant. Ellie had better luck than Fran as the geographical terms came up in tests, but still, it was hard to follow along, "You two stay close and you follow my lead."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course," Ellie said as Fran nodded, slightly scared by the woman and her surroundings. She knew now that her safety was gone, one wrong move and she was dead. She had to get herself in check.
"Let's go," Tess said then, crawling under a school bus. Fran pushed Ellie to go first, knowing it was for the best if she was closest to Tess, she was the one being protected after all.
Fran followed under quickly, her sleeves now sticky with mud as she held her breath, the smell of rot picking up from the ground as she went through and out the other side, Joel right behind her. Tess then crawled forward behind a bunch of cars, Fran and Ellie doing the same.
Ellie was making the small gap between two cars when an engine was heard, making Fran grab the back of Ellie's coat and bring her back over to safety. Ellie landed against Fran's arm, Fran catching her as the two stayed silent. A car light appeared, before slowly leaving. They hadn't been seen.
Tess then did a quick surroundings check as Fran helped Ellie stabilise from their bent-down position. And before too long could pass, they were off again, quickly hiding inside a large scrap metal tube filled with light pockets from old bullet holes. The four stayed there silent, Fran looking at Joel as he ducked down, a helicopter going over from above.
Fran took a deep breath to herself as the light came over them, Ellie grabbing her hand as they stayed still and silent. The whole situation was incredibly tense.
"Go," she heard a whisper from Joel, making her eyes open and look over to Tess, seeing the woman leaving the tunnel. She followed quickly, Ellie close behind her as they came out the other side. The four rushed against a wall as lightning lit up the sky, giving them away to anyone who could see. Luckily for them, they got away with it, and carried on their way, walking around.
Ellie grabbed Fran's hand then, needing support from the older woman as her nerves grew, and Fran was quick to give her hand a squeeze, whispering a small, "we're okay," as they followed along the wall, accidentally walking right into view of a FEDRA soldier having a piss.
Fran was the first to see him, freezing in place as her free hand grabbed the back of Tess' jacket, not at all sure what else she could do. The motion made Tess turn to her, but not before casting a confused look at Joel, who had also seen the soldier.
"What the hell?" The soldier suddenly spoke, flustered and urgently zipping his pants up, "Hey, hey! Don't, don't, don't move!"
A gun was pointed at them then, all of them raising their hands up as Fran's heartbeat thundered in her throat. Lightning crashed, making her flinch as she looked wide-eyed at the soldier, her breaths picking up as panic began to set in.
They were going to die.
The soldier moved closer then, making Fran take a cautionary step back, before lifting his mask as he stared at Joel incredulously, "You gotta be shittin' me."
"Okay, let's talk this out," Joel was quick to try and sort the problem out, trying to take a step closer, but the man wasn't having it.
"Turn around," The soldier commanded, as Fran's hands shook. She cast a quick look down to Ellie, who had her own hands up, glad the girl had decided not to get snappy for once.
"Hold on..." Joel tried again as the gun moved to aim at his head.
"Get on your fuckin' knees," the Fedra soldier ordered, "I said get on your fuckin' knees!"
Fran looked to Joel then, knowing he was the one trying to control the situation. Whatever he decided to do, she would do.
"Now hold on..." Joel tried again as lightning flashed, rain pouring down from the heavens in early mourning.
"What did I fuckin' tell you, man?" The soldier asked Joel, "I said stay the fuck home. Get on your knees!" Fran sent Joel a confused look at that - were these two friends? Or new enemies technically? She couldn't figure out if the friendship Joel had was good for them or putting them in more danger.
"Just get on your knees, just get on your knees," Tess then told the group, turning herself around and getting on her knees. Ellie was quick to copy, "Listen, you let us do this run... we'll split the cards with you."
It was a bold-faced lie, none of the four in front of the soldier would ever be returning to the QZ.
"Oh, will you?" The soldier asked then, his tone condescending as Fran got on her knees, putting herself between Ellie and Tess so that Ellie was next to Joel. If Joel and the soldier really were friends, having Ellie close to him was their best option.
"Yeah." Tess agreed.
"I'm so blessed," The soldier said sarcastically, disregarding her completely, "Hands on your head. Eyes forward. Hands on your head!"
Fran was quick to do as told, not wanting to be shot. Her whole body was shaking at this point, the thought of this being her last few minutes absolutely terrified her. She should've never let Ellie drag her in, she should've never let Marlene in at 4 am to call in a favour. She shouldn't be there.
"Really, man?" Tess's voice made Fran's head snap to her, seeing the small machine used to check if a person was infected held against her neck. The sight of it made her quickly look at Ellie, who looked just as terrified.
Ellie was going to be killed the second red showed up on that screen.
"Yep. We're doin' this by the book," the soldier responded to Tess; but Fran didn't care for the small talk now, breath picking up as a panic attack started to bubble itself up.
"Jesus Christ," Tess mumbled as the soldier moved on to Fran, holding the machine to her neck, making it zap.
"All right. What about three-quarters?" Tess tried to re-bargain. The soldier ignored her as the screen flashed green.
"Unauthorized exit," he commented, looking down at the pale, terrified woman, "They'll hang you for that."
The mention of it was enough to make Fran's posture weaken, her arms falling slightly as she held her breath.
"Fine. Everythin' off of this run, and half off on all of the pills," Joel said to him then, trying to take the attention off the girls.
"Half off? All off. Risk my job for half off. Outta your fuckin' mind..." the soldier told the man as he moved onto Ellie, holding the scanner to her neck, but before he could see the colour it changed to, Ellie screamed, her knife stabbing backwards and into his knee, making him cry out as Tess yelled.
"Ellie, Ellie!" Fran was quick to act, head not thinking as her body moved on autopilot, pushing the teenager back and moving in front of her. The soldier's gun was instantly at her head as the soldier yelled, "fuckin bitch!"
"Out of the way!" He yelled then to Fran, gesturing for her to move with his gun, a murderous glint in his eyes, but Fran shook her head, tears now falling as adrenaline ran around her body.
"I'm not gonna say it again, lady, out of the way!" He yells to her again, taking the safety off of his gun as Fran's eyes plead with him.
"She didn't mean it- she's just a kid, please-" her breathing was laboured as she pleases with the guard. She could feel Ellie holding onto her jacket, "I don't wanna die." The fragile whisper was enough to get Joel jumping into action. He jumped in front of Fran, angering the soldier more.
"Get out of the fuckin' way!" The soldier yelled as Joel held his hands up, shielding the two girls.
"Whoa, whoa! We can fix this," Joel promised, his own breath picking up.
"Move." The soldier ordered.
Joel stayed still.
"Move."
Before Fran could even think, Joel yelled, tackling the soldier to the floor, and making him drop his gun. The attack didn't stop there however as Joel jumped on top of him in a fit of rage, punching over and over and over again as Fran gasped, mouth open in shock and tears freely falling from her face. She was watching a man get beaten to death. Her eyes moved slowly from the dead man to Joel, the man completely in a fit of rage as he punched until his knuckles were red raw and bleeding.
In her state of shock, she moved her hand back to grab Ellie's arm, only to notice Ellie wasn't behind her anymore, but standing and watching Joel with a look Fran couldn't quite place.
Joel finished up his attack, breathing heavily as he looked back at Fran, his hand still in a fist as she stayed completely still. She was thankful he had saved her life, but he did currently look ready to attack her too.
"No, no! No, I'm not sick!" Ellie's voice made her look away, seeing the scene between Ellie and Tess, Tess' face lit up by the red of the scanner. She knew Ellie had been infected.
"Joel!" Tess called out, holding up the scanner as Fran quickly moved back to shield Ellie once more, her body feeling numb, "Joel, Joel!"
"I am not sick!" Ellie yelled, Fran doing the same, "She's not sick!"
"Look!" Ellie moved out from behind Fran, dodging the woman's attempts to pull her back as she pulled up her sleeve, showing the old infested mark, "Look! This is three weeks old. Nobody lasts more than a day! Does this look a day old to you?!"
"It's true! I've been looking after her, checking every day, she's not sick!" Fran presses on, "Marlene wouldn't put me at risk if Ellie was going to turn!"
"You would've killed me!" Ellie shouts then, Tess stands up to her full height then and looks down at the girl.
"I should fucking kill you!"
"No the fuck you shouldn't!" Fran yelled back at the woman, adrenaline pumping through her at an alarming rate. She would never yell at someone, especially not someone like Tess who really could kill her at any second, but she cared more for the future of the girl behind her, arm shielding Ellie as Tess sent her a wicked glare.
"When did it happen?" Tess yelled out her question, Ellie jumping to answer as she once again moved in front of Fran.
"It doesn't matter! You have to trust us! They're gonna catch us if we don't run!" Ellie pressed the real matter at hand - a dead FEDRA soldier and sirens not far. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Tess grabbed Ellie then, moving her along.
"Joel, we gotta move." She said, starting to lead the way, Fran close behind as she yelled out again, "We gotta move, Joel!"
Fran looked back at the man then, quickly running over and grabbing his arm, seeming to get his attention as he flinched out of her touch, looking down at her.
"Come on," Fran breathed out, running back after Ellie and Tess, Joel now close behind her as they ran off into the wasteland of death.