When a beaten and lost, near-dead girl walks up upon the gates of Jackson unannounced, people are bound to be suspicious of why she's shown up. But, when she reveals that she knows something about an organization in Seattle planning to come to Jacks...
"No-one likes a mad woman; you made her like that."
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CHAPTER FIVE To Seattle
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Ellie woke up abruptly, her back making itself known as it ached badly. She sat up, stretching and yawning before looking beside herself again. Willow's breath was evening out slowly, and she looked almost peaceful. It was nice to have someone to go to after a full evening of nightmares, and after Joel's fight- she had nobody to go to. But Willow- she made her feel like all of those nightmares wouldn't matter, like they would never come back.
The younger girl's eyes batted open, consciousness returning to her body as she sat up beside Ellie, yawning deeply and scratching her neck. Her ragged nails made deep marks in her skin, blood rushing to the top of the veins. Willow looked over to her travel partner, smiling wonkily as her body slowly woke up from a long night's rest. It was already six in the morning, they'd have to leave soon.
Willow looked to Ellie, standing up and stretching out her legs. "When do we leave?" She asked, hoisting her backpack over her shoulders. She used her fingers to brush out her semi-matted hair, sighing in defeat before grabbing an elastic band and tying it into a ponytail.
"Preferably, now." Ellie replied.
After a few moments of nodding and silence, the older teen left down the corridor, shutting the door behind her room and locking it. She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. It had been a long time since she had talked to anyone about the hospital incident, it almost felt freeing. Ellie continued to dwell on that as she gazed through her closet. She had a few changes of clothes in her travel backpack, but she needed something to wear for the ride.
A simple grey flannel and a t-shirt would do. It was summer, so she didn't have to worry about the cold, but if she ran out of bandages, the flannel would be the second option.
Ellie quickly changed and grabbed her backpack, walking back towards where Willow was. Once again, she was looking over one of the music collections she had from Joel. Many records were stacked on top of the wall shelves, ranging from old country to rock and roll.
"This stuff is ancient." Willow remarked, gazing at one of the old Adventure albums. It was from the 1990s, almost 40 years prior.
"Yeah, I got a lot of stuff when I moved here." Ellie replied, grabbing a few bottles of water and non-perishable foods and placing them in her backpack. Whatever they could find before the trip would be useful. No matter what it was.
Ellie opened the door, revealing her front porch. Willow followed close behind as they walked through Jackson once again, spotting Maria and Tommy at the front gates with two horses in their hold. The two adults approached the two teenagers, handing the reins off to each of them.
Tommy looked over Willow for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing. "You are...?"
"Wait- you're Tommy Miller, aren't you?" She asked, not bothering to answer his own question.
"Yeah...?"
"My parents were with the Fireflies." Willow spoke. "I'm Willow Green."
"That name doesn't ring a bell."
"You probably quit before my parents got a hold of you." Willow remarked.
Maria cleared her throat. Loudly. "You two need to get going, if you want to find any forms of life and shelter before nightfall." She stated, her authority and voice strong.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah, do you want us to hit any patrols on the way?" She asked.
Tommy shook his head slowly, looking down at the ground. "Jesse's already on it."
The two girls got on their horses, backpacks firmly strapped to their backs as they grabbed on tight to the reins. It would be a miracle if they could make it back out from the WLF with both horses intact and alive.
"Joel knows, by the way." Tommy stated.
Ellie rolled her eyes, and Willow immediately became curious to who the mystery man was. "I'm sure he told you not to let me go." She assumed. She knew Joel's moves, it would only be on-brand for him to say something like that.
"Surprisingly, no." The older man replied, making Ellie's eyebrows furrow. "He thought it'd be good to go out and get some space."
The teenager only sighed. "I'll see you in a week."
With that, the two girls let the gate of Jackson open in front of them, signaling that their journey to Seattle had only just begun.
