Even When the World Comes Down (Sequel to Always & Forever)

Chapter 24 - Beth

Ellie ended up falling asleep almost immediately after Joel had. I laughed lightly when that happened. I was certain that the both of them hadn't slept in who knew how long. It warmed my heart to see the two of them getting some sleep in. I wasn't sure how long I had been driving but we were nearing Pittsburgh. I wasn't really sure as to where it was we were heading but after Joel told me about Tess, I didn't think it was the right time to ask about Ellie. That one could wait for a little while. I could see the outskirts of the city nearing the longer I drove. As I got much closer, I had to slow down. Joel must have felt that cause the next I knew, he was sitting up.

"What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

I stopped right at an intersection. The road to my left had cars that blocked the highway completely. The road to my right led deeper into the city.

"We've hit a roadblock," I said.

The both of us looked back to the road we'd just been travelling on. Ellie yawned and stretched herself.

"Why'd we stop?" she asked.

She took a moment to look out the windshield and process what Joel and I were contemplating.

"Well...now what?" she asked.

I looked over at Joel.

"You're the navigator. It's your call," I said.

He looked at the road ahead and once more at the road behind.

"Screw it. Let's head to the right," he said.

I turned to the right and kept going. We were all silent as we headed into the city and passed by the worn down buildings that were still standing. I suddenly hit the brakes as I caught sight of a man coming out of the shadows.

"Easy," Ellie said caught by surprise.

"Please...help..." he shouted as he limped his way closer.

Fuck. No wonder the left side of the highway was blocked.

"Holy shit...are we gonna help him?" she asked.

I put my seat belt on and gripped onto the steering wheel. I looked over at Joel and the both of us knew what we had just driven into.

"Put your seat belt on, Ellie," he said.

"What about the guy?" she asked as she strapped in.

"You know what to do, Beth?" he asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" I retorted.

"What? Guys, he's hurt," Ellie said.

"No he ain't," Joel said.

Before the man could come any closer, I floored it.

"Oh fuck! Go. Go. Go!" the man yelled.

He pulled out a gun and started firing at us. More men emerged from their hiding spots and started throwing things at us to get us to stop. There was no way in hell we were gonna do that. I swerved, trying my best to dodge what was being thrown at us. As we hit an intersection, I caught something out of the corner of my eye but saw it too late.

"Oh, not good!" Ellie shouted.

We'd been hit by a bus that they rolled off a hill and I lost control.

"Shit! Brace yourselves!" I yelled.

We ended up crashing right into a convenient store where we hit a wall. The truck was a goner. I turned to make sure Ellie and Joel were okay.