Firefly

Twenty-Five

Mission Continues 2023

"So, is Bill and Frank nice?" Ellie asked. We've been walking for hours non-stop. "Frank is," Joel and I said simultaneously. Joel was walking ahead of us a little ways. We haven't talked much since we left the safe house. "What about Bill?" Ellie asked me. "Let's just say he and Joel have a lot in common." He looked at me with a questioning look waiting for me to explain. "What does that mean?"

"It means they're both hard asses." Joel turned his head to look at me and I raised an eyebrow. "And that means?" I looked at Ellie and sighed. "Bill is very…how do I put this. He doesn't like new people. Well, he doesn't like people period. It's hard to convince him or anything and hard to get him to agree with anything. He's very protective of the people he cares about though. That mainly being Frank. He'll do anything for Frank."

She hummed and jogged ahead to walk beside Joel and started asking him all kinds of questions. I walked a little faster so I wouldn't fall behind. "How’d you get that scar on your head?," Ellie asked, pointing at the scar of the side of Joel's head. He didn't say anything but I knew he was thinking about what had happened. "What? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?"

"I didn’t fall down any stairs," he told her. "Okay, so what then?" She asked. He sighed, "Someone shot at me and missed." Joel looked over at me and I looked away. "See, that’s cool. You shoot back?" It wouldn't be cool if she knew the truth of who it was. "Yeah," he mumbled. "You get him?" She asked. "No, I missed, too. It happens more often than you think."

"‘Cause you suck at shooting or, like, in general?" She asked. This kid really asked a lot of fucking questions. "In general," he mumbled. It was silent for all of five seconds before she started talking again. "You know, seeing as it’s just the three of us, I was thinking I should pro…" Joel and I cut her off at the same time. "No." She huffed and rolled her eyes.

We walked for a little while longer, Ellie continued to talk about whatever popped into her head. Then we came to a stop at one of the places where we had stashed some supplies. "Cumberland Farms," Ellie read the sign. "Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff we stashed," Joel said. "Stashed? Why do you have stuff stashed here?" Ellie asked.

He sighed heavily, "You ask a lot of goddamn questions," he grumbled. She smiled, "Yes, I do. So, are you gonna answer me or what?" She asked. Joel walked into the old long abandoned store ignoring Ellie. "We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear," I told her. "Which I currently am ’cause…" Joel started to say until he was cut off my Ellie.

"No way! You ever play this one?" Ellie asked, going up to a Mortal Kombat game. "I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There’s this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth, and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones!" She said excitedly.

I was watching with a small smile on my face. The fact she still acts like a kid should amazes me. Most kids in this kind of world are forced to grow up fast. "Ah. Oh, man. You forgot where you put your stuff," she said. I turned around to see Joel trying to think where he stashed the stuff.

"No. I’m just zeroing in on it. It’s been a couple of years," he said. I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? It's over there," I said, pointing to where it was. Joel shook his head, "no. I moved it. Had a few people follow me and Tess so I moved it."

"Okay, well, I’m gonna take a look around, see if there’s anything good," Ellie said. "Be careful please," I told her. "Trust me, it’s all been picked over already," Joel told her. He was still trying to remember where he had moved the stash to. "Maybe, maybe not. Is there anything bad in here?" Ellie asked. "Just you," Joel said. I huffed out a laugh and Ellie looked at me as she walked towards the back of the store. "Ah. Getting funnier."