𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐔𝐬

09. People Who Like Coffee Are in Denial.

N I N E
People Who Like Coffee Are in Denial.

I get into the truck with the promise of driving not just all day, but all night. My alarm this morning was Ellie kicking my leg, and five minutes later I was sitting in the truck.

I feel good, but my mood quickly sours when a map is shoved into my hands by Joel; now I have to direct, I don't even know my left from my right.

Staring at the map, all the lines and dots make my eyes hurt, how do people read these? No wonder Ryan never knew where we were going.

Joel is going to be so pissed with me if I royally fuck this up.

"Is that seriously what those Starbucks in the QZ used to sell?" Ellie asks, still not over how disgusting coffee is.

"Well, theirs was a lot fresher than what Bill saved up, but yeah, this is what they sold," Joel explains, I still doubt it tasted anything near good.

"It smells like shit," Ellie says.

"Like burnt shit," I add.

Joel looks over me after taking another sip, "Eyes on the map."

"76 West, and then 70 West, I think? And then I'm pretty sure we go there for like a million miles." I scratch the back of my neck, stressing out just a little.

"Where in Wyoming did you say your brother was?" Ellie asks.

"Last contact came through a radio tower close to Cody."

My finger glides over the paper as I try and find Cody on the map, "Cody. Cody, Cody. I don't think it's on there."

"Are y-"

"Wait, I found it. That is deep up in there." I cut Joel off.

"Yeah," he nods.

"And what if he's not there?" Ellie asks from the back seat.

"Then odds are he'll be near a settlement, probably close to another city out there. Ain't too many of them in Wyoming."

"I beg to differ, there are a whole lot of names on this map. Like, Chey-enn."

"Cheyenne," Joel says. It shouldn't be said like that, that's not logical.

"Che- really?" I ask, he nods, "Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper?" I list names I see.

"What's his name?" Ellie asks Joel.

"Whose name?"

"Your brother."

"Tommy."

"Younger or older?"

"Younger."

"Why isn't he with you?" The question makes me look up from the map, folding it I sit it on my lap. Turning I decide it's time to ignore the conversation.

"A long story."

"Is it longer than twenty-five hours? 'Cause I think that's what we got." Ellie presses the issue.

Looking back forward I fail to ignore the conversation, I just shut my eyes.

"Tommy's what we use to call a 'joiner.' Dreams of becomin' a hero. So he enlisted in the Army right outta high school. A few months later, they ship him off to Desert Storm. It's what they called that war, doesn't matter. Point is, being in the Army didn't make him feel much like a hero. Cut to twelve years later, Outbreak happens. He convinces me to join a group making their way up to Boston, which I did, mostly to keep an eye on him, keep him alive. It's where we eventually met Tess. And that whole crew, we, uh- Well for what it was, it worked. And then Tommy meets Marlene, she talks him into joining the Fireflies. Same mistake he made when he was eighteen. Wants to save the world. Pipe dream. Him, Fireflies, all of 'em, delusional. 'Cause last time I heard, he quit the Fireflies too. So now he's on his own out there, and I gotta go get him."