GLOWING (Joel Miller)

18 | The Ambush

As soon as I buckled my seatbelt, I leaned against the window, listening as Joel and Ellie conversed in the front. I wanted to pay attention—to eavesdrop—but I was so incredibly tired from last night's watch that I was out instantly, with my cheek pressed against the glass.

***

"Jenna!"

My forehead smacked into the glass as I jolted awake. "Fuck!" I cursed, rubbing the already-painful spot as Joel snickered in the driver's seat. "What the fuck was that for?"

Joel leaned over to Ellie, who was fast asleep in the passenger seat, teasing the map out of her hands without waking her. "There's no way we're getting through this blockage," he stated nonchalantly, handing me the map. I looked out the front window, to see hundreds of cars clustered together on the highway ahead. "I need a way around but she's asleep, so..."

I let out a half-assed grumble, tracing my finger along the road I presumed we were on. "I was asleep, you ass..." I backtracked along the highway until I found an intersection that we could take to get around the blockage. "Found one," I said, leaning forward, over the centre console, to show Joel. He turned to face me, gently bringing the car to a stop. "It's gonna add an hour or so onto the trip but it's the fastest option." I pointed to a large cluster of gridded roads with two large, bold words in the centre. "Through Kansas City."

Joel nodded, shifting the gear into reverse and turning the car around. "That'll have to do."

As I leaned back in my seat, slowly blinking to wake myself up, Ellie groaned from in front of me. "Are we there yet?"

Joel chuckled and I noticed a small smile on his face through the rearview mirror. "Not even close."

***

I marvelled at the decrepit buildings as we slowly made our way through the city; Joel focusing on the road and me trying to work out where we were on the map. "Where the fuck is the highway?" Joel demanded, glancing  back at me through the rearview.

"I don't know!" I rapidly flipped to a different page, trying to find an ore detailed map. "I've never been here and I knew Boston well enough that I didn't need a map." When I found the page, I quickly found our location. "I think we're heading north so... turn here!"

Joel slammed on the breaks at the intersection, turning the wheel to the left as I had instructed. Just as he began to put some force on the accelerator, Ellie yelled out "stop!"

"What the hell, Ellie?" I gasped as I was thrown forward in the back of her seat. I rubbed at my neck where the seatbelt had cut it. "I told him to go right."

Ellie ignored me, looking out the front window, past Joel. "Is that the QZ?" Joel turned to look and I leaned forward to see what both of them were seeing. Ellie was right; the tall, intimidating walls of a QZ loomed ahead of us. A shiver ran through my body at the sight of it, completely deserted. "Where the fuck is FEDRA?"

"Hey!" Suddenly, a man limped out from behind a pile of rubble, clutching his side in undisguised pain. I squinted my eyes at him, my intuition immediately blasting me with a loud warning. Something wasn't right.

"Ellie," I said calmly, not taking my eyes off the approaching man. "Put your seatbelt on."

"What?" The girl gasped incredulously. "But aren't we gonna help him?"

"No." Joel rapidly buckled his seatbelt, turning the steering towards the man ahead.

Just before he slammed his foot on the accelerator, I stared the man straight in the eye, letting out a nervous breath. "He's not even hurt."