In the aftermath of sparing Abby's life, Ellie grapples with the burdens of her past while facing isolation and ostracism in the Jackson community due to her immunity to the cordyceps infection. Her world has turned upside down and complicated until...
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The remnants of Minneapolis-Saint Paul loomed around them, a ghost city swallowed by nature and silence. Skyscrapers stood like hollow sentries, their shattered windows catching patches of mist that drifted down the empty streets. Ivy and moss coated concrete and metal alike, and every alleyway felt like a trap waiting to spring. Joyce moved through the wreckage with a cold, calculated focus, her gaze flicking between shadows, scanning for anything amiss.
The rest followed her cautiously — Ellie trusting her lead, Abby simmering with irritation, Lev glancing around nervously, and Cat staying quiet, absorbing the tension.
Without warning, Joyce stopped, her hand shooting up in a command to halt. She crouched, pointing at a nearly invisible wire stretched across the path. "One wrong move," she said, voice as flat and cold as ice, "and you'll be nothing but pieces on the ground".
Abby let out a frustrated groan. "Joyce, for fuck's sake, give us a heads-up next time unless you're aiming to collect body parts".
Joyce's mouth twitched in a near-grimace as she fixed Abby with an unblinking, cold stare, her dislike thinly veiled. "You're in hostile territory, not on a guided tour. If staying alive matters to you, then start acting like it. This isn't the place for careless steps or complaints".
Ellie put her hands on her hips, looking at Abby with a half-amused and half-serious expression. "She's got a point, Abs. Joyce knows what she's doing way better than any of us. So don't fight it; just follow her".
Abby shot Ellie a look, disbelief evident in her eyes. "Seriously, El? You're okay with her talking down to us like we're total idiots who don't know what we're doing?"
Ellie raised an eyebrow, giving Abby a sideways glance. "Yeah, she treats us like idiots. But if that's what keeps us alive, I'll deal with it".
Lev, trying to keep the peace, whispered, "Joyce's really got a feel for this kind of stuff. I wouldn't have even known it was there".
Cat nodded, lowering her voice. "It's like she's got a sixth sense for these things. We'd be lost without her".
Joyce cast them all a stern look over her shoulder, her tone as unforgiving as steel. "If you can't keep up, you're nothing but another casualty. I didn't come here to coddle you or teach survival basics. I'm here to make sure you don't get us all killed. So shut the fuck up, watch your step, and keep moving".
Abby rolled her eyes, whispering to herself, "Fuck, I swear, one more word from her...". She shot a glare at Joyce's back but kept her mouth shut, knowing better than to push it right now.
Ellie caught Abby's expression and couldn't help but think. "Yeah, Joyce can be a hard-ass, but she's got her reasons. Better just let her do her thing... before someone loses their head".
