Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
hey, now now goodbye love
- david bowie
The brown walls of this damned abandoned complex started to haunt me. There had always been a sinking feeling I had with the fireflies. They were never something I choose. Within the few years, that I remember, before the outbreak; I never was truly happy. I never had anything that made me want to fight for my life. Marlene made me join when she found out about Ellie. When I found out that my teen of a mother was now an adult and had another kid; I was enraged to say the less. That was until I met Ellie, I saw something in her that I never thought to see in myself. I saw purpose. The fireflies broke me harder than my trauma from those years before the breakout. Unlike most, the outbreak has been a lot more enjoyable than the years before. Looking for the light wasn't even half of it.
Ellie became the light I was needing in my life. As she turned 14, I knew it was time I left that damn group. I never trusted them, never. Yet, I had no choice. Marlene was always aware of this. She knew that it was time for me to step down as second in command but it wouldn't come without a price. The price was much higher than I wanted it to be. Choosing has always been difficult for me, but this time seemed to hurt more. This price was to leave Ellie. From Marlene's twisted view, I had to bring Ellie to the hospital for those damn scientists to use her as a guinea pig. Well, that was until I got shot. Which leads us to where we are, face to face with my soulmate.
Like many others, I had heard of him before. He was known to be one of the best smugglers. At times, he was proven to be quite an asshole. Later, I would learn to love that side of him. The pain in my shoulder grew as I turned my head to face Marlene.
" She's not leaving without me " My voice came out in mere murmurs. The pain was so unbearable that I could barely let a word out. Ellie's gaze was on him. Joel. Joel Miller the smuggler. " I'm not leaving with these fuckers without Jersey. " Tess turned to face Joel before they nodded at each other. " We're not bringing a wounded firefly weasel with us. " Ellie snarled at her as she began to open her mouth. " Ellie, don't even think about it. " She seemed to have been taken aback by the words but relaxed when she realized it was me who spoke them. Marlene sighed and took a step towards me to examine my shoulder. " Wounded my ass, he'll be fine in an hour as always. FEDRA is minutes away I need you to take her and him now. " Both Joel and Tess cringed as she put emphasis on him.
Without much more thought, the four of us made our way into the rain. There was a weird tension between Joel and me. We had never met and he hated me. Whereas his girlfriend knew me quite well, she liked me quite a bit too. She had once called me a weasel before as a mere joke. When she spoke those words, I knew for certain they were going to take me along. A sting began to become emanate in my shoulder. I winced in pain as both Ellie and Tess looked at me. " We have some supplies back at our place; you should stitch the wounded and disinfect it before it gets infected. " A smug chuckle left my lips quietly. " Tell me something I don't know Tess. " She pushed me lightly. " You're horrible at pretending to be straight. "
As we arrived at the apartment, the couple pushed Ellie and me in, locking the door behind us. The apartment wasn't unfamiliar to me. Tess had brought me here to hide one day when Joel was out. Maybe that was what rooted his hatred for me. I knew she did that behind his back but I thought he would have understood why. The closest thing I could find to disinfect the wound was what appeared to be whiskey. I took a swig before placing some on a rag and applying it to the wound. The needle and tread had been on the table. They must have used them within the last few days. As I made the last stitch, Joel unlocked the door and made his way to the couch.
" Your turn, firefly. " He sighed softly as I made my way to the hall, closing the door behind me. " How's the gash? " Tess took a closer look at my stitching and chuckled slightly. " You've gotten better, I see. " She readjusted her backpack as she placed her hand on my other shoulder. " What's your problem with my boyfriend? " As I took a step back, her arm fell to her side. " Boyfriend? Since when are you two sleeping together? " The mood between us shifted. Tess always seemed calm around me; I'm not sure why that changed. " Oh cut the horseshit. I see the way you look at him. " The walls seemed to start closing in on me. It wasn't like I meant to look at him like that. He's extremely intimidating and in good shape for his age. Yet, with Ellie in my hands, I wasn't looking for anything serious. " Tess, calm the fuck down. I may not know Joel personally but I can tell he wouldn't do that to you. I'm not looking for anything serious right now and I'm sure if he was single, he wouldn't be looking for someone like me. "
Tess turned and took a step toward the staircase. She faced me before going down them. " He's unlabeled you know. Always thought he was more into guys. " As she went down the stairs, her words echoed in my head. His head turned to face the door as I walked in. I closed the door behind me before sitting down on the floor near Ellie with my back resting against the wall. My go-bag now sat beside me. With one swift movement, I retrieved my walkman and a mixtape. The sound of Eddie Money's Take Me Home Tonight rang in my ears as I slid my headphones on. When I opened my eyes, I hadn't realized how much time had passed. Joel and Ellie were speaking to each other, something about the smuggler code. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his on me. His gaze shifted back to Ellie as I stood up just as Tess arrived back at the apartment.
As her eyes shifted to Joel, I noticed something was off; he was still fixated on me. I brushed it off as we made our way out into the street once again. The rain had gotten worse over the few hours we had spent inside. There was this odd sensitivity to Joel, it wasn't very apparent but from the right view and being the right person you'd see it. What I didn't know at time was the baggage we shared. We were both broken in ways we didn't know could be healed. Healed by something we both rejected for years. As we turned a corner, a man was standing in the dark. It was clear he was on patrol and definitely not doing what he was supposed to be doing.
With a swift motion, he pointed his gun at Ellie and I. " You gotta be shitting me " Joel looked between us 3 as he took a few steps towards the patrol officer. " Okay, let's talk this out. " The two argued for awhile. I was almost frozen. I knew this patrol guy. He knew who I was. " I said stay the fuck home. Now you're out with a goddamn firefly. " Tess told us to get on our knees in obeisance. The patrol officer put his gun to my head, something I had gotten used to over the years. My eyes darted to him then at Ellie. If I'm honest, I wouldn't mine dying if it meant Ellie was safe. " We're gonna do this by the book. " The patrol officer placed the sensor on my neck, which then turned green. As he got to Ellie, his gun was still on me. Joel lunched forward and tackled him, throwing punches at him violently. Ellie watched with such admiration. I watched him with such lust that Tess hit me in one swift motion as she called out for Joel, showing him a red sensor.
" Jersey, are you fucking kidding me? She's infected " As I brought myself back to reality, I noticed Ellie freaking out at her. " She's not infected. She's immune, got bitten over 3 weeks ago. " Joel stood up as he looked at his knuckles, now bloody from is violent acts. " We'll talk about this later now we need to leave. Now! " Tess shouted as she let us to the outskirts of town where we snuck under a fence which would lead to an unlikely romance.
