Losing you ; Joel Miller

xxix. The river of death

[2023]
EDEN

" Come down from there. You're gonna break your neck" Ellie sighed, taking one last look at the aurora borealis. Joel inspected the duck tape wrapped around his shoe, fire crackling and casting long shadows over the cave they had taken shelter in. Ellie sat herself down next to Eden, leaning her cheek against the older woman's shoulder. Joel shot his wife a confused look before taking a sip from his flask of whiskey " ahh... can I have some?"

     " No" Joel muttered out, gaze shifting around the cave. " What? Just to warm up" Eden chuckled, shaking her head as Ellie pouted. " C'mon" the teen persuaded, hand stretched out, Joel let out a huff as he handed her the flask.

     She grimaced after taking a swig, nose scrunched up in disgust. " Yep... still gross" Eden took the flask, winking at Joel before stealing a sip of it. " So, I've been thinking...Let's say we find the Fireflies, it all works, they draw my blood and put it through some of their fancy machines and make a cure" Ellie continued to lean against the older woman, who was listening silently. " Okay?" Joel asked, taking another sip of whiskey. " Then what? Like what do we do?"

     " Oh it's we?" Eden slapped his shoulder at the statement, shooting him a disapproving glare. " Okay, fine. Whatever. You. You can do anything you want. Where are you going? What are you doing?"

     " It's never been an option" Joel cleared his throat, shifting in place as he straightened his posture, " maybe... an old farmhouse, some land... a ranch" Ellie pursed her lips " Cool, what type?" Joel stayed silent for a beat, thinking " sheep. I would raise sheep."

     " Sheep" the teen repeated as Joel looked up at her " they're quiet and do what they're told" she rolled her eyes " yeah, yeah, okay." His dark eyes moved towards Eden, seeming to shine from the fire. " Somewhere close to water because Eden likes the sea..."

     " How romantic" Ellie teased out " and what about you? Where are you gonna go?" Joel's question made the brunette gaze up at the sky, seeming in awe of what she saw. " It's probably because I grew up in the QZ. Behind you, there's ocean, and ahead of you, there's a wall..."

" Nowhere else to look but up" Eden softly said, finishing the teen's sentence. She had felt similarly about the ocean when she was younger, fencing surrounded her everywhere except for where the yard met the ocean, it reminded her of freedom. " Exactly, I read everything I could in the school library. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell. But you know who my favorite is?"

" Sally Ride?" Joel quizzed " Sally fucking Ride! Best astronaut name ever" Ellie gushed, moving away from Eden's shoulder. Her face slowly dropped, looking down at her fingers with uncertainty. " It'll work, right? The vaccine?"

" It's a little late to start wonderin'" Joel mumbled out " I tried, with Sam" Eden peered over at her, eyebrows furrowed. " Tried what?"

" I knew he was infected. I rubbed some of my blood into his bite. I know, I know, it was stupid. But I... I wanted to save him" the blonde frowned, hand moving to soothingly pet the teen's back. " It wasn't stupid, you tried...I'm sorry it didn't work."

[1998]

Hushed whispers under the covers made them feel like the world consisted of only them. " My mom said she would talk to my father about me moving out for university" Eden softly stated, her fingers dancing over Callum's warm skin as they laid together in her bed. He smiled " that's amazing, Angel" the nickname made Eden shiver, grinning as she pulled him close to kiss him.

A few days later, Callum was surprised to hear urgent knocks coming from his door. When he opened it, he found a sobbing Eden, eyes filled with hopelessness as she fell into his embrace. " What's going on Eden? Are you okay?" His hands cupped her tear stained cheeks.

" They decided to not let me leave" she cried, gasping for air " I- I had to go- otherwise I was going to end up dying in that wretched home." His fingers tangled into her hair while she hid her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder " shhh, it's ok. Come, let's get you a glass of water" his voice was soothing, leading her into the empty house.

Eden had calmed down, cheeks and nose still red from crying. Callum had handed her a fluffy blanket, now observing her from the kitchen as she sipped her water silently. He chewed down on his nails, a habit he had when he was anxious. " You can't hide from your parents forever, Angel" he whispered out softly " you're 18, legally they can't do anything if you decide to leave."

" I know..." she sniffled, wiping her nose. Eden's gaze shifted towards him and Callum sighed at how broken she looked, walking towards her and pulling her into his embrace on the sofa. " I have savings, enough to cover me for a few months... but I don't think I can go home alone and get my stuff" Callum tucked a wild strand of blonde hair behind her ear " I'll join you to help you get your stuff, then you're free to stay here for as long as you need."

[2023]

" Dam" Ellie smirked at her own joke, Joel shooting her a quick glance " you're no Will Livingston" he mumbled out. " Yeah, yeah, but who is?"

     " So that made electricity?" The teen questioned, observing the dam with curious eyes. " Yeah. Don't ask me, I don't have a clue" the older man muttered, turning around to continue walking " that's why I have your wife, dumbass" Ellie quipped back, spinning around to give Eden a cheesy smile.

     " Basically, as the water flows down through the dam, its kinetic energy is used to turn a turbine. The generator converts the turbine's mechanical energy into electricity" Eden watched as the teen let out a " Ahhh..." before saying " what the fuck is kinetic energy?"

     " Look at that river, it's crazy blue" The adults turned their heads towards the river, Eden grinned at the sight of Joel wearing Ada's sling, it looked so out of place with his rugged features and stern face. " Hey, guys... what if this is the River of Death?"

     Joel stared at the river for a moment, taking out his map and walking a few steps up a mountain. Eden's stomach dropped at the sound of horses coming towards them, hand searching for Joel's before gripping it tightly as he told the teen to stay behind them. " We ain't lookin' for any trouble. We're just passin' through" he said to the masked riders " drop the gun" one of them ordered, pointing his own weapon at them. " You two... take five steps back" he gestured at Ellie and Eden, both of them staying completely still. " How 'bout we just talk this through?"

" How 'bout you shut the fսck up?" The man snapped, finger moving towards the trigger. " Okay, easy" Joel gave Eden a quick glance, non verbally telling her to do as he says. " You'll be okay" he reassured Ellie. " You been near infected?"

" There's no infected out here" Joel replied, eyebrows furrowed. " The hell there ain't" he snapped back. Whistling, a dog was brought in, barking viciously at them " last chance for a bullet, If you've been infected, he will smell it, and he will rip you up." The dog sniffed both Joel and Eden, not reacting aggressively to any of them. " Like I said, we'll just move on-"

" Now her." Joel seemed to visibly stiffen, causing the armed man to aim his gun at Ellie. The dog growled lowly as it stalked closer to her, barking before standing on its hind legs, tail wagging as Ellie giggled. Joel looked like he had seen a ghost, face contorting into relief when he saw the teen scratching the canine behind it's ears. " You just bought yourself 10 more seconds, what are you doin' out here?"

" We're just lookin' for my brother. That's all, nothin' more" Joel breathed out, the sound of a horse whinnying caught his attention
" what's your name?" The masked woman asked.

" Joel."

Honey is typing...
two chapters posted in one day (?!?!) whaaaat