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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦
2023 ~ BOSTON
Climbing out of the window, Maddie inhales a deep breath as she takes in the fresh air, a stark difference from the environment she had been within for the last hour. She wipes away the blood trickling down from the small cut on her forehead, no doubt a battle scar she had gained whilst under attack from the infected. The woman glances behind her when Rex lets out a yelp as he trips over the windowsill and smiles as Ellie lifts him over and onto the roof. However, her eyebrows draw together once she hears a quiet grunt from Tess who sits down and leans her back up against the wooden beam. "Ankle okay?" she questions.
Tess's eyes flick up to her and she nods. "It'll be fine," she answers shortly.
Joel crouches down beside her and takes off his backpack to rifle through it and hand Ellie a bandage. "Put this around your arm," he instructs the girl.
"Thanks," she replies. Maddie smiles as her German shepherd sits patiently beside her, but as soon as Ellie moves, he trots after her to approach the long wooden plank connecting the nearby building to them. Ellie looks back to the group of adults. "Over there?"
"Yeah, I know, it looks scary."
Ellie looks over her shoulder and meets her aunt's gaze with an eye roll. "That was scary," she retorts. "This is wood." Maddie watches the girl walk across the unsteady plank without a care in the world, though despite the confident demeanour Ellie holds, the older Williams releases the breath she had been holding the entire time once her niece makes it to the other side safely.
"Just wait there," Joel calls out. "Give us a minute."
Maddie's eyes move between the smugglers and she salutes to them when they look up to her. "I'm assuming that's my cue to leave you guys." Her attention is quickly brought back to her dog when Rex attempts to dart ahead with the intention of following after Ellie. Her eyes widen in alarm and she quickly grabs onto his collar. "Oh no you don't," she mutters.
From the opposite rooftop, Ellie stifles a laugh as she watches the dark-haired woman carefully carry the disappointed dog over to her. "Didn't want to take the chance that he might fall?"
Maddie sets Rex down for him to immediately wander off and explore the new area. "Have you seen how high up we are? He can't even climb out of a fucking window." Ellie giggles and looks back over the ledge, her facial features falling blank as she stares out at the city of Boston bathed in the warm glow of sunlight.
"Is it everything you hoped for?"
They turn to the side to find Joel, then return their eyes to the landscape. Ellie's head tilts to the side as she replies, "Jury's still out. But, man, you can't deny that view." Maddie softly smiles as she observes the place that had once been her home, entirely oblivious to how Joel's eyes momentarily linger on herself.
