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Chapter Four: The Search

He had ridden with Ellie tons of times, since she really, really loved her motorcycle, but nothing was like them riding right now. They were speeding through the ruined neighborhood, and so far, there was no one. There were tons of animals, some of them looking more mutant than others, but thankfully, there was nothing like the science fiction movies, books and games that had massive predators that were enlarged by the radioactive wasteland. Just to make sure, however, he gripped Ellie's waist a little bit tighter, which was fine with her. The motorcycle was the only thing that was making noise at this point, and so far, the lack of humans was really starting to bear down on them. If no one else seemed to have survived, then how could Hannah have survived?

No, she had to have survived. The gas mask was gone, anyway. They would check the schoolhouse today, and if she wasn't there, they would head to the police station tomorrow. Hannah always liked police officers, much to Ellie's discontent, so maybe she would have gone there, even though it was much further away. As they sped on, they finally came up to the schoolhouse just as the sun was setting, and they leaned the motorcycle against a burned out car before staring up at the school with wonder.

"It looks like someone was here recently." He said, staring at the burned out windows. "What happened here?"

"Not sure." Ellie said, reloading her handgun to keep it at the maximum capacity. "Let's get in there. Check her old classroom first."

"Alright."

They kicked open the gates and started down the length of the school, holding their guns at the ready as they traversed down the darkened passageways. The carpet of the school had been incinerated, and the walls were graffitied on, but when they finally got to Hannah's classroom, they saw no one there. But, there were signs that someone was there, like a few burned out newspapers, a still smoldering fire to be used for heat, or cooking, and old packaged food that had been torn up and eaten. Someone had survived here, that much was for certain. But it wasn't Hannah.

"Shit." He said. "She isn't here. And its getting dark."

"Should we go back?" She asked. "Maybe follow the tracks tomorrow? See if shes at the police station?"

"I'm not sure the police station is even still standing." He said. "We can't get too close to the bomb site, and she would have known that. She probably didn't go that way. Smart cookie."

Ellie gave him a happy look, her eyes shining deeply with love.

"I love how much faith you have in her." She said, holding his hand. "Its really hard to keep up the faith in her sometimes, but you've always been there for her, believing in her. I couldn't ask for a better husband."

Their gas masks touched in a sweet, tender moment between the two, and they looked each other deep in the eyes.

"I love you." He said. "We're gonna get through this. We're gonna find her. Trust me."

"I trust you." She replied. "I trust you with all my heart and soul."

"Then lets get back to the shelter. Set an alarm for early in the morning, and we search the police station. If we don't find her there, then we return to the shelter and plan out our next steps and search area."

"Okay." Ellie said. "Let's get back to the shelter."

They made their way back out to the motorcycle, straddled onto the bike, and they began moving through the wastes, the roar of the motorcycle echoing off of shattered buildings and homes, which looked like row after row of skulls. They sped around the burned out husks of vehicles, and when they got to the fallout shelter, they parked their vehicle where it would be hidden, and they descended into the depths of the fallout shelter after cleaning off the solar panels. When they made it into the bottom, they looked up at the map and started crossing off the search area where she wasn't at, including Ralph's house and the school. Tomorrow, it was the police station, and hopefully she was there.

They both grabbed some canned beef ravioli and began to eat, washing it down with as much water as they could to stay hydrated.

"I never thought that beef ravioli would taste so good." He said. "But now its like the only thing we eat."

"You're telling me." She said. "I used to hate this stuff."

"What?" He asked. "You did?"

"Yup, then I started packing it on my motorcycle rides, and it was the best thing in the world. Thank God for that, right?"

He nodded. "Thank God indeed."

They sat there, eating their respective cans of warm ravioli, when suddenly, the radio chirped. They both look up, expecting something, anything, to happen, but the radio was silent again.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Not sure. Maybe it was just a station blipping for just a second?"

Her hand slipped into his. "I hope not. God, I hope there are others out there, Rodney."

"I know." He said quietly.

Truthfully, it was very daunting, going the entire day without having seen a single person, but having seen plenty of....stranger creatures. Where had all the people gone? Was everyone caught in the blast? Were they all eaten by the creatures? If everyone had been picked off or caught in the blast, then how could Hannah have survived?

He pushed the thought out of his mind, determined to see her safely returned, and he sat down on the bed, ready to get a good nights sleep. Ellie climbed into the bed with him, making sure to cuddle up with him, as best that she could anyway. They laid there, in the shelter, listening to the sounds of the outside, and they drifted off to sleep, ready to find their daughter in the morning.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

When they woke up, it wasn't to anything dangerous, or even good, but rather, unexpected. The radio was going off, chirping and buzzing, and in the background of the static, there was a voice.

"Come to Haven's Gate. We are six thousand strong already, growing stronger everyday, and we are open to all! Come one, come all, to Haven's Gate! Just sixty miles south of Chicago. The government has fallen, and the military is in ruins, but we are rising above the chaos and the squabble of the world. Join the new America!"

"A city??" He said.

"Six thousand strong??" Ellie exclaimed. "She has to be there! Honey, she has to be!"

"We can head there after the police station." He said. "Let's not put all the eggs in one basket. That's a trip of nearly sixty miles, and who knows what states the roads are in at the moment. We check the police station, and if she isn't there, we go to the city, okay?"

"Okay." She said. "Get dressed, lets get to the station."

They both dressed up and grabbed their guns, and after a quick bite of breakfast, they opened the hatch of the fallout shelter and stood, staring out at the wasteland, and to their surprise, there was what looked like a large crab, with a huge sac on its back, bulging out from underneath the armor that it had like a massive tumor. The crab was also at least three times its normal size, and the crab was laying out a large string of black eggs on the ground, like it was excrement. The crab waved around its claws, like it fending off some kind of animal, and they decided it best not to disturb the crab. Instead, they went around their house and grabbed the motorcycle, and a moment later, they were screaming towards the police station, and hopefully, towards their daughter.