CHAPTER ZERO:
PROLOGUE.

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SLOANE WANTED OUT.

She wanted out of the Quarantine Zone. She wanted out of Boston. But most importantly━━━she wanted out of FEDRA.

She used to believe that they were keeping people safe and that they were bringing a semblance of order back to the world that had been plagued by people infected with the Cordyceps brain infection. Supplies and resources were limited solely to conserve what was left until they brought more in. People were given jobs in order to get rations so they could trade it for food, clothes, medicine━━━anything they might need. Armed soldiers patrolled the borders of the QZ to keep watch for raiders or infected, and occasionally someone trying to sneak out. People were still arrested for committing crimes and locked up to remind people that it wasn't a free for all. They needed balance, they needed order. That was why FEDRA was in charge. However, over time, Sloane started to see FEDRA for what it really was.

Groups of people started getting arrested almost daily━━━some of which were for crimes that hadn't even been committed. People earned less and less rations with each job they did no matter how strenuous it might've been, causing a stir within the people that they weren't being treated fairly. As the notorious rebel group, the Fireflies, started to rise up and attack FEDRA whenever they were least expecting it, more and more soldiers started to act brash and without thought. Anyone who they thought might've been a Firefly was arrested and locked in a cell for days before their interrogator finally believed them. Jails were being filled as much as possible, hangings were starting to become a weekly thing, and FEDRA soldiers themselves started to turn to drugs, even going as far as to help smugglers get them in and out of the QZ's for just the right price.

Sloane had seen a handful of deals go on between her fellow comrades where they thought they couldn't be seen by anyone else. Sloane had half a mind to report both the soldier and the smuggler, but she changed her mind when a bribe came her way. She wasn't proud of accepting the bribe, and she certainly wasn't proud that she did it more than once. But, she had her daughter to think about. She had to make a living just like everyone else and earn her keep. It did make it easier that she had easy access to those supplies unlike everyone else, but she wasn't going to abuse that power like others did.

She was biding her time as she tried to keep the peace in the QZ and be what FEDRA was meant to be. She was silently plotting a way out for herself, her daughter, Leia, and her older brother, Miguel. But, it was increasingly becoming more like a lost cause as the QZ was becoming more strict than ever because of the ongoing Firefly attacks and her own brother being a little too loud about his support for the infamous group. It didn't help that his admiration for the group had found it's way into Leia either.

In a way, Sloane, Leia, and Miguel were on the opposite sides of the same coin━━━they want to escape but think there is only one way to go about it.

Sloane knew the Fireflies weren't the answer, though.

She just needed to get Miguel and Leia to believe that, too.

"Hey, Torres! What'd ya get me?"

Sloane breathed out a fake laugh, adjusting the bag in her hand as she turned around. Her eyes fell on another soldier who was also off duty━━━which was become more rare these days━━━that lived a few doors down from Sloane and her family. His name was Rhett Bernthal. He was older than her by quite a few years and had a scar on his left eye whereas Sloane had one on her right eye; both given to them while on duty. He had shaggy brown hair that reached his shoulders, some shorter pieces dangling in his narrow blue eyes. He stood a few inches taller than Sloane, peering down at her with a grin.

Sloane took a few steps closer, raising a brow at Rhett. "I didn't get you fuckin' shit. This probably isn't even enough for me, Leia, and Miguel."

"Well you ain't gotta worry about Miguel for the next few nights," Rhett said. Sloane furrowed her brows together in confusion. Rhett shifted his posture, casually leaning against the wall. "I, uh, saw him on my way back after my shift ended. He had some clothes and shit with him━━━said he's spendin' the night with that red head he's been eyeballin' for a while now."

Sloane slowly nodded. That wasn't like Miguel.

He did go and stay with women some nights if he managed to actually charm a woman, but he never left before Sloane got home. It was a system they had, a way to simply make sure nothing happened to each other that they hadn't been informed about. Miguel always thought it was silly, yet he still did it for Sloane's sake. Leia still didn't understand it, believing it was her mother's way of keeping her home alone as little as possible. That wasn't the case.

Sloane cleared her throat, faking a smile. "It's always something with him, isn't it?" she chuckled, starting to step in the direction of her apartment. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rhett."

"Night, Sloane. Tell the princess I said hi!"

"Will do!" Sloane laughed out.

Rhett smiled and turned on his heel, slipping into his apartment. Sloane used her free hand and pulled out her key and slipped it into the door. She swiftly unlocked it and entered the apartment. "Leia? Sorry I'm late," Sloane said, setting the bag down on the table. Her golden retriever, Skye, came bounding into the room, her tail wagging as she hurried up to Sloane. Sloane quickly tossed her keys on the table as well and crouched down, happily petting her dog.

Dogs were rare to have anymore, but Skye had come into Sloane's life simply by accident. She was on a supply run with Rhett to pick up some supplies when Skye came bounding towards Sloane. It took the woman by surprise as she hadn't seen a dog since the start of the outbreak. Rhett couldn't believe it either. However, he advised that they stay away from it as it was missing an eye and didn't look to be in good shape. Sloane just ignored him and gave the dog some of her water and a few bites of stale cereal. It wasn't much, though the dog didn't seem to mind. And, in that moment, Sloane knew she had to take the dog with her. She couldn't leave her out there, not in that cruel world. So, she brought her back with them. Thankfully with some vitamins and proper food, Skye was doing better and had been trained to serve alongside Sloane━━━which was done as it was the only way Lieutentant Jack Hobart would let Sloane keep Skye.

Sloane sigh and looked towards the hall as she expected Leia to finally appear, but she didn't. Sloane dropped her hands down and frowned, standing up straight. "Lei?"

Skye whined, causing Sloane to look down at her. Skye barked and then turned, hurrying down the hall. Sloane quickly followed, stopping beside the dog as she sat in front of Sloane and Leia's shared bedroom. She grabbed the handle and pushed it open, furrowing her brows when she didn't see her daughter. A thin sheet was hung in the middle of the room as way to try and give both Sloane and Leia a spec of privacy, but it was no longer there. The drawers in Leia's dresser were thrown wide open, clothes missing with some dangling from the drawers or discarded on the floor. A few photographs were missing from the wall, a couple of books pulled from the crooked bookshelf near the door.

"Leia!"

Sloane turned on her heel and darted out of the room, going straight to Miguel's with Skye right behind her. She pushed it open, her eyes widening when seeing his room was in the same shape. His drawers were all open, a couple just about to fall off the hinges. Most of his clothes were missing, just a few strewn about his messy room like he didn't bother to pick them up and pu them with the rest. His blankets and pillows shoved to the opposite side of the room, some of the pillow cases missing for whatever reason. Papers littered his makeshift desk in the corner, some balled up wads tossed in his trash can with some simply left on the floor. Sloane stepped into the room and glanced around in hopes of seeing something that would clue her in on what was really going on.

Where was Leia?

She couldn't have been with Miguel.

Rhett would have told her if he'd seen Leia with Miguel.

Skye softly whined, laying down by Sloane's feet.

Slaone nervously gulped, shaking her head in thought. She placed her hands on her hips, biting her lip as her eyes continued to scan every inch of Miguel's room. There had to be something she was missing.

That was when she spotted a sliver of something white hanging from the bottom of Miguel's desk.

She quickly hurried over and kneeled on the ground. Skye perked her head up and rose from the floor, standing behind Sloane with curiosity. Sloane carefully pushed the chair out of the way and crouched down with her titled her head to see what it was. It was a note taped to the desk with her name scribbled in Miguel's handwriting on it.

She yanked it down and unfolded it with a wave of uneasiness washing over her like a tidal wave. It was still her brother's handwriting, but it wasn't written in English. It was written in Latin. It was indeed still a dead language, but Sloane and Miguel's mother had had a fascination with the language and had taught it to them when they were young. Miguel did it so only Sloane would be able to understand what it said.

Sloane (if you're not her and can somehow read this, fuck off and put this back where you found it),
I'm sorry. I had to do it. I can't be like you. I need to get out of this damn place and find the Fireflies. They are our hope, our future. I can feel lit. I heard there's more out west and I have to find them. That's where I belong. I hope someday you'll be able to understand why I did what I did.

I love you, sis.

M.

Sloane sank to her knees, hands shaking as she tightly gripped the sides of the letter. Her dark eyes bored into the piece of paper, anger bubbling up inside her as she read over it again and again. She clenched her jaw, anger swirling in her eyes as she balled up the letter and threw it across the room. She angrily stood up and rushed into her room. Her eyes scanned the entire room for a letter from Leia as well, but there wasn't one.

"No, no, no," Sloane whispered, shaking her head.

This couldn't be happening.

Miguel and Leia couldn't be gone.

Leia couldn't be gone!

Sloane's bottom lip wobbled as she fought back her tears, a wide range of emotions clashing together as they tried to take hold of the woman. She wasn't sure if she was more angry or upset that she didn't realize sooner what her brother was plotting. He had to have known for some time when he was going to leave and where he was going. Perhaps if Sloane had paid just a little more attention to his rantings, she might've been able to tell. Now it was too late for that.

She needed to catch up to Miguel and Leia. If they weren't too far, just maybe she could convince them to come back before anyone noticed they were gone.

But if they left sooner than she thought. . .

Sloane immediately shook her head. She had to at least hope they weren't too far.

"Fuck!" Sloane shouted.

Skye stood in the door as she watched Sloane start rummaging through all of her drawers. She grabbed some clothes and stuffed them into a backpack, trying to fit as much as possible inside. Then she grabbed a duffle bag from under her bed and filled it with some of her weapons she kept in the apartment, making sure to put some extra ammo inside as well. Then she picked up some of Skye's things she kept near the bed and put them in her bag before exiting the room.

She tossed the bags on the table and rifled through the cabinets, noticing that some food was already missing. Miguel's doing, no doubt. Sloane huffed and grabbed what was left, not bothering to close the cabinets. She crouched down in front of the bottom cabinets and took what was left of Skye's food and treats to take, too. Sloane returned to the table, bracing her hands on the wooden surface once everything was packed.

Miguel said he was going to find the Fireflies, specifically the ones out west. Where exactly west━━━Sloane had no fucking clue. But, she couldn't stay in the QZ.

She had to find her family.

Sloane pushed her hands off the table and walked towards the door, grabbing Skye's harness and her leash that was hung on the coat rack. Skye immediately came and sat in front of Sloane's feet. Sloane offered the golden retriever a tiny smile as she crouched down. "At least you listen to me," she softly said, carefully putting the harness on so it was snug but not tight and hurting Skye. Once she was done with that, she secured the leash on the harness. Then she stood up, slipping her backpack over her shoulders. She picked up the duffle bag and slung it over her shoulder, letting out a heavy sigh.

It was now or never.

Sloane slightly opened the door, peeking out to make sure there wasn't anyone in the hall. The coast was clear.

She slipped out of the apartment with Skye, quietly closing the door behind them. She glanced down at Skye for a moment, holding up a finger in front of her lips. "Quiet," she whispered.

They quietly walked down the hall, stopping in front a familiar door. Sloane turned the handle to test if it was locked or not. It was unlocked. She reached into her pocket, taking another look around the empty hall before she pulled out her hand gun.

She opened the door and walked inside, aiming it at the person as they quickly stood up in surprise.

"Woah, hey! Fuck are you doing, Sloane?" Rhett snapped, holding his hands up as he stared at the woman with wide eyes. He took a few steps away from his couch, coming into the kitchen where Sloane was standing with Skye. "Someone sees this and you'll be hu━━━"

"Where exactly out West is Miguel going?" Sloane harshly interrupted, taking a step closer. Skye stood still by Sloane's legs, staring at Rhett and ready to pounce if Sloane gave the order.

Rhett scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. "All he told me he was hookin' up with some girl. He didn't tell me where she lives, Sloane."

"Bullshit," Sloane snapped, stepping closer. Rhett immediately backed up, his eyes flicking between Sloane, the gun, and Skye. He'd seen Sloane's shooting many times before. Her aim was almost always accurate. If she wanted to kill him, she easily could. He also knew that Skye could tear him apart with just one word from Sloane. However, killing him wasn't on Sloane's agenda. "Where is he going, Rhett? I know he told you. Just like how I know that you and Lee have been helping that couple smuggle drugs in and out of this place for the last few months."

Rhett's expression faltered, silently letting Sloane know she was right.

"How do you know about that?" Rhett asked.

Sloane clenched her jaw, keeping her finger on the trigger. "We've all made mistakes. And you're about to make your last one if you don't fucking tell me where they went!"

"I-I don't know! All I know is he's going west!"

"That's not good enough. I need the name of a place━━━fuck, just a goddamn state would fuckin' work!"

Rhett heavily sighed, thinking hard. "Shit, uh. . .I-I think he said some Fireflies might be at the old state house━━━they're gonna be headin' west soon or something. But that's a big ass might, Sloane. He might not have even made it out of here. Smugglers━━━"

Sloane blinked, a dark look washing over her features. "Smugglers? No, Rhett, don't tell me. . .does he have fucking help getting out of here?"

"Yeah," Rhett nodded.

Sloane breathed out a fake laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "And let me guess? Joel Miller and Tess Servopoulos?"

Rhett winced, nodding in response.

Sloaned rolld her eyes. "Un-fucking-believable. Whatever. I don't have time to deal with that now. I gotta beat them there somehow."

"What if they're not there?"

Sloane frowned, lowering her gun. "Then I'll look for the fucking light."

Rhett dropped his hands down at his sides, eyes fixated on the woman in front of him. "Sloane, don't do this," he said. "You did just aim a damn gun at my head, but you're still my friend. You know what'll happen if you get caught or━━━"

"I don't care about the if's. I only care about finding my brother and my daughter," she said, back up towards the door. "And Rhett? If you tell anyone about any of this━━━"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll kick my ass," he said, breathing out a tired laugh. "Ain't nothing I haven't heard before."

Sloane gave him a faint smile and grabbed the door. She glanced back over her shoulder and nodded. "Thanks."

"Be careful, Sloane. This place might be a shit show, but it's nothing compared to what's outside these walls."

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Wow, I haven't written a prologue in a while lmao. I really thought I would struggle, but this actually wasn't too hard to write???

I know it didn't include Joel, but don't worry, he'll be showing up very soon <3 I'm planning for Joel and Sloane to be a slow-burn + for them to not get along too well, but I'm also very impatient so that all may change as the story progresses! It will be tense for a while between Sloane and Joel and Ellie, but that will eventually start to change! Also, if you saw the name Nala anywhere, just ignore it!! That was Skye's name before I changed it to Skye!! And I said this in the intro but incase any didn't see it, the dog will not die nor will any animal die in this!! That may not seem realistic, but idc. These animals 100% have plot protection <33333

But anyways, I'm really excited for this story so hopefully I can update it somewhat often (or at least once or twice a month) but I'm not making any promises!!!

Anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and I hope y'all enjoyed!