CHAPTER TWO.
look for the light

VIENNA WINDSOR thought about them often — the ghosts of the people she loved and lost.

     They haunted her day after day, creeping up on her like a foreboding shadow of loss and darkness. They consumed her thoughts and lingered in her dreams during the midst of her slumber. She thought about them more than she would have liked too. She would think about those she had lost on outbreak day, and if they were still out there somewhere, surviving just like she was, or if they had succumbed to the cruelty of the new world. She thought about the husband she left for dead. Although he deserved what he got, the woman could never forget the sound of his tortured screams begging for her help, something she could not grant for the sake of her safety and her son's.

However, if there was one person Vienna Windsor could never forget about, it was him. Her son. It had been two and a half years since Ezra Windsor abandoned her one cold and stormy night, leaving nothing more than a handwritten note that Vienna held on to even after all this time. It was the only thing she had to remind herself of him. He was her reason for going on. Even when she felt like giving up, she would picture his face and it gave her a reason to fight another day. The hope of seeing her son again was the only thing keeping her alive. He was her lifeline and she wasn't ready to let go just yet. And if there was a possibility she would find Ezra again, she wasn't going to allow herself to succumb to the horrors lurking around each and every corner just yet.

     But Vienna knew she couldn't survive alone. After the Fireflies saved her life from the hoard of infected, she was approached by the leader of the rebellion, Marlene. She promised Vienna a chance, an offer the woman would be foolish to have refused. She was soon initiated into the Fireflies shortly after. It wasn't ideal, having to hide in the shadows when she should've been looking for her son. But Vienna knew she wouldn't have survived much longer on her own. At least with the Fireflies, Vienna knew she stood a better chance than she ever would have alone. And, besides, she believed their cause was one worth fighting for. A free world was better than one oppressed by the hands of FEDRA.

     And the hope of finding a way to manufacture a vaccine still burned bright. Well, Vienna Windsor didn't have full faith in a cure for the infection that has ravaged the world, but Marlene and many others still did. And Vienna trusted Marlene enough to know that they still had to keep hope alive.

     Until then though, it was just another day hidden away in the Boston QZ. Vienna woke up that morning tasked with assisting in the observation of a young girl Marlene had brought to them. Vienna wasn't sure about the importance of this girl, or why she had to be chained up in a room all alone. She was still new to the Fireflies, and it was abundantly clear that they still didn't trust her enough to enlighten her about what was going on. So Vienna remained in the dark while she continued to do what Marlene asked of her, and that was her job. And maybe, just maybe, she would get to see the full picture soon enough.

When Vienna entered the room alongside a few other Fireflies, people who Marlene seemed to trust a lot more, she was met by a young girl. She could be no older than fourteen, maybe even fifteen. Vienna stayed back, her arms folded over her chest while the woman with the clipboard stepped forward, taking the lead. This caused for the teenage girl to stand up from the ground before she kicked over an empty food tray. Vienna couldn't be resentful towards the girl's anger. If she spent weeks chained to a brick wall too, well, she would surely go out of her mind.

"Count slowly and clearly from one to ten." The woman instructed, causing for the girl to do the opposite and count at full speed, almost stumbling over her own words in the process. "Slowly and clearly." The woman repeated once again, interrupting the girl.

The girl let out a loud huff before she began to count slowly and clearly like she was told. By the time she reached the number nine, the girl raised her hand flipped them all off with a simple, "Fuck you," Hanging bitterly from her lips.

Vienna did her best to hide her smile and remain professional while the woman in front of her continued to ask the girl the following questions — the same load of questions that they've been asking the young girl for weeks. "And hold out your—" Vienna lifted her gaze to see the girl was already doing what she was told without having to be asked. "State your name slowly and clearly." The woman in front of Vienna instructed once again.

"Veronica." She told them, frustration laced in her voice as she dropped her hand back down to her side. "Same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the—" Vienna noticed everyone was quick to exit the room, causing for her to do the same, sparing Veronica one last glance before she left the room. "Hey, people are gonna come looking for me. People from FEDRA. You hear me? Let me out, or you're gonna pay motherfuckers!"

     That was the last thing Vienna heard from the young girl while she walked down the long hallway, her eyes flickering between the other Firefly members passing by her, and the wallpaper peeling off from the walls. It was the same sight she was met with every day. Vienna would like to say she was used to it by now. But even after spending weeks hidden in a building as safe as this one, she still felt this gnawing feeling in the back of her skull that told her there was dangers lurking around each and every corner. She believed it was just a matter of time before the faces she saw every day walking down these corridors would become ghosts of their former selves.

However, Vienna Windsor was quick to shrug off that harrowing and foreboding thought when she entered the next room, coming face to face with the leader of the Fireflies and her fellow friend, Marlene. When the woman spotted Vienna entering the room, she was quick to ask everyone else to clear the room so they could have some privacy. Once the room was cleared, leaving Vienna and Marlene alone, that gave them the opportunity to discuss what's been going on with the girl locked away from the rest of the Fireflies. Now everyone knew about her. They just didn't know why, and not everyone was allowed to know the reason until Marlene was ready to reveal her suspicions about the girl.

     Vienna hoped this would be the moment when Marlene would finally let her in and inform her about why this girl in particular was so important to their cause. What did she have to offer that required the upmost secrecy?

"How did the monitoring go with the girl?" Marlene asked curiously, sounding almost hopeful.

Vienna let out a sigh, taking a seat at the table opposite Marlene. "She's got one hell of a mouth on her, I give her that." She laughed, earning a small smile from Marlene in response to her words. "But I don't exactly understand why we're monitoring this girl, and what's all this information we're getting from her for. Marlene, I know I haven't been with you guys for very long. But how am I suppose to feel like a member of this team if you don't trust me with crucial information?" She explained.

     Marlene stared at Vienna for a short moment before she nodded her head. "You're right. You deserve to be trusted with crucial information. You've proved to me time and time again that you're loyal to our cause." She agreed.

     "So?" Vienna questioned. She was practically dying to know what's been going on and why did it involve one little girl.

Marlene waited for a moment, swallowing thickly while she looked down at the chipped wooden table before she lifted her gaze to meet Vienna's prying eyes, her lips parting to speak. "That girl. Her name isn't Veronica. It's Ellie. Three weeks ago she came to me for help after she was bitten." She told her.

A nervous grin ghosted across Vienna's lips, the woman beginning to shake her head. "That doesn't make sense. If she was bitten three weeks ago, she shouldn't even be alive, unless—" Vienna cut herself off, her smile fading from her lips as realisation hit her like a ton of tumbling bricks. "Bullshit." She cursed, refusing to accept the facts right in front of her.

"I know what you're going to say." Marlene chuckled.

"You're trying to tell me this girl is immune?" Vienna asked in a rhetorical manner, a glimmer of disbelief twinkling in her eyes. "There's no way. Everyone who gets bit turns within a couple of days. You had to have made some sort of mistake." She elaborated further.

Marlene smiled again, nodding her head. "I've seen the bite. It's legit. And the last time I checked, she's still herself. We've been thorough with our investigation, Vienna. There hasn't been a single sign of slurred speech. Not a single twitch from her. Nothing. I haven't seen anything like this before, which is how I know this is it — mankind's last hope." She explained.

     And when Vienna Windsor looked into Marlene's eyes, that was when she realised that everything she was telling her, it was the truth. This Ellie girl. . . she was immune just like Marlene had said. Vienna almost couldn't believe it still. For twenty years, there hasn't even been an inkling of hope that they could go back to the way the world was once before. Now after all this time, some girl came out of the darkness and into the light for all of them to see. It sounded almost too good to be true. But Vienna couldn't deny the facts no more, a small smile of relief breaking free across her lips.

     "Holy shit." Vienna breathed out, combing a hand through her brown locks. "Who else knows about this?"

     "Only a selected few. I'm planning to tell Kim after we're done here. I want to keep the circle small. That's our best way of keeping this girl safe." Marlene informed, pausing for a moment while she inhaled sharply. "There's a Firefly base out West. They're working on a cure. I have a guy coming with a battery for our truck. Then we'll escort Ellie there. We just have to hope our doctors can manufacture a vaccine."

     Vienna nodded her head, taking in all of the information Marlene was supplying to her, the woman swallowing the thick lump lodged in the back of her throat. Marlene noticed this and placed a hand on Vienna's shoulder, their eyes locking with the other in the process. "This is it, Vienna. We're going to change the world." Marlene reassured her, a celebratory smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

     And for the first time in a long time, Vienna Windsor truly believed her.

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     Ezra Windsor never liked to admit he was right. However, when Joel and Tess came knocking on his door in the early hours of the morning, telling him all about how Robert screwed them over, took the battery, and beat Tess's face in, well, he couldn't help but admit he was right in not trusting the guy. Now they were left with fewer supplies than they would've liked, no battery, and Tess was still aching from the beating she received from Robert's guys. It was safe to say Ezra was pissed, along with Tess and Joel, who were out for blood. More specifically, Robert's blood.

     So, when faced with a shitty deal, what did the trio agree was the best course of action? Revenge, of course.

Ezra shined his torch down the long, dark underground tunnel. It was a known place for any smuggler, looking to get out of the QZ. And also their best chance at finding Robert where he often hides out. Tess was leading the way, guiding Ezra and Joel down the dark tunnel until they eventually found the right door. "That's the one." Tess called out to them, nodding towards a steel door in the distance.

One by one, they all walk up a small step ladder. Once Tess pushed the door open, Ezra stepped into the second dark room. This caused for the boy to lift his flashlight once again, shining it all over his surroundings in case there was any unwelcome visitors hiding in the shadows. If there was one thing Ezra learned in life, especially after spending his entire lift surviving in the apocalypse, it was to never let his guard down. There would always be something, or someone looking to hurt him, or worse, kill him. The boy resented his mom for a lot of things, but at least she taught him how to survive.

     The trio continued to walk carefully through the set of room, shining their torches wearily over their familiar surroundings. There was a feeling almost haunting about the darkness that consumed the room. It was a strong enough feeling that it left a harrowing chill to run up and down Ezra's spine, causing for the boy to shiver, a shaky breath escaping past his lips while he continued to place one foot in front of the other in a hesitant manner. It was safe to say the place gave Ezra Windsor the creeps. He just hoped they found their way out soon.

All of a sudden, Tess let out a loud and frightened gasp. Thinking the worst, both Ezra and Joel rushed ahead to catch up with the woman and make sure she was safe. That was when Ezra shined his torch into the same direction as her to see she was quick to calm down before he looked over at where she was staring, only to see a corpse stuck to the brick wall behind it; growths of fungus sticking out of every crevice of its body, swarming the wall and sticking to the floor surrounding it. It was dead though, meaning someone had been down here before them and taken care of it. At least Ezra didn't have that to worry about.

"This one's done." Joel was first to speak up, pointing out the obvious.

Tess nodded her head, letting out a shaky breath past her trembling lips. "I know. I just...wasn't expecting it." She replied, shining her torch over the dead infected.

"Take it he wasn't down here last time?" Joel asked curiously, his eyes flickering over towards the woman.

Ezra glanced over at Tess to see she was shaking her head. This caused for the boy to glance back over towards the dead infected stuck to the wall in front of him, inhaling sharply for a moment. "It seems like he might have gotten infected and found his way down here to wait it out." He stated, knowing that had to be one of the many other possibilities.

Joel's cold stare locked with the boy's soft ones. "Well, maybe down here was where he was infected." He retorted, contradicting Ezra's statement in the process.

Ezra continued to stare at the older man for a brief moment before his gaze drifted back to the dead corpse, swallowing thickly before he parted his lips to speak once again. "Well, that's reassuring." The boy muttered underneath his breath.

     "Let's keep moving." Tess told the boy's, turning on heal before she continued to move forward.

     Ezra and Joel were quick to exchange a series of looks before they followed Tess once again, coming to a quick and sudden stop when they reached another tall ladder that would lead them straight to where they needed to go. Tess was first to climb the ladder, followed by Ezra, and lastly, Joel. They moved up the ladder in an orderly fashion in silence. Well, that was until Joel's voice flooded the air. "It's like they reframed the whole structure. Probably in the '80s. Everyone was cutting down on apartment sizes to sell more condos." He explained.

     It was true that Ezra didn't know too much about Joel and Tess other than the basics. But he had always been so fascinated by Joel's life before the apocalypse. When Ezra found out what the man once did for a living, he always seemed curious enough to listen whenever Joel talked about construction. If Ezra had been lucky enough to grow up in the real world and not the apocalypse, he would have chosen construction as a profession when he reached adulthood. If there was ever a chance the world was restored, he would want to pursue that future for himself.

     But the reality differed a lot in comparison to dreams. And the reality was that the world would never go back to the way things were before. A big miracle would have to land on their laps in order for real change to be made. And that kind of change was impossible because a lot that has happened could never be undone. That was the truth.

     Ezra was then broken free from his train of thought when he heard Tess' familiar chuckle ring through his ears. "This has been Construction Corner with Joel Miller." Tess chimes, her voice laced with amusement while she spoke.

     "I don't know. I find it pretty interesting." Ezra argued in a jokingly manner while he continued to climb up the ladder, a sigh leaving his lips. "How far now?" He then asked.

     Tess stopped in her tracks and looked up. "This far." She declared, now standing by what appeared to be a makeshift door. "This opens into the hallway." She informed.

     Ezra watched as Tess made an attempt to push the makeshift door open, however, when she tried, the boy couldn't help but notice she was struggling. This caused for Ezra to furrow his brows together in confusion, a puzzled look plastered across his face. "You okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, it's just...what the fuck?" Tess replied, staring at the makeshift door with knitted brows. "Someone put a piano in front of this?" She then questioned in a rhetorical manner.

Tess began to push harshly against the door. That was when Joel parted his lips to speak. "Wait. You smell that?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tess nodded her head in response, her eyes locking with Joel's for a moment while she spoke. "Yeah, gunpowder."

Ezra then shined his torch on the door, the light travelling down until he spotted something that sent another cold chill up his spinal cord. "Uh, guys..." He trailed off, his voice beginning to shake. "Is that blood?" He asked, staring down at the crimson red substance seeping from underneath the makeshift door.

Each of them quickly took out their guns, arming themselves in case danger lurked on the other side of the door. Tess nodded her head and released a shaky breath past her lips before she pushed the makeshift door open, each of them carefully stepping into the hallway. Ezra raised his pistol as he entered the hallway, turning his torch off while he looked around with widened eyes, his breath hitched in the back of his throat when he saw the horrors displayed in front of his gaze.

     Bodies littered the hallway, one by one, scattered across the floor, while others laid up against the wall. Blood was splattered across the walls before the boy lowered his gaze to see the familiar crimson colour smeared across the hardwood floors. Ezra swallowed thickly once again, keeping his gun out while he continued to look up and down the hallway, spotting even more dead bodies than before. Then he noticed the bullet holes engraved into the walls. At least it wasn't infected. Ezra only hoped whoever was responsible for such horror was gone now.

     A scoff echoed through Ezra's ears. This caused for the boy to look down to see Tess was now crouching by what appeared to be Robert, who was now very much dead. Karma definitely had perfect timing, Ezra thought quietly to himself. "Well, the battery's no good. And he tried to sell it. Twice. You greedy fuck." Tess informed.

     "Well, our Robert problem was taken care of." Ezra declared, lowering his weapon for a moment while he stared down at the man's dead corpse. His eyes then flickered over towards the battery, a sigh tumbling out of his throat. "But where the fuck are we gonna get ourselves a new battery?"

     Before anyone could answer that question, a loud grunt full of pain echoed loudly in the distance. This caused for Ezra to raise his gun, worried that whoever did this was still lingering down one of these hallways. Joel then turned to face the boy. "Stay behind me." He instructed, practically whispering to keep their whereabouts hidden just in case these strangers imposed as a threat towards them.

     Joel spared the pair one last glance before he turned around, following the string of low whispers and incoherent words. The man took a sharp turn down another hallway, raising his gun once again when he saw three women, two of them helping the one who seemed to be the most wounded up from the ground. Joel remained silent while he slowly approached them, putting one foot carefully in front of the other, knowing he was outnumbered by the looks of it. He didn't want to risk his own life until he was sure about what had happened before they arrived.

     But, all of a sudden, the older man was taken by surprise when what appeared to be a young girl came charging at him with a knife. This caused for Joel to grab the girl and slam her against the wall, alerting the group of women at the end of the hallway. All three of the women raised their guns at the man while he kept his weapon trained on them, his foot remaining on the young girl's knife to protect himself from any secondary attack.

     "Joel?" A familiar voice called out his name.

     When Joel lifted his gaze to look back at the woman, he couldn't help but feel his entire body tense when his eyes met her own. He couldn't believe it. He was almost convinced he was lost in another drunken, drug-induced dream. But she was there, standing in front of him, a gun pointed directly in his direction with a surprised expression plastered across her face. She looked different with her hair longer than it was before, and her skin a lot more pale than normal. But she somehow remained the same all at once with her soft, electric green eyes and kind features. It was as if she hadn't changed at all.

     And with a shaky breath leaving his lips, he breathed out the name of the one person he never thought he would see again. . .

     "Vienna?"

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authors note.
JOEL AND VIENNA REUNITED!! And the next chapter will open up with a flashback of their last interaction before the outbreak, and it's got me smiling and kicking my feet and shit, so I can't wait for you guys to read it. And Ezra will finally see Vienna again in the next chapter which is, well, shaky to say the least 👀

But until then I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll update again soon. . . maybe even this weekend 👀