CHAPTER FOUR.
you're somebody else

     VIENNA WINDSOR had dreamed of this moment for a long time — to reunite with her only child.

From the moment she woke up that morning to find her only reason for breathing was gone, well, it had torn her heart into two. Like he had taken a piece of her with him when he left. She cried. She screamed. She clutched his goodbye note to her chest and begged for her baby boy to come back to her. The loss of a child, even one who wasn't actually dead, and just lost, was a kind of pain Vienna never wished for anyone. Not even her greatest enemy. And in that moment, in the midst of the horrifying revelation that Ezra Windsor had run away, all she wanted was to hold her son again.

And, so, once Vienna had gotten past her grief and sorrow, she made it her life's mission to find her son again. To hold him in her arms and make things right after every terrible thing she did. She knew it was her actions that drove him away in the first place. It was only right for her to fix what she had broken the moment she left the man she swore her life to alone to die while her son watched. If she did that, then maybe, just maybe, she could repair the bond her and Ezra once lost all of those years ago.

Imagine the woman's surprise when she found him again, standing in that hallway onto a few feet away from her, only to learn that the resentment and burning hatred he felt for his own mother remained, even after all this time. Like a burning ember, it only took seeing her face to ignite that hatred all over again, almost like she was adding fuel to the fire just by existing. That was the moment Vienna learned that it was going to take a lot more than a simple apology to make up for the things she had done over the years.

And just like all of her dreams, the light they held was snuffed out the second her twisted reality withered its way into her life.

     Vienna and the others had arrived at what she could only guess was an apartment owned by Ezra, Joel, or Tess — the woman who Vienna had only just met earlier the same day. It was dark out now, hours passing them bye while they waited for Tess to return from her task of scoping out the area. She needed to make sure it was safe for them to sneak out from since FEDRA were hunting down the Fireflies, looking for them around every corner. It was times like these when Vienna saw the cons to being a Firefly. After all, being hunted wasn't exactly her ideal situation, but neither was the apocalypse.

     The woman quietly watched as the raindrops smacked against the window pane of the small one bedroom apartment, a sense of peace and clarity coming over her while she watched the raindrops slide down the glass. Vienna always liked the rain. Growing up in Texas, well, it was rare to see even a drop of rain. She was mostly used to the beaming sun, and the radiant heat. But when it came to rain, the way it felt against her bare skin, it was a feeling of pure euphoria that Vienna loved to remember. Rain was a reminder that she was still here. That she was alive.

Vienna's eyes slowly drifted over towards Ellie, a small smile ghosting across her lips while she watched as the young girl flicked through the pages of an old greatest hits book guide. She then looked over her shoulder to see Joel sleeping somewhat peacefully, the older man grumbling quietly in his sleep, a long string of incoherent words escaping past his lips. That was new, Vienna Windsor thought to herself. Joel wasn't much of a sleep-talker. It shouldn't have been surprising to notice another little change in the man's personality, demeanour, and even his new habits. But for her it was.

     It was strange. Vienna felt as if she was the only person to ever truly know Joel Miller for who he had always been, inside and out. However, she quickly learned twenty years was a long time, long enough for someone to change. Vienna knew better than anyone how much a cruel and cutthroat world can change a person. It surely did change her. She just never believed she would look at Joel and see a stranger. An empty shell of a man she once knew. Vienna wanted to catch up and learn more about what's happened in the last two decades since they were separated following the outbreak. But this was the first time the woman found herself lost for words, not knowing when or how to approach her own best friend. Especially when she didn't even know if she should call him that anymore.

     Releasing a sigh past her lips, Vienna eyes slowly flickered from Joel to her son, Ezra Windsor, who was staring straight back at her, narrowing his eyes into a sharp glare into her direction. Vienna swallowed thickly, watching as her son stood up from where he was sitting on the floor before he stormed off into the next room. The woman felt a dull ache erupt in her chest the moment she watched him disappear in the next room. She didn't want to believe he hated her. Her sweet boy was never capable of hate, but she was starting to think that he changed too.

     Vienna turned back around to face Ellie, who was staring back at her with a curious look burning bright in her eyes. Vienna could even spot the small smirk ghosting across the young girl's lips. She had hoped she could avoid the series of prying questions aching the jump out of Ellie by turning away from the girl, her eyes peering out of the window once again, watching as the raindrops continued to slip down the glass.

     "So..." A quiet and all too familiar voice trailed off, causing for Vienna to curse underneath her breath before her gaze drifted over towards Ellie. She should've known better than to think a teenage girl could keep her curiosities to herself. "You and the asshole over there know each other?"

Vienna glanced over her shoulder, looking over to who Ellie was gesturing towards. The woman glanced over at Joel, who continued to sleep somewhat peacefully on the couch, a sigh leaving her lips as she turned her attention back to Ellie once again. "We knew each other. We were friends before the outbreak. We got separated when all of this started." She told the girl, deciding to he truthful to an extent.

"What happened?" Ellie interrogated further, earning a surprised look from Vienna in response. "I mean, why didn't you ever try to find him if you guys were friends?"

     "You ask a lot of questions, you know that?" Vienna replied, earning a shrug from the young girl. Vienna then let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "When everything went down, it was chaos. I wasn't thinking about him when everything happened. I just wanted to get out alive. There wasn't a chance to turn back and go back for someone who could possibly be dead, but I guess I was wrong." She explained.

     That was only part of the truth. The morning after everything fell apart, she was sleeping in her car while Jack kept watch incase any infected decided to pay a visit. When she woke up, she told her husband that she wanted to go back and find the Miller family. To make sure they were all safe, and if they were, then maybe they could survive together, safety in numbers, and all. However, Jack wouldn't allow it. And not because it put her safety at risk, but he didn't want to risk his own life for a family he only tolerated because Vienna cared about them.

     Jack Lawson knew Vienna would never let them go unless she believed they were dead too. He convinced her, and even manipulated her into thinking they were gone for good. She was wrong to believe him. Vienna knew she should've left him that day. But she only continued to stick around when she believed she couldn't survive without him there to protect her. She was wrong about that too.

"Now...are you done?" Vienna inquired, hoping that she wouldn't have to face the past any longer than she already had from the moment she saw Joel standing in that hallway.

     Ellie was silent for a swift moment before she parted her lips again. "Is it too soon to ask why your own son clearly doesn't like you?" She questioned in a rhetorical manner. This caused for Vienna to shoot Ellie and agitated stare. One that told her to drop the subject altogether. Ellie took the hint, nodding her head while she looked down at the book in her hands. "Got it." She whispered quietly underneath her breath.

"But I can tell you what the code you're trying to crack means." Vienna piped up, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Ellie lifted her gaze to glance back at Vienna, her face lighting up the second those words left the woman's lips. "Really?" She asked, sounding hopeful.

The woman nodded her head, taking the book away from Ellie, looking down at the codes scribbled down on an old piece of paper kept hidden inside the book. Vienna's smile became a lot more prominent before her eyes met Ellie's handing the book back to her. "80s means trouble, which means whoever's on the other end of this radio, well, they need help." She explained.

Vienna watched as Ellie looked down at the code herself, a smile creeping to the young girl's lips. "That's so cool." She replied.

All of a sudden, Vienna heard a familiar grumble, causing for the woman to turn around to see Joel had stirred himself awake. "You mumble in your sleep." Ellie informed him.

Joel simply ignored the girl and sat upright before Ezra walked back into the room and took a seat next to Joel on the couch, a sigh leaving his lips in the process while he avoided all eye contact. "I've never been on the other side of the Wall." Ellie spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence brewing between the group. "Look how dark it is." She whispered.

"Take it you were born and raised in the QZ?" Ezra piped up, earning a slight nod from Ellie in response. Vienna turned around to glance at her son once again, watching as he let out a quiet scoff, a bitter smile ghosting across his lips. "It's gotta be nice for some."

Vienna knew deep down that her son's words were a sharp dig at her. Growing up, Vienna always heard the reoccurring question from Ezra; why couldn't they go and live in a quarantine zone? Vienna never trusted FEDRA. She knew they continued to abused their power, even when all civilisation fell apart. She didn't want to raise her son in that kind of environment, preferring to take her chances on the road, moving from one location to another every day, than to live under the rule of a corrupted law enforcement. He may not understand that now, but she hoped he would someday.

"You guys go out there a lot?" Ellie pressed further, sounding unsure while she spoke.

"I guess..." Joel answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"When was the last time?" Ellie continued to interrogate the pair.

"Maybe a year." Joel confessed, shaking his head while he stared at the young girl with a puzzled look. "What's it matter?" He questioned.

"But you know where to go?" Ellie pushed, earning a quick nod from Ezra in response. "So we're gonna be okay." She then muttered quietly underneath her breath, her gaze drifting back to look out of the window, watching as the raindrops fell down the window pane.

Vienna's eyes remained on the girl for a second. That was until Joel's voice caught her attention once again. "Vienna, can I talk to you for a moment...alone?" The woman turned around to glance at the man, sparing everyone else a quick glance before she stood up from where she was seated and followed Joel into the next room.

"What do you want to talk about, Joel?" Vienna asked him, adjusting the sleeves of her jacket.

     "The girl." Joel replied bluntly, folding his arms over his chest. "What's so special about her? Is she some big-wig's daughter or something?" He pressed further, a suspicious look burning bright in his dark eyes.

It was in that moment when Vienna Windsor wanted to confess the truth to her former friend. They never kept secrets from each other. That was how they became so close in the first place. However, Vienna promised Marlene to keep Ellie's immunity quiet to protect her from anything and anyone who threatened her life. Now Vienna didn't believe Joel was capable of killing a kid, but anyone is capable of killing an infected kid. When faced with the imminent fear of becoming infected, anyone would do anything to protect themselves from that very gut wrenching fate.

So, inhaling a sharp breath, Vienna shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, something like that." She replied, trying to keep it as vague as possible in hopes that she wouldn't have to tell a string of lies to shield Joel from the truth.

"Vienna, I'm being serious." Joel deadpanned, his bitter voice catching Vienna off guard. He's never spoken to her that way before. It almost felt as if she was speaking to a stranger all over again. "What's so special about the girl that she has to get out of the QZ undetected?" He asked again.

"Joel, truth is, I don't know." Vienna lied, sighing in the process. She felt a twinge of guilt tie knots in her stomach. She hated lying. Especially to him. "All I know is that she's important. Marlene didn't tell me the details, but what I do know is that she trusts me to protect her." She explained.

Joel simply nodded his head in response, an awkward silence flooding the air around them for a moment. That was until Joel looked into the next room to see Ezra talking to Ellie. That caused for a thought to cross his mind as his attention drifted back to Vienna, his lips parting to speak. "So, you have a son?"

Vienna let out a quiet chuckle, nodding her head. "Yeah..." She paused, looking into Joel's weary eyes for a moment. "Don't worry. He's not yours, if that's what you're worried about. I kinda had my suspicions that I was pregnant before we, you know...but I never wanted kids so I didn't want to think it was true. But then the world fell apart and then I had to know. Seven months later I was raising a child in the apocalypse." She explained, a sheepish grin tugging at her the corners of her lips.

     Joel nodded, the woman's words poking at his curiosity. "And what about his dad?" He questioned.

     "Uh, Jack died a long time ago." Vienna answered truthfully, looking down at the ground as her small smile began to fade away from her lips. She decided to keep the gory details of her late husband's death to a minimum.

     "Well, I would say sorry..." Joel trailed off, causing for Vienna to lift her gaze to stare back at him. "But you know how I felt about the guy."

     "Yeah, I didn't exactly grieve for him either." Vienna agreed. She hated herself for admitting that out loud, but it was the truth.

     "So, why were you guys separated?" Joel interrogated further. "It just doesn't seem like you to let him go running off. And he seemed surprised to see you earlier." He then pointed out.

     "It's complicated." Vienna replied, once again trying to keep the details of the last twenty years to a minimum. The woman then let out a loud sigh. "But enough about me. What about you? You said you needed a car battery to get to Tommy, and that Marlene turned him against you?" She questioned, changing the subject so the attention wasn't focused on her.

     Joel let out a huff. "Tommy was a Firefly. He saw the world one way, I saw it another. We struggled to get along after that."

     "Being a Firefly isn't as bad as you make it out to seem." Vienna retorted, lifting her hand to fiddle with the Firefly pendent around her neck.

     "Yeah, sure." Joel grumbled quietly underneath his breath before he cleared his throat. "But we still kept in touch. But he's been radio silent the last couple of weeks and I'm worried, so I need the battery to get to him. A car isn't going to get very far without it." He then explained.

     Vienna nodded her head before another familiar name crossed her mind. "And what about Sarah?" She asked, the mere mention of the girl's name being enough to catch Joel's full attention once again. "Where is she?" She pressed further, now waiting for an answer.

Joel felt his body tense while he parted his lips slightly, hesitating for a moment before he finally decided to speak. "She's with Tommy." He lied.

Truth is, Joel would be lying if he said he didn't feel guilty for the blatant lie he just told to the woman who loved and adored Sarah like she was her own child. However, the lie he told was a lot more easier to explain than the heartbreaking truth — that Sarah Miller was dead and gone, and had been for a long time. He wanted to spare the woman from the sad truth since they would be going their separate ways by tomorrow evening. But deep down, Joel was trying to protect his own cold heart from the thought of her death again, each time breaking him piece by piece.

"Really?" Vienna inquired curiously, a small smile of relief breaking across her face when she realised the young girl was still her much alive, living her life as an adult, maybe even with a family of her own now. "Wow. I'm not gonna lie, when I saw you standing in that hallway, I expected her to follow right behind you. You guys were inseparable. I thought the worst when I didn't see her. You'll have to send her and Tommy my love when you see her." She elaborated.

Joel nodded his head in response to the woman's words. "Will do. She'll be really happy to know you're still alive." He told her.

Vienna parted her lips once again, making an attempt to speak. However, Ellie's familiar voice was enough to interrupt the pair and their conversation. "The radio came on while you were sleeping, by the way." She called out.

The woman furrowed her brows together in confusion before her and Joel entered the next room, rejoining Ellie and Ezra in the process. "What was the song?" Joel asked.

"It kept saying like, 'wake me up before you go-go'?" Ellie informed them, shrugging her shoulders.

"Fuck." Ezra cursed, sitting back against the couch while both him and Joel seemed almost defeated.

"Gotcha." Ellie beamed with a mix of delight and victory. "80s means trouble. Code broken." She laughed, a twinkle of amusement burning in her eyes.

Vienna smiled slightly at the young girl in response while Joel approached her in the process. "Listen—"

Joel was quickly cut off when the door opened and Tess walked into the apartment. All eyes turned to face her, each of them wondering how the scoping went. "The spot under Lancaster looks good." She announced to the group.

     "It's time to go."

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One by one, the group slowly and carefully emerged from underground, each of them leaving the tunnel they had just come from. When Vienna reached the surface, the outside world was just as dark as she remembered, her only source of light coming from the large spotlight used to pick up on any enemy movement. FEDRA were still searching for Fireflies. Vienna knew she had to be careful. If they were to catch her, she would be shot on sight with zero hesitation. Vienna hasn't survived this long just to be killed by some sociopathic FEDRA officer.

The woman quickly hid herself behind an old, rusted down vehicle, watching as Ellie climbed out of the hole after her, a smile filled with excitement breaking out across the young girl's face while she looked around aimlessly. "Holy shit. I'm actually outside." She whispered, disbelief laced in her voice.

From the corner of her eye, Vienna noticed the spotlight slowly moving towards them. This caused for the woman to reach out, grabbing Ellie by the wrist before she pulled her behind the car alongside Tess. "Okay, we're gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone. You stay close and you follow my lead." Tess instructed, her words earning a nod from Vienna in response.

Slowly and safely, they all moved further away from the walls of the quarantine zone, crawling underneath cars while they continued to stay hidden from the beaming lights, and the FEDRA officers driving along the boarder. Tess continued to lead the way with the rest of them following close behind before they stopped inside a small tunnel. Vienna stopped in her tracks, listening to the engine revving as it drove past them. Her heart hammered hard against her ribcage while she listened to the sound of the raindrops smacking hard against the metal, followed by the familiar sound of thunder rumbling above them.

When they emerged from the tunnel, they continued to move slowly in the darkness, staying hidden within the shadows in hopes that they could escape the QZ safely and unseen. That was until they turned a corner, only to be met by an unfamiliar face. "Hey, hey! Don't move!" He ordered loudly, picking up his gun and pointing it at them, switching the flashlight attached on to see the faces hidden in the darkness.

Vienna quickly adjusted the pendent around her neck, keeping the Firefly symbol hidden underneath her clothing. That was when the guard lifted his face shield, a bewildered look plastered across his face. "You gotta be shitting me." He cursed. Vienna quickly realised that he recognised some of them.

"Okay, let's talk this out." Joel raised his voice, trying his best to diffuse the situation.

The guard continued to stare back at Joel sternly, shaking his head. "Turn around." He ordered harshly.

"Come on, man." Vienna glanced over at her son, watching as he continued to speak with the guard. "We're all friends here. If you let us do this quick run, we'll get you twice as many pills." Ezra bribed, hoping it would be enough to convince the man.

However, bribery could only get him so far. "Get on your fucking knees." He snapped at him. "What did I fucking tell you, man? I said stay the fuck home. Get on your knees!" He ordered once again, frustration laced in his voice while he spoke.

"Hey, just get on your knees." Tess whispered to the rest of them. Vienna followed instructions, turning her back on the guard before she raised her hands and knelt down onto her knees. "Listen, you let us do this run, we'll split the cards with you." She continued to bargain on their behalf.

The guard let out a loud scoff. "Hands on your heads. Eyes forward. Hands on your heads!" He repeated.

Vienna followed instructions again and placed her hands on her head, a sigh leaving her lips. The woman then looked over slightly to see the man take out an infection tracking device. This caused for her breath to hitch in the back of her throat. It wasn't herself she was worried for. It was Ellie. Although the girl was immune, it didn't mean the infection didn't live inside her body somewhere. If the device is able to pick it up, then the guard would put Ellie down like she was some common dog. That meant Vienna would've failed Marlene, the Fireflies, the whole fucking world.

     The guard jabbed the device against her neck. Vienna winced at the sharp feeling grazing against her skin before she watched him step closer towards Ellie, her eyes flickering over to the scanner as he began to scan the girl for any signs of infection. Vienna slowly reached down into her holster when the guard wasn't looking, ready to grip the knife she was armed with. However, before she even got the chance to do anything, Ellie had already reacted quickly and stabbed the guard in the leg.

     Vienna quickly stood back up onto her feet and shoved Ellie behind her, shielding her from any form of harm against the guard, who winced in pain and agony before he lifted his gun to point it at both her and Ellie, the flashlight almost blinding. It didn't take long for Joel to get in between them, holding up his hands. "We can fix this." Joel told the guard, trying to avoid the worst possible outcome.

     The guard didn't move an inch, his face emotionless as he said the one word Vienna didn't want to hear. "Move." He ordered sternly, speaking through gritted teeth.

     All of a sudden, Joel threw himself at the guard, tackling him to the ground and disarming him before he began to throw punches at the guard's face. Vienna stumbled back in surprise, her eyes widening in shock while she continued to watch as Joel beat the man to death, blood and flesh spluttering from the guard's face. Now it wasn't like Vienna was ever repulsed by the sight of death and violence. For two decades she's lived in a world where that's all she's ever been lucky enough to know. But it was seeing who was committing the violence that shocked her most of all.

     Joel Miller was never a violent person. He was gentle and kind. She knew firsthand what that felt like. And although this world changes people. It surely changed her. She just never expected to witness so much gore, death and violence at the hands of the one man she never wanted to see it from. The sight alone was enough to make the woman shudder. Even when the guard was dead and Joel turned back to face her, she could tell he wasn't fully there with her. It was almost like he was somewhere else.

     And that was when Vienna Windsor realised Joel Miller wasn't the best friend she knew and loved. Not anymore.

     "No! I'm not sick!" Ellie's familiar voice laced with desperation was enough to snap Vienna back to reality, the woman turning back around to see Ellie rolling up her sleeve to reveal what the infection detection device already told them.

     "Joel!" Tess yelled, showing him the device.

     From the corner of her eye, Vienna watched as Ezra quickly lifted his gun and pointed it at Ellie. This caused for Vienna's instincts to kick in before she stepped between Ellie and her son. Ezra stared at his mother for a moment, realisation hitting him all at once. "You knew?" He asked rhetorically.

     Vienna swallowed thickly. "Ezra—"

     Ezra pointed the gun at the woman's chest. "Move out of my way." He ordered.

     "She's not infected." Vienna retorted.

     "The tracking device and the bite on her arm tells me a different story." Ezra paused, narrowing his eyes into a sharp glare. "She's going to turn and kill the rest of us if we're not careful. It's better if we just put her out of her misery now."

     Vienna shook her head. "Ezra, this is a lot bigger than her. You kill her, you sacrifice the entire world." She argued.

     Before Ezra had a chance to question his mother further, Tess cut in between them. "We can argue about this later. But for now we gotta move." She told them, grabbing Ellie by the wrist and dragging her towards the chain-linked fence in the distance.

     Vienna and Ezra continued to stare at one another for a moment, the pair exchanging a series of cold and chilling looks before Ezra lowered his gun and made his way towards the fence, followed by Joel, who didn't even look back at Vienna as he exited through the fence. Vienna released another sigh past her lips before she followed after them, pushing her way through the chain-linked fence before she entered the fallen city basking in eternal darkness, unaware of the dangers awaiting her in the shadows.

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authors note.
Episode 1 is now completed, omg that took forever but I'm so excited to get into episode 2 and explore Vienna's and Ezra's past and relationship in more detail. And Vienna already adopting Ellie without realising it??? They're like my favourite duo honestly.

But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll update again soon!!