After stealthing past the soldiers that were looking for us, we found ourselves able to rest for a moment.
"Alright, they're gone" Dad said as Ellie sat down on a nearby stump, while I was still trying to catch my breath due to all the running.
"Look- what was the plan? Let's say that we deliver you to the Fireflies, what then?" Tess asked.
"Marlene... She said that they have their own little quarantine zone. With doctors there, still trying to find a cure"
"Yeah, we've heard that before, huh, Tess?" Dad asked, sarcastically, obviously not believing a word of all this. Natasha stood next to me with her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.
"And, that whatever happened to me is the key to finding a vaccine"
"Oh, Jesus"
"It's what she said"
"Oh, I'm sure she did" Ellie stood up quickly, glaring at my dad as they went back and forth.
"Hey, fuck you, man. I didn't ask for this"
"Me neither. Tess, what the hell are we doing here?"
"What if it's true?" Tess asks, causing my dad to scoff and Natasha and I to stare at her, surprised. Usually, Tess is the second hardest to convince, next to my dad.
"I can't believe-"
"What if, Joel?"
"You can't be serious?" I asked.
"I mean we've come this far, let's just finish it"
"Do I need to remind you what is out there?" Dad asks.
"I get it..." I knew what Tess was hinting at. Ellie was starting to remind dad of Sarah. Her attitude and how she carried herself was a lot like my big sister. Dad didn't want to get attached again and honestly... Neither did I.
Natasha grabbed Tess' arm, pulling her off to the side, but we could still hear their conversation.
"You seriously believe this bullshit?!"
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but what if she's telling the truth. If you don't trust them... Trust me"
"I trust you, you know I do..... Just, please be careful with this. I don't know what I would do if I lost you" Tess pulled Natasha into a tight hug before putting their foreheads together.
"I love you sweetheart"
"I love you too mom" After that, Tess started leading the way.
"This way. If we cut through downtown, we can hit the capitol building by sunrise"
"We hope" My dad muttered.
"Holy moley. I guess this is what these buildings look like up close" Ellie paused, taking in the buildings or what used to be buildings.
"So, what happened here?"
"They bombed the hell out of the surrounding areas to the quarantine zones, hoping to kill as much of the infected as possible" Tess explained as we walked.
"It worked - for a little while" Natasha adds before we heard growling in the distance, making me tense up slightly.
"Ahhh, what the hell was that?"
"Tess, do you hear that?" Dad asks.
"Yeah, sounded pretty far away though"
"Yeah... pretty far away" I mutter.
"Are we safe?" Ellie asks, nervously.
"For now. Come on" Natasha pats her shoulder before grabbing my hand tightly. We all walk up to a giant hole in the middle of the street, created by the bombs many years ago.
"Damn... That's quite the drop"
"Yep"
"Woah...." Natasha paused, glancing down, only to wobble slightly. Just like with my fear of the dark, Natasha was scared of heights.
"Babe... Don't look, eyes on me" Natasha forced herself to look away, meeting my eyes.
"Thank you"
"Anytime"
"Well, there's the capitol building" Dad points out the building in the distance, making me grimace.
"Yeah, we need to get around this mess" Tess says.
"I guess, we're cutting through the building" I remarked.
"This is the downtown area"
"It was. Now it's a giant wasteland"
"Can we just get outta the rain, please?" I ask, ready to be out of the freezing rain.
Once inside the building, I took off my wet jacket, shaking the water from my hair as Natasha watched with amusement.
"Come on babe"
"Right behind you, keep up kid" I call out to Ellie, who was behind us as we followed Tess and my dad into the hallway. There was a body leaning up against the wall.
"It's been ripped apart" Tess pointed out.
"Yeah...."
"Body's pretty fresh" I added.
"Is that bad?" Ellie asked.
"Well, it's not a good sign" Natasha comments.
"Might be... Let's not stick around" Tess agrees.
"Another one...." I mutter as we go up the stairs to find yet another fresh looking body.
"Shit..." I pick up the paper next to him, reading it to myself.
"Looks like these guys died waiting for backup" Dad leads us through a doorway, where a clicker's body is leaning up against another door.
"Goddammit. Clicker" Dad commented.
"Geez... What's wrong with its face?" Ellie asked, disgusted. Clickers have been infected for years, meaning that the cordyceps have grown completely over their body. They can't see, but they sure as hell can hear you.
"That's what years of infection'll do to you" Tess explains.
"So, what? Are they... Blind?"
"Sort of. They see using sound" Natasha adds.
"Like bats?"
"Like bats. If you hear one clicking, you gotta hide. That's how they spot you" My dad moved the clicker out of the way before tryng to open the door.
"Whole building feels like it's about to fall apart" Dad remarks as the entire building creeks and groans.
"Totally cool. Everything is totally cool" I glance at Ellie, who is trying to calm herself down.
"Gimme a hand with this" I nodded, going to help my dad with the door, but as we pushed it open, a clicker came out of nowhere.
"Dad?!" The clicker knocked my dad to the ground. Without hesitation, I kicked the clicker off of him, shooting it in the skull.
"Thanks...." He muttered as I helped him to his feet.
"You okay, dad?"
"It's nothin'"
"Let's search for supplies" Tess speaks, leading the way through the room, searching for anything useful.
"Shit! Oh that was intense!" Ellie exclaimed.
"You said it kid" Natasha agreed, grabbing my hand and kissing my cheek.
"C'mon, let's get the hell outta here..."
"I agree" I agreed with my dad... I was ready to get the hell outta this place. Inside the room, there was an old desk with a ledge, leading to another part of the building.
"Up there, look" Tess motioned to the ledge.
"Just see if there's a way through" Dad said to Tess, giving her a boost. She took a minute to look around before turning back to help us up.
"It's clear, come on, Ellie"
"Alright, kid, you're up" Joel gives Ellie a boost and Tess pulls her up the rest of the way.
"You're next babe" I let my girlfriend's hand go, so that she can get boosted up. Natasha jumped and her mom pulled her up. She turned to me, offering me her hand. Once I'm up there, I turn back to my dad.
"C'mon dad. Gimme your hand"
"Let's go big guy" Tess and I pull my dad up, but we didn't have a chance to rest as we all heard a clicking sound.
"Clickers?" Tess whispered, nervously.
"Shit... Go, go, go" Natasha remarked, pushing me to jog with the rest of the group behind us. We hid behind some desks, but Natasha's hand found some shattered glass that was on the floor. She opened her mouth to scream, but I quickly covered it with my hand, putting a finger to my lips as Natasha stared at me with wide, terrified eyes.
I've got you. You're okay. I mouthed to her, earning a nod as Tess threw a bottle in the other direction to redirect the clicker.
"There's our way out, over the scaffolding" Tess whispered before leading us to the exit. Tess, dad, and Ellie climbed up first before I pulled Natasha up, being careful of her bleeding hand.
"I think that's it. Ellie, you okay?" Tess asked.
"Other than shitting my pants... I'm fine"
"You okay baby?" I turned my attention to Natasha, who was wincing as she held her wrist, assessing the damage.
"Yeah... Thanks... Fuck, it's in really deep" I carefully pulled the glass from her hand before wrapping it with a bandage, kissing her palm, like she had done when I had burnt my hand.
"Better?"
"Better..."
"Girls, let's go" Tess grabbed our attention before Natasha grabbed my chin, kissing me quickly as dad unblocked the stairwell for us.
"Here you go, ladies" Turns out the rest of the stairs were too blocked to get through.
"The stairwell's blocked. Should we go back up?" Ellie asked as Tess went to the window, glancing at the scaffolding outside the window.
"Ahh, this is crazy" Tess climbed out the window and I noticed Natasha tense up.
"You can't be serious!" Natasha exclaimed.
"Just don't look down" Easy for Tess to say, she's not scared of heights.
"Wha-? Are you serious?" Ellie obviously wasn't fond of this plan either. Everyone climbs out the window with Natasha being last. The thing under our feet moves, causing Natasha to gasp and freeze.
"Hey... Keep your eyes on me babe... I'm right here, if you think you're gonna fall, just grab my hand, okay?" Natasha looked up to meet my eyes, as I walked backwards, keeping my hand within reach. We got to a drop as Tess, Ellie, and dad dropped down. I went next, staring up at Natasha.
"You've got this..." I told her, but she still hesitated.
"Tasha, move your ass" I sent Tess a glare as they had already started climbing onto a ledge. Natasha takes a breath before jumping, but she almost falls, making me wrap my arms around her waist to steady her.
"You're okay princess, I've got you..."
"C'mon, Ellie"
"Yeah" Tess, dad, and Ellie went first with me and Natasha right behind them.
"Don't look down..." Natasha grabbed my hand quickly, as I side stepped across the ledge, keeping my eyes on Natasha.
"You're okay" Once back in the building, I didn't drop Natasha's hand as she wobbles slightly, but Tess walks up to us.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to snap at you, I forgot about your fear of heights"
"I'm fine.. We're alive and Em kept me calm" Tess nods, giving me a motherly smile before going back to the front of the group. Natasha refused to drop my hand as we stopped walking. You could hear the infected growling below us, making me tense up.
"Runners. I'll go check it out. You stay with the girl" Dad started to walk away, when I stopped him.
"I'll come with you"
"No, you stay and watch the girl with Tess"
"But I..."
"I said to stay put! For once, just listen to me" I flinched at his tone, but nodded.
"Sure dad... Whatever you say...." My dad went down to take care of the infected, while we waited impatiently. I sat down on the floor with my chin in my hands as Natasha sat down next to me.
"You okay baby?"
"I'm fine... How's your hand?"
"Liar" She muttered, "Still hurts, but I'll live..."
"Shhhh" Tess shushed us.
"Alright. Come on down"
"I'm impressed, Joel" Tess remarked as we met him at the bottom, but I just scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Why? We've all done worse. Let's just get out of here" Everyone stared at me, curiously as I led the way towards the old subway. I loved my dad, but sometimes I really hated him too.