An expanding canvas of pastel colours painting the sky above, pale rays beginning to beat down and embrace the new day. The gentle chirps of the early rising native avifauna being carried through the golden turning leaves of the trees by a cool breeze. Out of the shadows casted by nightfall and into the light.
The walk was tranquil as soon as they hit the suburbs, stopping for a brief couple of hours to rest before setting off to their first destination.
It was early morning, the sun just peaking up over the horizon as they halted beside that familiar road sign 'Cumberland Farms'.
Tess paused as she looked between the old farm shop building and road ahead. Perhaps a quick pit stop might be worthwhile... just to see if he had stopped by. If he had headed to Lincoln, it would make no sense for him to bypass their stash... She wanted to trust that he'd do the right thing and arrange for the kid to be taken to where she needed to be... but it was Joel, after all...
"Follow me" She instructed as she cleared her throat and began striding over to the beaten down shop.
Becky's brows furrowed as she followed the older woman. Her head twitching to glance down the seeming abandoned route that lead to Lincoln. "Where you going?"
Tess pulled her hand gun from her belt, her finger ready over the trigger to counteract any threat they may be lurking within the buildings shadows "I just want to check something..."
Cautiously, she reached for the door before snapping her head around to her curly haired accomplice, "Becky, flashlight would be great right about now"
Becky sucked in a deep breath. Her brain fighting her mouth to keep quiet about the internal frustrations she had over the other woman's tone of voice. She had never been a fan of being told what to do, that's why she mostly worked alone but the end prize of this little adventure... well, that would be more than worth it. She unclipped the torch from her back and allowed its fluorescent beam to light up the darkened room.
Empty. A breath of relief escaping the older woman's lungs as she nodded to the other. An indication to continue, to move inside.
The room was barren. All shelves picked clean, glass smashed, floorboards splintered and unkempt. Becky stood back and observed as Tess scoured the front shop, her foot occasionally tapping down on a floor board before moving onto the next, "Can I help?"
The older woman's answer came flat as her eyes didn't so much as meet her companions face, "No."
"Shit. Where the fuck did he put it..." Tess muttered to herself as she continued to stomp her foot down on each slat, waiting for that familiar hollow sound to echo beneath her feet. Bingo.
She fell to her knees, pulling a rusted crow bar from within her pack and lodging it into the crack between the floorboards, prying the plank up to reveal the concealed safe below.
Wetting her lips she fiddled with the code and popped the lid open. Empty. All rations, the small amount of ammo and the hand gun all gone. Her sights then caught onto the butt of a rifle that had been stuffed down alongside the safe. An M4A1. The same rifle nabbed from that FEDRA fuck, Lee.
The fact that she could see that the stash had been tampered with was all she needed. He had passed through and must have headed towards Lincoln. They were heading in the right direction, "C'mon, let's go..."
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The walk to Lincoln was only a couple of hours more. Such a pretty backdrop for a trek as they passed through the countryside. Acres of land that once held herds of bovine and sheep, now left empty for nature to take over. Grasses up to their waist, a home for the native wildlife.
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The Bullet / Tess Servopoulos
Fanfiction"Save who you can save" She had been responsible for the deaths of many over the last two decades-more than she could count. Some deserved it... others did not. In a twisted turn of events she finds herself potentially harbouring the cure for humani...
