Chapter Eight
Ground Rules
"We'll cut across the woods here."
Joel's words were more of a warning than a recommendation as they reached a cross road. One followed the trail they'd been on for hours, the other led to a hardly walked on patch of the woods.
"Isn't the road easier?" Ellie argued, looking back at the two adults behind her.
"Yeah, it's just... There's stuff up there that you shouldn't see," He said to the girl, his voice softer. Fran's eyebrows furrowed at that, after what they'd already been though and seen, this didn't seem like the worst yet. But then again, she didn't know, and she trusted Joel to know.
"Well, now I have to see it," Ellie said with a mischievous smile on her face, going to continue on.
"I don't want you to," Joel shook his head as he spoke. Ellie have him a deadpanned look, before smiling at Fran, who shook her head.
Ellie started to walk on, Joel sending Fran a look as if she was responsible for the younger girls actions.
"Ellie!" Fran called to her, staying where she was.
"Francesca!" Ellie yelled back, making Fran shake her head.
"You should listen to Joel," She said to the younger girl, arms crossing over her chest. It reminded her too much of her own mother who would stand the same way when reprimanding her and her sister, "he knows better than us."
Ellie thought over Fran's words, before looking at Joel, "Can it hurt me?"
"No," Joel said, but his tone was a little confused. Not physically, psychologically, sure.
"You're too honest, man." Ellie shrugged, beginning to walk on with a smile, "You should've said axe murderer."
"Lei sarà la mia morte," Fran mumbled out in frustration, kicking her feet as she began to walk after Ellie, Joel was quick to follow.
"What's that mean?" He asked her, he'd heard her muttering the language to herself when she wanted to say something that couldn't be argued.
At his question, she sent him a confused look, he just stared ahead at Ellie, who was now looking around for whatever Joel had warned about.
"What's it mean?" He asked again, the only Italian word he currently knew was Vaffanculo, because she'd said it to him in anger and Ellie had translated.
"She will be the death of me." Fran says to him, to which he nods, hiding a small smile. He remembered thinking the same thing with Sarah when she'd do something against his word.
Silence fell over the duo as they watched Ellie up ahead, Fran was nervously tapping the side of her leg.
"What is it that's bad up here?" She asked him, her voice timid. She didn't really want any suspence, her mind already running wild. If Joel thought it was bad, it was bad, and she didn't want any surprises.
Joel could hear the worry in her voice alone, looking over to see her head down. He sighed, looking down himself, "just... just don't look to your left for a while."
While he didn't answer her question outright, the warning was nicer than the previous one. She took his comment literally, looking off into the distance on the right, the hills and the beauty of the sun over the grass.
"Uh... whatever it was, I think it's gone!" Ellie called from ahead, catching both of their attentions. Fran looked to the girl out of instinct, watching as Ellie looked to the left, into a ditch, pausing her steps.
Joel walked over to the younger girl, who stood completely frozen looking down, and Fran quickly followed, now more concerned for Ellie and forgetting Joel's advice.
"You okay, scimmietta?" Fran asked her, hand going to her shoulder. Her eyes fell to where Ellie's eyes were, her hand falling as she looked in horror, "what..."
Joel watched the crestfallen look fall onto Fran's face, and swallowed, looking down for a moment before speaking, "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..."
Fran shook her head, looking over all the remains, clothes still attached to half. Her eyes fell onto a little skeleton being held by a bigger one, a little shoe that could only fit a new born resting nearby. She felt her heart rip into two.
"These people weren't sick?" Ellie asked Joel.
"No, probably not," He responded, as Fran turned away from the sight, swallowing to keep the feeling of throwing up down in her throat.
"Why kill them? Why not just leave 'em be?" Ellie asked him.
"Dead people can't be infected," Joel said, and at that sentiment, Fran grabbed Ellie's arm, and moved them forward.
"That's enough," She spoke, shaking her head, "come on."
She walked ahead, Ellie and Joel sharing a look as the woman softly pulled Ellie with her.
-
Whatever Fran was expecting of where Bill and Frank lived was blown out of the water at the sight of an actual town, surrounded by a metal fence. She expected a small house, not a literal village, just for the two of them.
Joel was the one to buzz them in, knowing the code to open the gate, and as they walked Fran couldn't help but stare at it all. They had it all, shops that were noticeably less filled, a wine shop, a church, houses. There was also dead flowers, leaves covering the road, and a strange feeling in the air.
They arrived at the house presumed to be Bill and Franks, an American flag in front of it, and Joel was the first to approach, opening the door.
The house had the ambient lights on, decorations everywhere - something Fran hadn't seen in twenty years.
"What the fuck?" Ellie asked quietly, looking around the place in wonder. Fran however was caught on the little details - the candles that had burnt to the point wax now covered the surfaces that were once clean; the empty wine bottle and glasses that sat on the table, the unfinished artwork around the living room.
"Bill?" Joel called out, confused, "Frank?"
Silence followed his call, not that Fran was too focused, already stood in front of all the unfinished artwork. They were beautiful, from portraits of what Fran could only presume to be the two men, to flowers.
"You two stay here." Joel addressed them, looking from Ellie to Fran who didn't seem to be paying attention, "you hear anything, You see anything... yell."
"What if they're gone?" Ellie asked him, the new plan that Tess had given them going out of the window. Bill and Frank were supposed to take Ellie, that plan now more delayed.
Joel didn't respond to her question. Walking out of the room. Ellie walked to where Fran was, not caring for the paintings like Fran had done and walking over to the piano, hitting a couple notes.
The noise caught the attention of Fran, who turned to the girl, offering a sad smile at Ellie's worried look.
She came next to the girl, her own hand pressing down a couple of keys.
"Do you know how to play?" Ellie asked Fran, the woman shaking her head as she stared at the keys.
"My mother did," she responded softly.
Ellie nodded, moving further through the house. Fran stayed transfixed on the piano, hitting the notes softly as to not annoy Joel - wherever he'd run off to.
"Look," Ellie called to Fran, the woman turning to look at her, and more importantly the keys and letter she held in her hands. The sight of it made Fran's eyes furrow.
"What does it say?" Fran asked as Ellie moved to sit at the table.
"To whomever, but probably Joel." She read out, making Fran nod, "I fall into whomever; right?"
"I think leave it for Joel," Fran said, knowing realistically what the note was, but not wanting to upset Ellie. The girl didn't listen, making Fran hold back her frustration by turning away.
She looked at the painting on a shelf behind her, a gorgeous beach covered in sun making a small smile appear. She ran her hand over it carefully, getting rid of the dust. It reminded her a lot of her childhood, the smell of the sea invading her senses.
The front door slammed from the wind, making her turn quickly to it, Joel, who'd also heard the noise; quickly made a return, calling out for the two girls.
She walked through to where she'd last seen Ellie, Joel appearing at her side. They both saw Ellie with the note, opened, in her hands, looking at the two with a saddened look.
"It's from Bill," Ellie said to Joel specifically, making Fran look to the man to gage a reaction. He didn't give anything away.
"To whomever but probably Joel," Ellie read out again, "figured I fell into the 'whomever.'" She explained, before pushing a key forward, "came with this."
Joel moved forward at that, taking his bag off of his back and setting it on the floor, picking up the key quickly.
"So they're dead?" Joel asked her, Fran's shoulders falling as she moved to stand next to where Ellie sat. Ellie just nodded at his question.
"Do you want to read it?" Fran asked him quietly, knowing the revelation couldn't of been an easy one. Joel shook his head, turning away from them for a second.
"Do you want me to?" She asked now, offering a different option, and Joel took a second, before nodding his head, not looking up.
"Yeah, you do it," he said quietly, making Fran take a deep breath. Ellie passed the letter to the woman, still looking down at the floor.
"August 29, 2023. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left the windows open so that the house wouldn't smell, but it will probably be a sight." Fran began, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear out of nerves as she willed her voice to not shake or crack, "I'm guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would've been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps."
She paused, looking from the paper to Joel, before mumbling the next like, "hehehehehehehehe."
She paused again after, an awkward feeling overcoming her as Ellie held back a smile, it was clear Fran didn't understand the tone, thinking it was a code for something rather than laughing just written down on a page.
"Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code, but in reverse. Anyway, I never liked you. But still, it's like we're friends. Almost. And I respect you. So, I'm gonna tell you something because you're probably the only person who will understand:" Fran said, taking a second to breathe, "I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That's what I did. I saved him, then I protected him. That's why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep..."
Fran stopped herself from going on, staring at the name on the page. Joel knew what was coming, and quickly took the paper off of her, reading the rest for himself quietly. Fran bit at her lip, an anxious habit as the smell of the rotting food suddenly hit her nose, every sense overflowing all at once.
"Stay here," Joel's voice shook as he talked, turning away quickly and heading out the door. Fran sighed, looking down at the ground as Ellie awkwardly hit the table with her knuckles.
"Well, this sucks." Ellie mumbled, as if the death of two of Joel's friends was just an inconvenience.
"Yeah," Fran whispered, sitting herself down on a chair and playing with her fingers.
"What do we do?" Ellie asked her.
"Wait." Fran replied simply.
They stayed in silence for twenty minutes or so, both in their own little worlds when Joel reopened the door, entering and focusing on Ellie.
"Show me your arm," He demanded, Ellie being quick to roll up her sleeve and show him the marks, still not infected.
Joel stared at it for a moment, contemplating what to say.
"I just finished makin' a truck battery, it's charging right now," he said to her.
"Okay," Ellie responded, rolling down her sleeve.
"And I have a brother out in Wyoming. He's in some kinda trouble, and I'm heading out there to find him. He used to be a Firefly. And my guess is, he knows where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is," He continued, laying out the plan ahead.
"All right." Ellie nodded, looking back at Fran for a moment, the woman didn't give her any hint of any emotion, and Ellie still felt bad about dragging Fran along with her in this whole situation, "Uh... listen, about Tess, uh–"
Joel held up his hand, stopping her, "If I'm takin' you with me, there's some rules you gotta follow. Both of you." He said, not capturing Fran's attention, "Rule one, You don't bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves."
The rule was more for him and Fran, seeing how she was earlier in the day when Ellie kept pressing her about the scar on her hand. That, and the young girl could be very invasive, not knowing when to quit.
"Rule two, don't tell anybody about your... condition. They see that bite mark, they won't think it through. They'll just shoot you," Joel told Ellie, making her nod. "Rule three, you do what I say, when I say it."
"Can i add a rule?" Fran asked, standing up from her seat and approaching the two. Joel hesitated before nodding.
"Ellie, if I say you shouldn't do something, please don't then do it," She told her, the frustration from earlier re-emerging, "I'm not telling you what to do to be annoying, I'm telling you what to do because I care. Alright?"
Ellie nodded silently at that.
"We clear on those rules?" Joel asked the two, but mostly Ellie. He watched Fran send him a nod of agreement.
"Yes," Ellie said quietly to him.
"Repeat it," Joel told her.
"What you say goes."
"Okay," Joel sighed out. A silence falling over the group.
"So, what now?" Ellie asked the two.
"We grab what we can."
-
Upon Joel's plan, Fran had allowed herself to leave the two to forage in Bill's basement, and took it upon herself to explore the rest of the town. She had her bag on her back, and had first headed to the small clothes store that was there.
Upon heading in, it was nice to see some clothes still on a rack, others were in piles. Small signs were still up, directing where the women's section was and where the men's section was.
She ran her hand along all the clothes, taking it upon herself to look through for any that could be helpful on the trip.
She found herself some long wear jeans that had a small flare on the bottom, and a cute little patchwork design of a flower on the front left pocket, along with a black top that hugged her nicely.
She found a pair of jeans for Joel, along with a flannel that she thought would fit him nicely and the same for Ellie, just a red shirt instead of a flannel, and a grey long sleeve in case she got cold.
She held them all under her arm as she left, heading to the next store she saw, the wine store, and if someone could have hearts for eyes, it would be Fran at the idea of having alcohol that wasn't moonshine.
She walked in, spring in her step, and placed the clothes she'd found on a little ledge by the front door. The wine shop was vast, almost empty, but a couple of bottles laid around the place.
She picked them up, inspecting the labels, finding a 1967 red wine bottle and putting it in her bag. Not a necessity, but a lovely treat for herself. A pat on the back.
She went to leave, taking the clothes back into her arms and leaving the store, sun bright on her face when she spotted Joel and Ellie in the garage of Bill and Franks, the garage door open.
She was practically skipping over there in delight of her finds as Joel and Ellie put cans of food into their packs, and her joy only grew as she heard Ellie tell Joel.
"They have hot water!" There was joy in Ellie's voice as she spoke, Fran making it into the garage, "im taking a shower; and then so are you two," She said to the two, Joel now seeing Fran's arrival, "because seriously..."
"Cheeky," Fran shakes her head, "I found you both clothes."
She laid the clothes down over what Joel was doing with the cans, making the man raise an eyebrow at her. She carefully picked up a pair of jeans, and the two tops for Ellie, passing them over with a smile as Ellie raved about finally having fresh clothing and walked out to find the bathroom.
"And for you," Fran said, holding out the outfit she had for Joel, Joel just stared at her for a second; before accepting the gifts. At that point though, Fran had spotted the guns on the far wall, heart dropping at one missing.
"Did Ellie-" she started, Joel already knowing what she was gonna ask.
"No," He said, "she's a kid."
"Good," Fran nodded, watching as he walked over to the wall and grabbed a gun similar to his own. He checked the ammo in it, going to another little box and looking over at her.
"Come here," he said to her; gesturing with his head. Fran put the clothes back down and hesitantly walked over, eyes on the gun in his hand as he took all the bullets out.
He passed it over to her, her looking at him in confusion as she took it slowly.
"Hold it up," he said, pointing to the view from the open garage door, and Fran did as told, holding it up with one shaking hand, the other overlapping like Tess had taught her, grip tight.
"Good," he nodded, moving closer to the weapon, "where's the safety?"
"Uh..." Fran thought for a second, before looking at him for help. His hand barely touched her own as he moved one of her fingers to it; turning it off.
"There;" he said, "there's no bullets, but I want you to imagine you're shooting the bush over there."
She looks up at him at that, clearly uncomfortable, he stares back, not giving anything away. He just nods.
She looks forward again, hands still shaking and pulls the trigger. The gun makes a small sound of air escaping, and she closes her eyes.
"Good," He mumbles, "breathe out when you take the shot, helps you to be steady and calm."
He pulls away from her then, taking the gun and putting in a round of bullets, he passes it back, safety now on, and she takes it, holding it at her side.
"And again," he says to her, making her eyes widen.
"But there's bullets-"
"I know;" he nods, "you need to know what the recoil is like," he explains, waiting for her to lift it again. She does so, slowly, and holds it; hands now shaking heavier as she struggles to keep it still.
"I don't think-"
"You can," he cuts her off, "it's just some leaves."
She nods, finger reaching to take off the safety, and then takes a deep breath. Joel's hand moves to lay flat against the middle of her shoulder blades on her back.
She breathes out, and pulls the trigger - the force makes her stumble; Joel's hand keeping her steady as her ears ring from the loud noise. They heard Ellie from the bathroom yell "what the fuck!" But Fran was more shocked by the fact she'd missed the bush, and shot the window of the shop she'd only been in ten minutes ago.
She lowered her hands, whole body shaking as Joel moved his hand off of her, putting the safety back on. The gun felt hot in her hands as he took it.
"Good," he nodded, passing it back, "you'll get better with time."
She didn't want to get better with time.
She didn't want any of this at all.
"I'm- I'm gonna go wait for Ellie;" She says quietly, putting the gun in her pocket and grabbing her clothes, leaving the room. Joel watches her go, small frown on his face.
Wyoming couldn't come soon enough.
A/N
Hope you're enjoying the story so far!