When We Fall

Part 1

The day had started out average for Lizzie Mackeroy, but had been going downhill ever since. The world was fucked. That's the only adjective she could think of to describe the current state of the planet. Pretty much everyone was dead, and the ones that weren't were either bursting with fungus, or complete assholes. She'd learnt that early on. By the time she was eight, both of her parents were dead, and her brother was a murderer, though it didn't take long for him to die too. Since then, she'd been alone. Left to defend herself from a large variety of horrors, and the things that lived in the shadows. She was independent, and she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it sometimes.
Strangers were a concern, but also a curiosity to her, as she liked to examine the relationships they had with each other and wonder if one day she might have the same. It was unlikely, but in her life she really had nothing else to look forward to. That was how she found herself stalking a grumpy middle-aged man and a talkative young girl through her city. Lizzie was perched atop one of St. Louis's many tall buildings as she watched the pair silently. The girl couldn't hear what was being discussed, but from the body language she could see, the man looked pissed off, and the girl was just ignoring it. She followed them intently, tracking their path and sighing when she realized they were taking the main street, they wouldn't last long there. She had to stop her observing once they moved out of sight, and stood up, swiping at her pants to clear them of dirt. 

As she walked, she could feel the gun tucked into her waistband dig at her hip bone. It hurt, but not as much as being unarmed would. She came upon the gap between her building and the one she'd need to jump to in order to continue her stalking, and paused. It was bigger than she remembered. The girl took a good few steps back before shaking away any doubts and running for it. For a split second she was weightless, and the world seemed to melt away, every worry she had dripped from her into the plummet below. Her feet slammed into the concrete of the next roof and she winced, her worries snapping back to her like a rubber band. The sole of her shoe curled up under her toe, tripping her with the help of her momentum. She lay on the ground a second, panting, staring up at the blue sky that delivered false promises of a better tomorrow. Her knee was skinned, and she cursed at the fact that she'd have to sew up another hole. She didn't even care about the blood speckling her raw skin, or the gravel that had somehow embedded itself into the cut. She'd had far worse. In a matter of seconds she was up again, almost jogging over to the opposite edge to meet the strangers as they came round the corner of the street below. She took her position on her unscraped knee, and waited. She waited for what she knew was far too long and her stomach dropped, thinking they'd been killed already.

"Come on, where are you?" She whispered to herself.

"We're right here." She jumped at a reply, almost toppling over the edge in her surprise. She didn't dare turn to face the speaker for she knew who it was, and could sense the barrel aimed at the back of her head.

"Shit" She cursed under her breath.

"Stand up," they ordered, "Slowly." Lizzie debated her options and concluded that complying was probably the least likely to lead to death. She raised her hands while slowly rising from her crouched position, spinning as she did so. Once fully standing she came face to face with the man and the girl that she'd been following, both pointing a gun directly at her.

"Hi," She said, her tone indicating how much she didn't want to be there. The girl stepped forward a little, and Lizzie looked her up and down. She was around her own age she guessed, and was definitely no stranger to the cruel world as multiple scratches and bruises adorned her exposed skin. She noticed how she had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and wondered if she wore it like that often, it was certainly practical. She also didn't miss the suspicious twist of her face, and definitely not the curious gleam behind her brown eyes.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. Lizzie examined her a moment longer before meeting her eyes with consideration.

"I don't know, who are you?" The girl's eyes narrowed at her response, and the man stepped closer, angling himself so that his companion was slightly protected.

"She asked you a question." He growled, grip tightening on his rifle. Lizzie knew it probably wasn't a good idea to antagonize the people holding her at gunpoint, but she couldn't help who she was.

"Oh, really? Well, in that case," She looked him dead in the eye, "I'm none of your fucking business." There was silence, and Lizzie took the opportunity to talk.

"You guys are obviously new here," She looked back at the girl, "seeing as though you were walking down main street in broad fucking daylight." The girl lowered her gun a fraction.

"What's on main street that's so bad?" She asked, a hint of trepidation laced in her tone. Lizzie stared at her as if she'd grown two heads.

"Ohh shit, you guys are travellers, aren't you? Surprised you're not dead already." Travellers was a term used by the people of St. Louis to describe anyone that didn't live there or in the surrounding areas. Another term used for them was fertilizer. Personally, Lizzie had only met one other traveler before, and that had ended about as well as yelling at a clicker would.

"Why were you watching us? Were you planning to rob us? Kill us?" The man completely ignored her previous statement, Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"Dude chill, I wasn't even gonna touch you. I got bored and thought 'hey, why not watch the idiot travellers try to walk down main street'?" She tried not to smirk but failed miserably. The man glared at her and waited, for what she didn't know. At this point in the conversation she really had no clue whether or not either of them were going to shoot her, and it kept her heart going at an impressive rate. She pushed her nerves down though, knowing that the strangers would sense them and turn them against her. The man still hadn't spoken and Lizzie was becoming antsy, so turned to the girl instead.

"What's his deal," She nodded towards him, "He's your Dad or something?" It was a question she genuinely wanted to know.

"What? Fuck no!"
"I'm not her dad." Their hurried answers made Lizzie raise an eyebrow as she looked between the two.

"Okayy," She stretched out, "Look, as much as I love this thrilling conversation, I hate it and would very much like to leave." This time the man raised his brow and Lizzie got the message, remaining exactly where she was.

"Well, at the very least, could you take the gun out of my fucking face?" She asked, the man didn't move an inch. Her eyes found the girls and stared at her hopefully as her gun was already lowered. She groaned and nudged the man with her shoulder, looking up at him.

"Joel." So his name's Joel, Lizzie took note.
"What?" He didn't take his eyes off Lizzie for a second, until the girl nudged him again. He turned his head and glanced at her confused when she tried miming something to him. She sighed, giving up and pointing directly at the gun. He didn't look impressed.

"What's she gonna do Joel? Does she look like she wants to kill us?" The girl asked exasperated. Lizzie put on her sweetest smile for him as he turned and considered her threat level.

"I'd also just like to add that I'm the only one present who hasn't threatened to shoot anyone." Lizzie said, still smiling. Reluctantly, Joel lowered his rifle, eyes still heavily trained on the stranger like she'd pounce at any second.

"Thank you," She placed a hand on her heart, "Much appreciated." The girl, whose name still remained unspoken, stepped forward, only to be stopped by a hand around her arm. She looked back at Joel who shook his head in warning. She pulled her arm free but stayed still.

"So, you guys just passing through or..." Both of them looked at her in silence for a moment.

"Yeah we're passing through, we're going to-"
"Ellie!" Joel hissed. The girl -Ellie- just shrugged.

"Well then, friendly word of advice, don't take mainstreet." Lizzie looked them both up and down, wringing her hands. Ellie seemed curious at her words, and despite the man's protests, moved towards her.

"Why? What's so fucked on mainstreet?" She asked. Lizzie scoffed.

"Well for starters, infected are about as common as fuck'n roaches, I mean you'd be lucky to even make it halfway without seeing at least ten of 'em. Then there's the resistance fighters, fireflies or something, they're always hunting for recruits for their little cult. Oh, and uh, don't forget the raiders, the slavers, and just pretty much any motherfucker in this shitty town. Anyone you see on mainstreet would happily gut you and take the boots off your corpse." Lizzie watched the girl's eyes widen at the same time the man's darkened, and wondered what each of them was thinking.

"Okay, got it. We take mainstreet, we're fucked," Ellie said, looking at Joel as they seemed to have a conversation with only their eyes.

"I can help you guys," Lizzie interrupted their moment, "show you across town." She raised her eyebrows at them, glancing between the two. Joel replied almost immediately,

"We don't need your help." Ellie whipped her head round in disbelief, staring at him with scolding eyes.

"Seriously Joel? Look, I know you're the adult, but I'm making an executive decision here, okay?" She turned to Lizzie as Joel crossed his brows.

"We would very much like your help, stranger, just, please don't kill us. I'd never hear the end of it." She muttered. Lizzie grinned at her,

"Follow me then, ponytail." She started off in the direction she'd come, Ellie close behind, Joel stuttering.

"What? Hang on, no! Ellie?!" He hurried after the two girls, a frustrated expression masking his face, "Ellie! Ellie?!"

"My name's Lizzie by the way." She turned her head as Ellie walked beside her, both of them ignoring Joel's calls.