¹epiphany ─ j. miller

I Need a Car

CHAPTER TEN
SUMMER
I NEED A CAR

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"Is that the old water tower?" Elva asked, the group walking down an old deserted road that led to the town of Lincoln. "God. Some things don't change." She exclaimed.

Joel nodded. "It should be faster to cut through the road."'

Ellie nodded and they jumped over the metal fence dividing the road from the wilderness, stepping onto rocks and into a largely overgrown area. The only signs of life around them were some footpaths, probably carved in by Bill himself.

"Man..." Ellie spoke, looking around in awe as the group walked down the path.

"What?" Joel asked.

"Nothing- It's just, I've never seen anything like this, that's all."

"You mean the woods?" Elva smirked, trying not to trip over roots that had dug into the ground over time.

"Yeah. Never walked through the woods." Ellie stated. "It's kinda cool."

Even though it was a horrible situation, they had to admit, the sun pouring through the trees and rocks that surrounded them was beautiful. Joel remembered all the times he, Elva and Tommy had cut through those woods to help Bill set up his own town. They thought he would let people in and quarantine after that, but they were wrong.

"Hey, Joel?" Ellie inquired, the man nodding and continuing to walk ahead of her, through the thick bushes. "Why don't you just take us back to Marlene?"

"If she was up to the task, why'd she drop you two off on us?"

"Well, maybe she's better now." She paused. "Plus, I already have an adult with me. It just doesn't make much sense, that's all."

I know that FEDRA wouldn't let some kid hang around with someone who used to hang around with the Fireflies." He stated, pointing to Elva.

"Ellie, we wouldn't have survived a second out there. FEDRA is looking all over for you, it'd be much worse if it was just me, you and Marlene." The woman spoke, walking through a small river flowing down in between the rock mounds.

"But Marlene would be there. She could protect us."

"Kid, I don't mean to upset you, but Marlene's chances of survival weren't too high to begin with." Joel spoke. "Every single Firefly is under heavy investigation by FEDRA. One slip up, they're dead."

"She's a lot tougher than you think." Ellie rebutted.

"It doesn't matter." Joel stated, readjusting the straps on his backpack. "'Cause I doubt that we could get you and Marlene back into the city in one piece. Trust me. I wish there was some other option."

A rabbit ran by as they were walking up to the wall that separated the wild woods and Bill's town. "Woah, hey buddy." Ellie exclaimed as it ran back into the trees.

"They're cute little things, aren't they?" Elva asked, smiling as she spotted its little ears poking out of one of the bushes.

"Yeah. Apparently they used to be common house pets, which is unbelievable." The young girl smiled, imagining a world where she could have a pet dog, or maybe even a cat.

"My friend had one for a while, but it was kind of crazy." Elva scoffed. "It would attack me every time I came over."

Ellie snorted. "That would've been a sight to see."

Joel approached the town gate. "Well, shit." He spoke, tugging on the chain. Locked, as per usual. Bill took many precautions, he was just a tad paranoid, per say.