Apocalypse [Ellie Williams]

◜chapter twenty six◞

They made it to the small evacuated town, Cassie still hadn't let down the walls she put up. Although, when she saw the beautiful sight in front of her, her arms dropped to her side and a small smiled made its way onto her face. It looked untouched from the crazy world surrounding it and for a moment, Cassie actually had a glimpse into what life would be like if she lived before the apocalypse. Everything seemed so surreal, like something from a movie.

Joel pressed the numbers on the keypad and the gate clicked open, the man pushing it open and allowing the girls through before walking through himself. Cassie turned her head slightly to look at her best friend, their expressions almost identical, both in awe of their surroundings. Their was a church, a few stores and rows of houses. The girls followed Joel to a white house in the centre of the town, surrounded by a stone fence and lined with wilting flowers and bushes.

Joel stopped in front of the house, looking up at it with the girls behind him. His face rid of any obvious emotion but the way his eyes lingered on the dying yellow flowers told Cassie all she needed to know. Then, when they walked up to the house and the man paused when the door came unlocked, that solidified the girls guess. Joel walked inside quietly, gun in his hand just in case. Cassie basked in the homely vibe that surrounded her as she walked inside.

The walls a mismatched colour, some cream, some blue and others grey. Decorations littered every empty spot and the way everything looked so perfect whilst also looking lived in brought the girl a sense of familiarity. She kind of wished that whatever adventure they were on would be forgotten and they could settle there, live out the rest of their lives in the unknown town.

"Bill?" Joel called the mans name but was met with silence "Frank?" Again, silence followed. Joel turned towards the girls with a sigh "you stay there. ya hear anything, you see anything. Yell"

"what if they're gone?" Ellie asked, Joel didn't give the girl an answer and instead entered a door leading into the other room. Cassie shrugged, entering the room painted a deep blue. Painting and drawings scattered each and every surface, an unfinished painting still in the easel. Cassie traced her finger over the face that had been painted before flicking through a pile that was on the table beside it. Paintings of the ocean, of parks and trees. Paintings of life without the apocalypse.

Ellie joined the girl not long after, instead going straight to the piano and pressing on a few of the keys. It was in tune, sounded better than the one they had found in the abandoned hotel.

"do you ever imagine life if there wasnt a fucking apocalypse" Cassie asked the girl, standing now in front of the bay window and looking out at the empty street

"all the time" Ellie replied, still scanning the room. Grabbing a letter that was on the small table

"do you think we would have met if this didn't happen" The girl questioned again, her eyes flickering over to her best friend

"id like to think so" Ellie nodded, holding the letter out to Cassie who grabbed it. Ellie twisting the key that sat on top of the letter in her hand. The two girls retreated to the dining room, Cassie had read over the letter and had handed it back to Ellie. Joel had entered the room, spotting the two girls at the table "its from bill"

"to whomever, but probably Joel" Cassie sighed, holding the envelope up to show the man "figured we fell under whomever"

"came with this" Ellie pushed the key closer towards Joel, the man pulled off his backpack and walked over to the table to grab the key

"so they're dead?" the man asked the two girls, Cassie nodding sadly. She had never even met the two men but they seemed so content with their lives i seemed so depressing that they where cut short.

"you wanna?" Ellie asked, holding the letter out in front of her slightly

"no, go ahead. you do it" Joel shook his head, not looking up from the floor

"august 29, 2023. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left the window open so the house wouldnt smell but it will probably be a sight. Im guessing you found this Joel, because anyone else would have been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps hehehehe" Ellie read out loud, Cassie's elbow resting on the table before her whilst her head rested on her chin. A frown etched onto her face

"take anything you need, the bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse. Anyway, i never liked you, but still its like were friends. Almost. and i respect you. So im gonna tell you something because you're probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world and i was happy when everyone died. But i was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That's what i did. I saved him, then i protected him. That's why men like you and me are here. we have a job to do and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way"

"i leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep-" Ellie paused, not wanting to continue. Joel saw the pained expressions of the two girls and took the note off of the girl and carried on reading.

"stay here" Joel told them, his voice breaking slightly. The two girls watched as he left the house, both knowing her just needed a moment because they where his friends. Ellie and Cassie stayed silent, both of them grieving the loss of two people they did not known. When Joel re-entered the room, he turned to Ellie "show me your arm"

Ellie stood up, walking towards the man as she pulled up her sleeve. His comment making Cassie remember about her own arm, she carefully peeled back her own jacket sleeve and just looked at her wrapped up arm. Blood had seeped through but most, if not all of her cuts had scabbed over.

"I just finished making a truck battery, its charging right now" Joel told the girls "an i have a brother out in Wyoming, he's in some kinda trouble and im heading out there to find him. He used to be a firefly, and my guess is he knows where some of them are out there, maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is"

"all right" Ellie replied for the both of them, Cassie getting up and standing beside the girl "listen, about Tess"

"if im taking you both with me, there's some rules you gotta follow" Joel instructed "rule one, you dont bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact we can just keep our histories to ourselves. Rule two, you dont tell anyone about your... conditions. They see that bite mark, they wont think it through, they'll just shoot you. Rule three, you do what i say when i say it. we clear?"

"yep" "yes" The two girls replied together

"repeat it"

"what you say goes" Ellie repeated, Cassie just gave the man a blank stare

"cassie" Joel warned

"im not promising anything" Cassie smiled but at the look he gave her, she just grumbled "what you say goes"

"okay"

"so what now" Ellie asked the man

"we grab what we can"

I had to add the letter but omg am i sad now