|Never Let Me Down Again||Joel Miller|

Chapter Eight

"Joel. Joel. Joel." Tess growled. She was met with no response. Frustrated, Tess threw off her blanket and walked over to Joel. She leaned down and shook him awake.

"What?" Joel said, still half asleep.

"Your little friend is missing." Tess motioned towards the empty sleeping bag crumpled on the floor.

"Shit." Joel said, throwing his blankets off of himself.

"Where'd she go?" Joel said to himself as he began searching the abandoned grocery store that they'd taken up residence in. Tess and Joel had converted the back room into their hideout over the past few months. The two of them had been taking a few smuggling jobs in and out of the Boston QZ, which had been providing them with a couple extra batches of supplies. The grocery store had been feverishly looted already, not helping Joel and Tess very much in the way of survival.

"Lookin' for something?" Caroline said as she appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a blank tank top and army green cargo pants. She held a gun on her side.

"Uhh, yeah. You." Joel said shyly.

Tess shot him a puzzled glance. She'd never seen him act this way before. "What do you think you're doing? We brought you here, to our hideout. And you have the audacity to just walk around?"

"Relax, Tessa. I was just scouting out the area. Thought I heard somethin' and you and Joel didn't move a muscle, so I went out and checked. Just some raccoons. You're welcome." Caroline said as she walked past Tess and headed for her sleeping bag.

"It's Tess." She said quietly as Caroline brushed past her. "Really Joel? This is who you chose to take in?"

Joel just shrugged as Tess fumed at him. "Joel? A word" Tess said as she motioned towards the front door.

"Yeah, sure." He said, following her out.

"Joel Miller. What is your problem?" Tess said, standing with her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry, Tess. I really am. It's just-well, she reminds me of my past."

"Joel. Be honest with me. Who is this girl to you?" Tess dropped her angered tone and took a more sympathetic approach.

"She was my first girlfriend. I loved her. If I didn't follow Tommy to the military I probably would have married her."

"I understand that she reminds you of bad memories." Tess said as she took his hand. "But we have got to keep on pushing. We can't let this girl ruin what we've got. Do you understand that?"

Joel sighed. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry I've been acting strange. I'll work on it."

"Thank you. I know you promised her a few nights here with us. But eventually we're gonna have to continue on the mission."

"Are we just going to kick her out?" Joel asked, showing concern in his voice.

"Well what do you think we should do, Joel? Let her come with us? I don't think Leo would like that."

"I don't care what Leo thinks. It's rude to just kick her out."

"Oh, so now we're worried about manners? The whole freaking world ended. I don't give a shit about manners."

"Well maybe I do."  Joel said as he marched back into the store.

"Nice talk?" Caroline said to Joel as she was sitting on her sleeping bag, sharpening her knife.

"Not now." Joel said sharply.

"We need to talk." Tess said as she came back into the store and walked towards Caroline. "You can stay with us for two more days. Then Joel and I have to go and so do you."

"Well thank you for your generous offer. But I actually will be leaving today."

"Wait, why?" Joel asked, confused.

"Business."

"What kind of business?" Tess asked.

"None of yours."

"Touché." Tess sighed.

"What kind of business are you running? Never mind, I'm sure Leo wouldn't want you to tell me anyways." Caroline said, holding back a smile.

"How do you know about Leo?" Tess growled, harshly steping towards Caroline, still siting on her sleeping bag.

"I have ears?"

"Well then maybe you should  just be on your way right now, shouldn't you?"

"I guess you're right. Goodbye, Joel."  Caroline said as she packed up her sleeping bag and slung her pack over her shoulder. She picked up her gun, placed it n her holster, and walked out the front door without another word.

"Caroline, wait!" Joel hollered as he ran out the door after her.

"What? Your friend clearly doesn't want me to stay. So I'll go. No big deal." Caroline said, noticeably lowering her guard.

"Well Tess and I don't have to agree on everything. Where are you gonna go when you leave?"

"Probably back into the QZ."

"The QZ? Why would you do that?"

"Got nowhere else." She said as she shrugged

"Stay with us, Caroline."

"Tess told me to leave. You guys are busy. Leo wouldn't like it anyways."

"Leo? Do you know him?"

"From the way it sounds, Leo doesn't sound like a nice guy."

"Leo's one of the nicest guys I know, actually. He's just protective over his work."

"What is his work? What is your work?"

Joel took a deep breath before going on to explain what his life looked like. "We smuggle. We move goods across the states. Me, Tess, and Leo have been workin' together for years. Don't got the best reputation, but we make a good livin' off of what we do."

Caroline cut him off. "Do you have a bad reputation for doin' bad business, or havin' bad methods?"

"Methods." Joel said quietly, looking at his feet. "Anyways, Leo's stationed down in Georgia right now. He's waiting with a client who hired us to bring him down some weapons."

"Why would Leo stay down there if he's in your group?" Caroline asked.

"You've gotta learn that you can't ask so many questions. He stayed because the client is, well, shady, and Leo needs to keep an eye on him. We stole his weapons out of the Boston QZ and we were headed out when we ran into you. Now here we are."

Caroline looked up at Joel for a few seconds before responding. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I want you to join our team."

"Why?" Caroline said, truly puzzled.

"You'd be a good fit. I see who you've become. You're a fighter. We need more fighters on our side."

"This isn't because of our past, is it?"

"No, absolutely not. That was a long time ago. We were just kids. I'm over it." But, when Joel was reminded of his memories with Caroline, it still made his heart flutter. He had loved her once. And even if it was nearly twenty years and an apocalypse later, when you love someone, those feelings don't just disappear.

"Good. I'm over it too." Caroline said, flashing him her winning smile. "Won't Tess hate this?"

"Tess doesn't have to agree on anything. And I see it in the way she acts. She respects you as a fighter. It'll only help us if we take you to Georgia with us."

"I guess so."

"Is everything ok?" Joel asked as she kept staring into the distance.

"Oh yeah, for sure." She said, snapping out of it. "Let's go inside and pack up."

But deep down inside, everything was not ok. Because every second that she grew closer to Joel made her realize how much she missed him.