v. the ones we leave behind
FLY ME TO THE MOON
v. THE ONES WE LEAVE BEHIND
❝WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?❞
THE NIGHT HOURS HAD TICKED SLOWLY, yet there was no sign of Tommy and it was slowly starting to take a toll on both Joel and Julia. She could tell that Joel was anxious as she watched his leg shake in the pale moonlight that had slowly begun to fade into sunlight. Neither one of them had dared to sleep, waiting for Tommy's arrival. Joel's grip on his rifle was tight, causing his skin to turn as white as paper. He sat posted by the warehouse's window, keeping his eyes trained for intruders. They had sat in silence for hours, except for Julia's occasional questions. But, Joel gave no answers. Their son, Adam, had fallen asleep. The young boy was slumped in a fold-up chair Julia had been able to find. She sat close to him, listening to his slow breaths.
Her dark eyes flickered to Joel. "Any sign of Tommy?"
"Not yet," Joel answered sharply, not sparing her a glance back.
It made a sigh leave her lips, but she didn't blame him for his firm tone. Something had happened last night, something that Joel was still unwilling to share. Julia didn't understand how things could have gone so wrong, considering everything was fine earlier in the day. They had been staying with the community for a long time, having joined almost a year ago. She got along with the other members of the group, working as the community's doctor. Joel and Tommy were usually on patrol duty or out searching for supplies. And, Adam had joined the school the community had set up for the younger kids. He was just beginning to learn how to read and write. Plus, he always seemed happier with the other kids too. She had hoped the community could become a permanent home, but those dreams had been shattered. Julia sighed, wondering what time it was and why Tommy hadn't shown up yet. Her eyes flickered to the broken watch around Joel's wrist for a moment.
A soft sniffle echoed throughout the otherwise quiet warehouse, making Julia look at their son. He called for her, reaching out. She smiled, taking his hand to show him she was still there. "I'm right here, Adam," Julia whispered, bringing his hand to her lips to kiss gently against it. "Are you okay? Was it another nightmare?"
Adam nodded slowly. It earned a tug from Julia's heart, making her wish she could take away his pain. She hoped he had gotten the chance to grow up as a normal kid. At least, the community provided that for a little while. But now, they were back on the road, and she wasn't sure for how long. His brown eyes lingered on Joel, but his father had yet to acknowledge him.
Julia drew his attention. She placed a gentle hand against his cheek, wiping away the stray tear with her thumb. "What was your nightmare about, baby?"
For a moment, Adam stayed quiet. "I... I lost you, Mama," he said softly, struggling to meet her gaze as his eyes filled with tears again. He spared another glance in Joel's direction. "The... The monsters got you and Daddy."
She frowned, knowing it must have been months since Adam had seen an Infected. But, it didn't change the first few years of his life he had spent running from them. Those had easily been some of the most challenging times of her life, but somehow Joel had gotten them all through it. She rubbed his arm, leaning forward to place a kiss against his forehead. "I ain't going anywhere, and neither is Daddy, okay?" Julia reassured him. "We're with you till the end, Adam."
He smiled. "Promise?"
"I promise."
They were interrupted by Joel, looming over them with a darkened expression. He had left his post by the widow, making Julia frown as she stood to her full height. Something was very wrong, but she waited for Joel to speak first. He cleared his throat. "We need to keep moving."
"What about Uncle Tommy?" Adam asked softly, looking around the warehouse for any signs of the other man.
"Tommy ain't coming," Joel said, not bothering to elaborate. Julia shook her head, not accepting that answer. He could get away with giving their son vague answers, but she wasn't about to leave without Tommy.
"We can't leave without Tommy, Joel," Julia gritted out, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at her husband. She knew Joel and Tommy didn't always get along, considering the two had very different survival tactics. But, it was so secret that the two brothers would do anything to protect each other. "What if... What if he's in trouble?"
"Then, he's already dead," Joel spat out, causing Julia's eyes to widen at the grim possibility. They couldn't lose Tommy; she didn't want to believe that. It seemed that even Joel had realized the severity of his words, causing him to frown. He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, Tommy can handle himself. He'll find us. But, we can not stay here with Clayton's men searching the town for us."
"But, why, Joel?" Julia asked, voice raising as her frustration began to drip off her words. She could see Adam's nervous expression, staring at both of them.
Joel looked in the direction of their son, refusing to speak. Again, he avoided the question. "We need to keep moving. Staying here will get us all killed."
Julia decided it would be best to let it go for now, realizing that following Joel was the best decision. For Adam's sake. She wanted to know what happened, understand why they had to run in the middle of the night and whose blood covered Joel's shirt. She wanted to know where Tommy was. She wanted to know why their safe haven had become a nightmare. But, Joel would not answer her questions. Still, she dared to ask another one. "Where will we go?"
For a moment, Joel was silent. "Somewhere north, perhaps," he mumbled, causing a heavy sigh to leave Julia's lips. "We'll figure it out; we always do."
It would be the same situation as before the community, wandering throughout Texas as they tried to find a safe place. They had stayed with the Texas Quarantine Zone set up in Austin for a long time. It was filled to the brim with misplaced citizens, crying to be reunited with their families again. They had just lost Sarah, Julia remembered. The three of them were packed in an apartment with a family of six. The military was ruthless from the start, searching door to door for any sign of infection. Julia, herself, had gotten ill. Perhaps, it was due to the stress or the baby. But, they feared she might be infected as well. They had almost killed her, but a different side of Joel had emerged. Something so brutal, vicious. Julia had never seen him like that before, leaving them all to run before they could face the consequences of murdering four soldiers. The QZ was quickly overthrown by citizens and a few sympathetic FEDRA soldiers. At least, that's the story that the community gave them when they joined. They had left the QZ long before it had been overthrown. She was grateful they had been able to escape the QZ. Now, they were escaping from the community. Perhaps, they were destined to always be on the run.
Joel clicked his tongue, earning Julia's attention back. "But, we need to focus on getting out of town first."
Julia cleared her throat, thinking back to the futile plans she had made with her sister, Marlene, a few months back. For so long, she had thought Marlene was dead. But then, there had been a broadcast sent out by an organization that called themselves the Fireflies. It was supposedly broadcast all over the United States, urging citizens to fight against FEDRA and join the Fireflies. It was a ridiculous notion at first, but Julia was drawn to the messages. And then, she realized why the voice sounded so familiar. After finding a way to contact the Fireflies with the community's radios, she was able to speak to Marlene. She was somewhere in Boston, holed up near the university she attended. She had mentioned it to Joel, but he had refused to risk the trek it would take to get to Boston.
"Perhaps," Julia mumbled, facing Joel with a stern expression. She held Adam's hand, keeping his close as he shivered from the autumn breeze that entered from the broken windows. "We should head toward Boston."
"Julia, we have talked about━━"
"Do you have any better ideas, Joel?" Julia spat out, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Joel and Tommy had gotten them into this mess, so the least they could do was consider her suggestion to get them out. "I was able to contact Marlene again a few weeks ago," She continued, chewing the inside of her cheek. "She's still alive and in Boston, trying to get a group of people together to fight against FEDRA. They're calling themselves the Fireflies."
"Sounds dangerous and stupid," Joel scoffed, tightening his grip on his rifle.
"It's our best bet," Julia added, sparing another glance in Adam's direction. The young boy silently listened, staring up at the two of them. He was exhausted, no doubt, after having slept in a lawn chair for most of the night. Even Julia was on the verge of exhaustion, having stayed awake most of the night. She could only wonder how Joel felt. "We don't have anywhere else to go."
Joel sighed. "Boston ain't exactly close, Jules."
Jules. It still made Julia smile whenever he would use that nickname. These days, it was rare, but Joel still let it slip here and there. She offered him a smile and shrug of her shoulders. "Do you have a better idea?"
Joel stared at her for a moment, thinking about their plan. It was still unlikely they would make it out of the town alive with everyone searching for them. But, if by some miracle they survived, they couldn't survive out in the wild forever. There would always be the risk of running into Infected and other dangerous humans. After what seemed like forever, Joel nodded. "Fine," he mumbled. "Boston, it is."
Julia's smile widened, nodding her head. "We should try to find a way to send Marlene another message, let her know that we're coming to Boston. I don't want her to leave before we get there," She pointed out. "Chasing the Fireflies all over the United States doesn't seem like the best time."
He thought about it for a moment, agreeing. "There's a radio station a few miles east from here," He added, grabbing his backpack that was laid by the lawn chair where Adam had slept for the night. He put it on, adjusting it to ensure it wouldn't slip off during their travel. "Tommy and I saw it on patrol once, cleared out some Infected nearby. It looked abandoned."
Julia frowned. "Do you think it still works?"
Joel shrugged. "It's our only option if you want to get a message out to Marlene."
She knew they didn't have much of a choice, considering they couldn't head back into the community to send out a message using their broadcast system. "Alright, I guess we're heading to that radio station."
"First, we need to get out of town," Joel reminded, gesturing to the handgun holstered to Julia's side. He spared Adam a glance, noticing the sleepy expression on the young boy's face. He clenched his jaw, no doubt from the stress he felt. "It's going to be crawling with Clayton's men. We need to be careful. One wrong move..."
"I know, Joel." She was quiet for a moment, biting her lip. "We should leave a note for Tommy, considering there's a possibility he might still show up. He should know how to meet up with us."
"It's too dangerous," Joel said, shaking his head. His jaw clenched, watching her with dark remorseful eyes. "We can't risk putting Clayton on our trail."
Julia frowned. "I'll write it so that only Tommy understands," she said softly, not wanting to leave Tommy completely alone. He was family. Julia would never leave behind her family. "It's just going to be a risk that we have to take."
Joel reluctantly agreed, choosing to pick up Adam instead as he prepared to leave. A sigh escaped her lips, opening her backpack to pull out her notebook before ripping a page from it. She scribbled a note onto it, MARLENE'S FAVORITE SONGS, DON'T FORGET TO ASK THE RADIO STATION TO PLAY THEM. Tommy knew who Marlene and the Fireflies were, considering Julia had told him about the contact she had. But, it was still a message that could be easily ignored. So, Julia signed it with Sarah's name. It would be something that Tommy couldn't ignore. It would be a note that only he could understand, considering no one in the community knew about Sarah. She crumbled up the note, covering it with a bit of dirt to give it the illusion of being weathered. She placed it on one of the crates, hoping it would only be seen by Tommy's eyes.
She approached Joel and Adam, giving them a nod to show that she was ready. "Let's get out of this town."
♡
IT'S BEEN TOO LONG SINCE I UPDATED THIS BOOK, but I recently replayed TLOU and I have fallen back in love. I missed Joel and Ellie so much. I am so excited for the remake too! From the clips I have seen, it truly looks so incredible! Also, the TV show that is coming out?? I am so excited! TLOU is getting the attention that it deserves! I have had a new surge of inspiration for this book and I need to finish it ASAP! It's just this first act of the book that I am struggling with since I don't have it fully outlined. Unlike Acts Two and Three (which follow Ellie and Abby respectively), I haven't had the chance to map out this act. I have forgotten almost everything I had planned for this book since it was over a year ago and I only wrote down certain things. So, I just need to replan and try to crack down on writing this book!
For now, enjoy this chapter! It was supposed to be longer since I was going to write them escaping the town, but I decided against it since we don't need it. We'll see a lot of similar scenes in the book since they're constantly trying to escape from somewhere, so I decided that we can all just assume what happened. But, we'll continue on Joel, Julia, and Adam's story in chapter seven! Next chapter, we'll be back with Joel, Julia, Ellie, and Tess! So excited! I believe I have that whole chapter outlined, but it still needs to be written. I will try to get to it ASAP.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, despite how short it was! I did plan on going back to add more stuff, but I decided against it. I think it should be fine! Sometimes, shorter chapters are needed!
AMARA.
[ PUBLISH DATE ━━ 08.13.2022 ]
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