𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐔𝐬

10. What's an Inset?

T E N
What's an Inset?

We get to a road where a mess of cars block off a bridge, one that the map has led us to. According to the signs posted around I did manage to direct the correct way.

Now that's a miracle.

The truck comes to a halt as we look at the mass of cars abandoned haphazardly.

"Stay put," Joel says, undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car, he opens the back door to retrieve his gun.

I notice a lorry that obviously crashed in the initial panic, it covers the bridge we need to get through.

"Sorry about your boyfriend," Ellie says, I turn to look at her. That little bitch.

"You're too nosey," I tell her. She shrugs, completely unaffected.

"You said you sucked at life, apparently you don't suck that bad, you know, all things considered." She compliments me.

"If I didn't suck I wouldn't have gotten into the situation in the first place, would I?" I point out the crux of the issue.

"How old are you?" She asks.

"Take a guess."

"That's dangerous. But I'm guessing thirty-two." She says, my face drops.

"Jesus, I've aged poorly," I say in slight horror.

"Just fucking with you, probably about twenty," she guesses.

"Twenty-one in November," I tell her.

"Is he dead?" This girl moves topics quickly.

"Who?" I play ignorance, I know who, but I don't want to talk about it.

"Ryan."

"I don't know." I wish I did know, one way or the other, I just want to know. And I want him to know that I'm alive, that despite him leaving me to die, I survived.

"Do you want him to be dead?" She asks a question that stumps me. Do I want him to have died? I don't know.

Before I need to come up with some type of answer Joel opens the back door to the truck, dumping the gun and getting back into the front.

"Where are we?" I ask, despite having a map I'm mostly making up directions and trusting he kind of knows where he's going.

"Kansas City." He replies, taking the map out of my hands, both Ellie and I lean in a little to try and figure out what's happening.

"How far back do we have to go to get around this?" Ellie asks.

Joel's finger skims over the map, his brain figuring out a plan of action, he shakes his head. Whatever he's thinking it's not good. He dumps the map back on my lap, slamming his door shut.

"Screw it." He says, turning the car back on.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asks, sounding a little concerned, just as I am.

The car begins to move, "We can jog right around this tunnel, take the next ramp," twisting his body he begins reversing to turn the car around, "and we're back on the road. Minute tops."

I don't understand the plan. But it sounds good. He seems confident and that's enough for me.

We turn and begin driving through a city, tall buildings practically built on top of each other, cars abandoned on the side of the road. Windows are broken and bricks are covered in moss, leaves cover the ground. Despite being used to it, I still find it eerie. It's all I've known, but it's still creepy.