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Chapter 12:

The long hours of walking turned into days, and the days eventually turned into weeks as Cedar, Ellie and Lev finally arrived in Seattle, Washington near the end of September.

"Okay, where do we go from here?". Lev asked as the trio took a break underneath a tree.

"Lumen Field?". Ellie suggested. "That's one of the biggest bases The WLF had".

"Considering there's only two members left, I doubt they would try and take over that big of an area again". Cedar disagreed.

"Three". Ellie corrected.

"Three? I thought it was only Manny and Mel?". Cedar asked in confusion.

"Abby's ex - boyfriend Owen might be with Manny and Mel too now that I think about it". Ellie rattled off.

"I thought you killed him back in the aquarium?". Lev asked in confusion.

"I almost did, but he surrendered and Joel made me stand down". Ellie replied.

"Are there any other places these three might be then?". Cedar cut in, trying to get back on track.

"Right, what about Olympic Hills Elementary?". Lev suggested.

"Nah, they would have abandoned that place too". Ellie replied with a wave of her hand as she looked around. "It's getting late though, we'll need to find shelter until dawn".

Cedar groaned in annoyance. "El, I already told you, I'm not afraid of some stupid infected -".

"The WLF has curfews set up to keep their people in line and to keep intruders away, If we get caught by some random soldier you'll never get your revenge against Manny and Mel". Ellie said, pointing at the three guard towers that Cedar failed to spot until now.

"Alright, lead the way". Cedar relented with a sigh as Ellie smirked and led the way to an old house across the street.

Once the trio was settled in Cedar wasted no time in trying to further locate Mel and Manny. "El, you obviously know this area well, are there any other spots the WLF had set up?".

Ellie thought to herself for a moment before speaking. "We could try King County Correctional Facility".

"That's a pretty big place isn't it?". Lev questioned with uncertainty. "I doubt three people could take over that big of a building".

"It's a jail, It's safe and secure enough to shelter them and keep other people out". Cedar pointed out.

"How does that second part benefit us?". Ellie asked in confusion.

"Since there's only three of them I highly doubt they secured every inch of the place, the front area is probably still open". Cedar explained.

"Don't you mean the back area?". Ellie frowned.

"They probably figured it was safer to go through the back entrance since it's not as exposed as the front". Cedar guessed.

"This seems like a lot of guessing". Lev pointed out with a huff.

"I know, but at least we actually made it here". Cedar replied, trying to sound encouraging.

The other two were silent for a few moments before Ellie spoke up. "Do you think our parents are worried about us?".

Cedar just gave the young woman a sad smile before zipping himself into his sleeping bag and turning away from her and Lev without a single word.

- Tacoma, Washington State - Six Hours Until Arriving In Seattle.

"I swear to God I'm gonna kill all three of those kids as soon as we find them". Joel ranted as he, Tommy, Rocky, Benji and Luca continued their journey through Tacoma after they had bid goodbye to the other half of the group.

"Joel -". Tommy tried to cut in tiredly, clearly sick of the carrying on his big brother had been doing for the last two and a half hours.

"No, first I'm gonna ground Ellie till she's forty then I'm gonna fucking kill her". Joel decided angrily even as tears welled in his eyes.

"Joel!". Tommy finally snapped, stopping his older brother in his tracks and tucking a hand underneath his chin to make him look up. "I need you to keep your shit together, the kids need you to keep your shit together, alright?".

Joel stared at Tommy for a moment or so before releasing a shaky exhale and nodding as his tears began to fall. "I - I'm sorry".

Tommy nodded sympathetically and pulled Joel in for a comforting hug as the elder Miller brother broke down and cried, the stress of the last few weeks finally getting to him.

"I'm sorry". Joel apologized again, clearly embarrassed by his outburst as he wiped at his tear filled eyes and pulled away from the hug.

"Just stay with us, okay?". Luca suddenly cut in as he reached out and held Joel's hand.

Joel managed a small smile and gently squeezed Luca's hand as the group continued forward without further issue.

Back in Seattle Cedar, Ellie and Lev awoke a few hours later as the first rays of daylight poured in through the shredded curtain on the window.

The group made it halfway towards the center of town before a dilapidated wooden cabin caught Lev's eye, causing him to run off and bolt towards it.

"This is an old Seraphite house". Lev explained as Cedar and Ellie joined him inside the cabin.

"You think it's been abandoned?". Ellie asked as she looked around.

"The food still looks fresh, whoever lives here probably went out for a supply run". Cedar replied, pointing at the fresh cuts of fish and deer meat stored in a cooler filled with fresh snow and ice.

"Plus, if it had been raided, The WLF would have burned it down by now". Lev explained.

"Whatever Seraphite lives here must be good at covering their identity since they're right in the middle of WLF territory". Ellie said in an almost impressed tone of voice.

"Guys... we really need to get out of here". Cedar instructed in a low voice, trying to push down the feeling of dread that was bubbling in his belly.

Lev looked at his older brother oddly and was about to say something but was cut off by three heavily armed people suddenly walking into the cabin with their weapons at the ready.