Chapter Ten
Kansas City
Fran woke up early the next morning, the sun only just starting to rise in the sky. The sleeping bag next to her was empty, making her sit up as she yawned, still coming back to the land of the conscious.
Joel was stood not too far away, gun in hand, looking out into the expanse of the trees. She mumbled something to herself, before standing up.
"Joel?" She called quietly, still aware of Ellie who was now half in her sleeping back, half on the forest floor, completely sprawled out.
He turned towards her, trying not to stare at the fact her shirt had risen in her sleep showing off her stomach, yet to sort it out.
"Mornin," he mumbled to her as she grabbed her jacket from the floor, throwing it on.
"How long have you been up?" She asks, walking over to where he is and looking out at the expanse of trees.
"Hour or so," he lies.
"Would you like coffee?" She asks then, making him turn to her confused. She just smiles, going over to her bag and grabbing it. She'd stolen the last of it from the kitchen just before they left.
She put it in the kettle, along with some water, and turned on the small stove, getting it all set up in order to boil. Joel watching her the whole time. She picked up the dishes and pot from the night before along with a nearby rag, and walked back over to him.
He expected her to stop, but she didn't, walking past and further away.
"Where are you goin'?" He asked her, her motioning with her head to the small stream. He watched her take a seat by the side of it, legs crossed over. She put the dishes into it carefully, rag lying over her leg, and started to carefully clean them off.
He looked back over at Ellie for a moment, before walking over to Fran after seeing that she'd be fine - people were easier to spot during the day. He perched himself next to her, hearing her hum to herself as she cleaned off the pot in the water.
He took the rag from her leg, her sending him a small smile as she handed him the clean pot, him drying it.
"My first job was a dishwasher," Fran told him as she started to clean the cutlery, "I worked in this small family owned restaurant called del borgo after school."
She passed him the cutlery as he listened, using the pot to store the clean metal.
"I always wanted it all to be perfect," she says with a small smile, "Rosaria, the lady who owned the place, always told me it didn't matter as long as they were clean. Her husband, Stefano always told her to leave me be."
"How long did you work there?" Joel asked quietly watching her clean up Ellie's plate that had practically been licked clean from the night before.
"A year, I was fourteen and it was quick money. Cash in hand," She says, "my sister worked there too, but she got fired because she kept talking back to customers. She tried to argue against it, saying if she did it was because she was 'defending Rosaria's honour'." She chuckled as she said it, a small smile on Joel's face too.
"My brother's the same," Joel said, taking the plate from her, "always doing somethin' to get him in trouble."
"Were you quiet as a kid?" She asked him then, looking up to see they were quite close, legs touching. Joel thought for a moment to himself as he put the plate down.
"A little," he responds.
"Me too," she smiled, picking up the final dish left to wash, "most of the time my sister just spoke for me. Knew what I wanted to say. She could speak English better than me, too."
"You speak fluent," Joel argued. "That's pretty good."
"I do now; yeah," she nodded, "had to figure it out when everything happened. I wasn't fluent when we first got here though - my teachers thought I was stupid."
"I doubt it," Joel shook his head at that.
"What was the envelope joke yesterday?" Fran suddenly asked, "I didn't get it at all, still don't."
"It's a bad joke," Joel says to her.
"What is the joke?" She responds as she cleans off her hands.
"An envelope is classed as stationary, like a pen, or a pencil," He explains, "stationary also means when something isn't moving, so if an envelope moves it is still technically stationary."
"Oh," Fran nods, "bad joke."
The two stood up, Fran taking half of the cleaned dishes as Joel took the other, the rag now over his shoulder, "do you know any better ones?" Fran asked then, Joel sending her a small look that she only smiled at in return.
"Did you hear the rumor about butter?" He asked her.
"No," she shook her head.
"We'll I'm not gonna spread it," at her deadpan look, he let out a small huff, "I tried."
"I can do better than that, that was awful," Fran says to him as they reach the car, putting the clean plates back in the box in the trunk.
"Yeah?"
"Mhm," Fran hums.
"Go on," He says, taking a step away, "the floor is yours."
"What did the ocean say to the beach?" She asked him, at his silence, she continued, "Nothing; it just waved."
"Hilarious;" he said, making her giggle as he shook his head.
The sound of complaining took them away from their laughs, looking over to see Ellie over the coffee, looking absolutely disgusted as she woke up, "what the fuck is that?"
"You don't like coffee?" Joel asked her, eyebrows raised. At his comment, Ellie just collapsed back in her sleeping bag, letting out a groan.
-
They were back on the road, Ellie still in the back as Joel and Fran shared the coffee they had made.
"Is that seriously what those Starbucks in the QZ used to sell?" Ellie asked from the back, still grossed out by the smell.
"Well, theirs was a lot fresher than what Bill saved up, but, yeah, this is what they sold," Joel answered her, taking the coffee from Fran after she opened the top.
"Smells like burnt shit;" Ellie told them, as if it was an insult directly to them. Joel's response was just to slurp it up loudly.
"Ah, ah!" Fran stopped him, hating the sound and taking the coffee from his hand, "I'm still drinking that too, don't be gross."
"Eyes on the map," Joel said to Ellie upon seeing her look through the mirror. Ellie mumbled something to herself, before looking at the map she insisted she had to read.
"76 west and then... 70 west for, like, ever,"
She told him the directions, putting the map down to see Joel, "Where in Wyoming did you say your brother was?"
"Last contact came through a radio tower close to Cody." Joel answered, taking the coffee back off of Fran.
"Cody. Cody, Cody," Ellie sang as she looked for it on the map, "Ah, man. That is deep up in there."
"Yeah?" Fran asked, turning to the girl in the back who pointed it out.
"And if he's not there?" Ellie asked as the woman trailed the route with her finger.
"Then odds are he'll be near a settlement, probably close to another city out there." He answers, "Ain't too many of 'em in Wyoming."
"Chee-Yen," Fran read out quietly, "shi-enne."
"Cheyenne." Joel corrected her.
"Che... really?" She asked, Ellie moving her head with her hand so she could look at the map too.
"Cheyenne... Laramie... Casper?" Ellie continued to read out different cities. "What's his name?"
"Whose name?" Joel asked in return.
"Your brother."
"Tommy," Joel answered, Fran thinking back to their conversation earlier. If she had to guess she'd say Joel is the older one, the more protective one.
"Is he younger?" She asked him, earning herself a nod from him.
"Why isn't he with you?" Ellie asked then, and Fran could see the hesitance on his face to answer.
He settled for a short answer, "A long story."
"How long?" Ellie asked.
"Ellie-" Fran cut in, sending her a look. She's been getting on well with Joel, and didn't want something like this to ruin it.
"Is it longer than 25 hours? 'Cause I think that's what we got," Ellie continued; ignoring Fran's warning. Fran settled back in her seat, eyes on Joel as Ellie kept her head through the gap in the Center console.
"Tommy's what we used to call a joiner," Joel said after a small moment, "Dreams of becomin' a hero. So he enlisted in the Army right outta high school. A few months later, they ship him off to Desert Storm."
At the confused look from both girls he explained, "It's what they called that war. It doesn't matter." Fran nodded, "Point is, bein' in the Army didn't make him feel much like a hero. Cut to 12 years later, outbreak happens. He convinces me to join a group makin' their way up to Boston, which I did... mostly to keep an eye on him, keep him alive. It's where we met Tess. And that whole crew, we, uh..."
He hesitated on what to say for a second, remembering how uncomfortable Fran was last night at the mention of people, dangerous people, and decided not to delve further into that topic.
"Well, for what it was, it worked," He settled on; "And then Tommy meets Marlene. She talks him into joinin' the Fireflies. Same mistake he made when he was 18. Wants to save the world. Pipe dream. Him, Fireflies, all of 'em... delusional. 'Course, last I heard, he quit the Fireflies, too. So now he's on his own out there, and... I gotta go get him."
"If you don't think there's hope for the world, why bother going on?" Ellie asked him, caught up on the idea of a pipe dream. Considering whatever happened to her was the cure, she didn't like that viewpoint of them, "I mean, you gotta try, right?"
"You haven't seen the world, so you don't know," Joel says to her, "You keep goin' for family. That's about it."
The mention of the word is enough for Fran to sink back in her seat. In terms of surviving, she'd done it for herself. There was a time when she thought it'd be better to go, retinite with those she'd lost in some place beyond the living realm, but her fear of death put a stop to it. At least it did after a while.
"I'm not family." Ellie's response was small, Fran no longer completely clocked into the conversation.
"No... you're cargo." Joel responds, "And I made a promise to Tess. And she was like family."
The comment hurt Ellie as she looked over to Fran to see what she thought of the statement, but Fran's eyes were locked on the outside world, biting at her nails.
"What about Fran?" Ellie asked quietly.
"She's with you," Joel answers.
"Yeah, but-"
"Enough," Joel cut her off quickly; casting a glance to the woman who wasn't listening anymore, eyes on the horizon as she bit back tears.
She missed her family every day. She missed having those people she thought would always be there. The people she always thought she would be laughing with forever.
"What if you don't find him?" Ellie asks Joel.
"I will," Joel responds, not even thinking about that outcome.
"How do you know?"
"I'm persistent." Joel responds, "Ya got up pretty early. If you wanna grab more sleep..."
"Pfft. I'm not even tired," Ellie mumbled, sitting back in her seat. Before long the girl was out cold, lightly snoring as she lay across the back couple of seats. Fran still had yet to speak, staring out the window.
"You alright?" Joel asked her quietly, Fran only nodding her head. Joel sighed, patting her leg twice completely without thinking before looking out ahead. Fran froze at the contact, before settling into her heat, eyes now forward.
"You alright?" She asked him back, voice still slightly hoarse from holding back her tears.
"Im alright." He nodded his head, both settling into a needed silence as Ellie snored away.
-
It was midday when they got to Kansas. Ellie now awake once more as they rolled up the highway. Joel had stopped the car upon seeing a massive truck blocking the tunnel leading through to the other side.
"Stay put;" he told the two, leaving the car with his gun, going to check it out. Fran just sighed, leaning back in her seat as Ellie climbed through to be in the drivers seat.
"What are you doing, hm?" Fran asked her, looking over with a small smile. Ellie just smiled back, lifting her legs to her chest and her back against the door, the look in her eye enough to let Fran know something was going on, now asking with more force, "what are you doing?"
"Joel likes you," Ellie responds simply, Fran's eyes widening at the accusation.
"What?" She asked her, very confused.
"And I think you like him," Ellie said, making Fran shake her head rather aggressively.
"No." She stopped the girl.
"What do you mean no?" Ellie laughed, seeing the woman worked up was funny.
"I mean no!" Fran said back, looking to see if Joel was near enough to hear, the man was still looking around, rather annoyed at the obstacle.
"I saw you two at the little stream, washing plates together;" Ellie says, singing half of it with a wide smile, "how domestic."
"You are so strange," Fran said to her, "we don't like each other."
"You love each-other?" Ellie asked.
"No!" Fran slapped her arm, Ellie just laughing harder.
"To him i'm cargo; but you..." Ellie starts.
"Stop it," Fran tells her, reaching for the door.
"Maybe he'll make you your own special magazine-"
Fran didn't wait to hear the end of it, climbing out the car and slamming the door. She could hear Ellie's loud laugh even through the metal, the woman walking around the car.
Joel, who had seen her out of the car, started to walk over. Fran not paying him any mind as she opened the drivers door, pulling a laughing Ellie out and shoving her into the back seat again.
"What's got her all laughin'?" Joel asked Fran, rubbing at his forehead.
"Nothing important," Fran just said quickly, going back to her own seat and avoiding looking at the kissy faces Ellie was making.
Both her and Joel got back into the car, Joel reaching for the map by Ellie.
"Where are we?" Ellie asks after calming down, head back between them, but Fran wasn't having that. She put her palm over Ellie's face, pushing her head back into the back seats so she could see the map.
"Kansas City." Joel answered, ignoring the two's weird antics.
"How far back do we have to go to get around this?" Fran asked him, making him sigh and pass her the map.
"Screw it," he mumbled to himself, starting up the car.
"What are you doing?" Ellie asked as Joel started turning the car.
"We can jog right around this tunnel... take the next ramp... and we're back on the road," He answered her, hand going behind Fran's seat to reverse and turn around, "Minute tops."
They drove quickly; heading off the highway and up a separate road. The whole place was abandoned, the roads turning in ways they weren't expecting.
"Where the fսck is the highway?" Joel asked Fran, who was looking at the map in confusion.
"I can't tell from this. I'm all turned around." She said to him, trying to look closer.
"Don't look at the state map. Look at the inset." He said to her.
"What is an inset!" She asks him, Ellie snatching the map off of her.
"I'll find it!" She said; looking over it; "I don't- I can't even find Kansas."
"Near Argentine," He says to her, his voice more pressing as he turns down another road.
"Well, I don't know where Argentine is either!" Ellie says to him at his annoyed tone, him letting an annoyed 'fuck!' At her answer; "This is my second day in a fսcking car, man. I mean, I think we're heading north?"
"It's gotta be the right." Joel says quietly, Fran looking out for any signs that could help.
"Stop!" Ellie yelled at him, making Joel slam on the breaks, Fran falling forward and almost hitting the dashboard if it wasn't for Joel's arm.
"What?" Fran asked, looking back at Ellie to see where she was looking.
"Is that the QZ?" Ellie asked them, making them both look to Joel's window, a large stone wall with open gates was there, looking completely abandoned, "Where the fսck is FEDRA?"
"Joel..." Fran mumbled as his head thought about the same thing. No Fedra meant a big problem of either people or infected. Infected - there'd be too many, people - they'd be desperate.
"Hey!" A new voice was heard up ahead, making both of them look to see a man, limping and holding his mid section, "Please help!"
Fran's eyes immediately widened, leaning back in her seat as Joel looked to Ellie.
"Put your seatbelt on," He told the younger girl; the same instruction going to Fran who was quick to secure herself.
"Aren't we gonna help him?" Ellie asked.
"No." Joel answered, before accelerating towards the man.
The man jumped out of the way, yelling as they sped through the alley. Fran spotting a man up ahead with a cement block ready to drop.
"Joel!" She yelled, him only catching what she was yelling for as they drove past, the man dropping the block onto the windshield, and completely cracking it. Fran's arms went to cover her face, small pieces of glass raining on them.
Joel however was determined, trying to straighten out the vehicle and unknowingly going over spikes set out to pop tires. The car lurched and cried at the action as Fran looked back to check on Ellie, the girl looking absolutely terrified.
Joel tried to keep in control of the vehicle as a man stepped out, rifle in hand.
"Fran!" Ellie yelled, making the woman turn to the front again only to see the guy. Joel was quick to swerve the car to avoid being shot; landing them through the window of an old laundromat, smashing against the old washing machines.
Fran fell forward at the action, seatbelt almost choking her as she tried to calm herself down.
"Are you okay?" She yelled to Ellie in the back, terrified pants leaving her as her hands shook wildly.
"Yeah," Ellie nodded quickly.
"You're not hurt?" Joel asked Fran quickly; the woman shaking her head quickly when gunshots started to go off. Fran let out a petrified cry, Joel pushing her head down.
"Belts off. Fast!" Joel yelled to the two as the glass on the windows shattered. Fran's hands shook as she tried to get her belt off, lunging herself out the door as soon as she was free. She moved to help Ellie quickly as Joel made his way out.
Ellie practically fell onto Fran, holding the girl
tightly as Joel moved around them, grabbing his gun from the back.
"Oh my god; oh my god," Fran cried out in a whisper, holding Ellie as tightly as she could. Joel grabbed the gun, closing the door and looking around him.
"Let's see you, mοthеrfսckеr!" There was a yell from one of the men shooting at them as Joel loaded the gun, "Give us your shit, you make it through this! I promise!"
"Hey, you see that hole?" Joel spoke to Ellie in specific; the girl looking over to see a small hole in the wall, "Can you squeeze through?"
More gunfire rained over them, hitting the side of the car. Ellie nodded at him, still holding onto Fran tightly.
"Last chance!"
"When I say go, you crawl to that wall, and you squeeze through, and you don't come out until I say, okay?" He said to Ellie as more gunfire went off around them, "They're not gonna hit you. Look at me!"
Joel moved Ellie away from Fran as the window above the two shattered, Fran moving to cover her head, "They're not gonna hit you. You stay down, you stay low, you stay quiet."
"Mm-hmm," Ellie mumbled.
"Fran?" Joel called to her, the woman a complete mess as her whole body shook, "gun out. You remember what I told you. You stay low."
"Okay," Fran nodded, fumbling for the gun in her pocket.
"Okay," Joel took a second to ready himself, before jumping up and getting his gun in position; yelling to Ellie, "Go!"
The gunfire was loud as she watched Ellie crawl on the ground towards the hole. Joel shot at them just as much as they shot back as Fran held the gun at her feet.
Joel shot another shot when Ellie was through and safe, hitting a man straight in the chest. There was silence for a moment, Joel using it to grab Fran's arm and pull her closer to him. He could feel the tremor in her arm as he did it, having her shoulder to shoulder with him as she tried to catch a frantic breath.
"Fuck!" They heard the angered yell of one of the men, "You mοthеrfսckеr!"
At the continued silence, Joel grabbed Fran's arm, moving them away from the car and behind a line of washing machines further back. Fran was now facing joel, breathing heavily as Joel kept ahold of her arm.
"Shhh," he whispered to her, motioning his head to the car, where the man was starting to approach. Fran nodded quickly, hand coming to cover her mouth two loud gunshots went off. She stayed frozen from her crouched position.
Joel was stood, having given the quick blow, the man now dead on the floor.
"Joel-" Fran breathed quick, panting breaths as she stood in a complete state of panic, hand on her shoulder, "Joel!" She cried out.
He made his way to her quickly to see what the problem was, moving her hand to see the blood starting to pour from her shoulder, whispering a 'fuck' as he lowered the shoulder on her top to see the damage.
Upon seeing no actual bullet hole, he felt the fear that had took over his whole being simmer, knowing she would be fine.
"It's just a graze," he said to her quickly, trying to calm her panic as his hand went to her other shoulder, "it's just a graze, you're gonna be fine." He promises her quickly, her shaking her head as tears fall.
"Fi, look at me," he grabs her face in his hands, hoping that the focus will help her breathe, "you're gonna be fine, you hear me?"
She nodded her head roughly against his hands, when suddenly the door opened behind him, a man coming through.
"Joel!"
Joel was quick to turn using the end of his gun to push the boy's gun up, shooting at the roof. Fran flinched away in panic, falling to the floor as she watched the two wrestle. Her gun was still in one hand, the thing clattering with how much she was shaking as she watched the boy push Joel against the washing machines.
"No!" She cried as the boy tackled him to the floor, using the gun to choke him.
"Now you're gonna fսck¡n' pay! What you fսck¡n' did, you fսck¡n' killed yourself, mοthеrfսckеr!" He yelled at Joel, Joel just trying to breathe against him. Fran kept herself as quiet as she could as she raised her gun, shaking hands trying to get a good shot as he spotted her from the corner of his eye, "You're next you bitch!"
With shaking hands, Fran shot at him, hoping to everything holy that she didn't hit Joel, not realising Ellie had done the same thing.
While Fran's shot hit the ground nearby; Ellie's landed right in his leg, the boy crying out as he fell to the floor next to Joel.
Fran ran to Joel, who was gasping and wheezing on the floor, patting his back as she tried to help him up. She looked up then to see Ellie with the gun still raised at the boy, eyes wide.
"No, no, no, no, no! It's okay. It's okay!" The boy from the floor sounded desperate as he stared at Ellie; "It's over. We're not fighting anymore. I'm gonna go home. I'll tell everyone you're good."
Fran helped Joel onto his knees as she tried to ignore the cries of the boy.
"I don't know what to do." He cried to them, "My legs don't work. My mom isn't far, if you could get me to her. We could trade with you guys. We could be friends. I didn't know."
She managed to get Joel onto his feet; stepping away and closer to Ellie, heart breaking at the boys cries as if he hadn't almost killed Joel.
"I'm Bryan. I'm Bryan. What's your name?" The boy cried to Ellie; and Fran was quick to take the the gun off of the younger girl; Joel joining her sides.
Joel took the gun from Fran, quickly turning to the boy and raising it.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The boy cried, Fran's hand coming to grab Joel's arm, stopping him. He looked at her for a moment. Her gesturing with her eyes to Ellie, who shouldn't have to see this.
"You can have it..." a clatter of something made her jump, looking back at the boy who had put a knife on the ground, "It's a good knife!"
"Get back behind the wall." Joel told Ellie; who had tears in her eyes.
"No, no, no, no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, please. We could just talk." The boy begged, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, please."
"Go," Fran pushed softly on Ellie's shoulder, turning the girl who began to walk.
"No, no, no! Please! No, please!" His yells got louder as Ellie walked away, knowing his chances of making it out alive just dropped completely:
The sound of them making Fran close her eyes to stop tears.
"Turn around," Joel said to Fran then, hand on her good shoulder.
She stared at him, the boy still crying in front of them.
"Please, Fran," Joel whispered.
"Fran! Fran is a beautiful name!" The boy yelled to them now, Fran's eyes shooting to him in shock, "Please, Fran! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! We have bandages that can help your shoulder!"
The mention of the wound made Fran falter, but made Joel angrier, "Please! You don't have to do this! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! No, no, no! We can just talk!"
Fran looked to Joel then, a tear falling down her cheek as she slowly turned, hands coming up to cover her ears.
"Please! I'm sorry! Please! Mom! Mom! Mom!"
A shot.
Silence.