CHAPTER FOURTY TWO

✧✧✧✧✧

          THE BRUNETTE IGNORED THE WAY HER TOES WERE FROZEN, AND IGNORED THE FACT THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE KILLED THEM WHEN SHE HAD THE CHANCE AS SHE THUNDERED DOWN THE STAIRS TOWARD THE BASEMENT. It were things she could think about in a moment, right now she had to get to Joel.

Ellie, whom stumbled over the threshold, was not far behind her and found Lucia on her knees beside the smuggler once she reached the bottom of the steps, holding onto his face.

"Ellie, give me the medicine."

The Williams girl fell to her knees on his other side and fished out the two vials and syringe, handing them to her. The teen watched as she took a bottle of rubbing alcohol and plunged the syringe inside, shaking it thoroughly to get it clean.

Lucia had no idea if the syringe had been used before and she sure as hell wasn't going to get him more sick than he already was. The woman began the fill it with alcohol before splashing it out to clean the inside, and even if it looked clean, she wasn't going to risk it. Grabbing one vial and pushing the needle through the rubber on top of it.

"How much do you need to give him?" wondered Ellie, fingers tugging at the material of his jacket to reveal the stitches on his stomach.

"Not sure," said the woman, brows narrowed as she focused on her task. "I read about it before but I don't remember exactly. I think two millilitres should be enough for a single dose."

Joel, who was still unconscious, had no idea what was happening as he shivered from the sudden cold on his damaged body. Lucia met the teen's gaze from across and offered a weak smile before she turned back toward him.

"I'm going to help you, Joel." she uttered, eyes taking in his features as if this was the last time she'd see him. Lucia laid her left hand onto his stomach, feeling the warmth of his sticky skin against her palm and brought the needle toward his wound. The woman pushed the syringe into his skin and she winched when he let out a low pained groan. "I know. It's okay, Joel. I'm almost done."

Once she had pressed the penicillin into his skin, she pulled it out in a swift motion and pressed onto the injection place with a clean cloth. Lucia didn't know whether or not she should have injected it directly into the wound or if she should have tried in a vein, but it was done now and all they could do was hope for the best.

"He's going to make it." said Ellie, determination on her pale face and Lucia looked up at her, but her gaze was set on Joel firmly.

Lucia placed the syringe inside a cloth and carefully laid it to the side, so they could use it for him again. The woman reached forward to grab her hand and squeezed it above him. "Yes, he is."

Once night fell, Lucia had decided to give Joel another two millilitres of the antibiotics. Antibiotics needed to be administered at least four times a day, that she knew, but she wasn't sure if this counted for every single form of it so she was just going to do it four times.

The woman hadn't noticed how hungry she had been but now that her adrenaline had dispersed, she held her stomach in pain. The deer was long gone, probably back at wherever David and James were hold up for the night. Maybe his talks about a settlement were real, but they were dangerous. David wasn't a good man and she had known that the moment she had caught sight of him.

Lucia was worried they'd find them in the small town, but she had covered their tracks and she was good at it, so she shouldn't be. It was just something she couldn't help as she looked at Joel, carefully brushing some hair from his face.

"When did everything go to shit?" she sighed, still absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair while covering her face with her other hand. "I need you to wake up, Joel."

But he didn't. He probably hadn't even heard her and after going around the home one more time to make sure everything was locked and secure she laid down on his left, Ellie was already asleep on his right.

Joel could use the warmth, and she could use the comfort, so she snuggled against his side underneath the blanket before falling into a dreamless sleep.

✧✧✧✧✧

THE DAYS WERE STARTING TO BLUR INTO ONE ANOTHER AND THEY HADN'T STAYED IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH TO EVER NOTICE IT, BUT NOW IT SEEMED DIFFICULT TO EVEN TELL THE TIME. The sun stood high above the horizon, so it had to be somewhere around noon.

It had been two days since getting the antibiotics and Joel seemed to get a little bit better. His wound didn't look as bad anymore, but it was definitely still infected. He had opened his eyes the night before, but wasn't able to say anything or keep them open for very long before falling back into a deep slumber.

Lucia released a long breath, it puffed out before her like a cloud as she sat on the front porch steps of the home. Her stomach still grumbled loudly, but the two tubs of chocolate pudding she had found in one of the surrounding homes had eased some of the hunger.

The woman heaved a sigh and pushed herself to her feet, brushing snow from her backside as she went down the steps and toward the garage. Lucia had snow melted in a bucket and she opened the garage door to let in some fresh air before giving them something to drink.  

Her bare fingers were tingling from the cold but she found that she didn't mind it as much as before. Seeing the horses taking in their fluids, she took a few steps outside and took in another deep breath.

To her right, a flock of crows began to jump from the trees in a frenzy and she furrowed her brows. Lucia carefully made her way down the road, staying behind cars as she went into the direction the birds had flown away from.

The woman ducks behind a tree when she spotted a group of men walking down the other side of the road, all armed. Her heart thundered within her chest as she saw the familiar coat of David and she carefully manoeuvred her way back toward the home they were residing in.

"Fuck, fuck." she muttered, reaching the garage and closing the doors as quietly as she could before rushing back down toward the basement. "Ellie, we've got company. Get our stuff, right now."

Ellie's eyes widened and she rushed up from her place beside Joel before pushing items into their backpacks, while Lucia fell to her knees beside the smuggler.

"Joel," she said, urgently as she pushed at his shoulders. "Joel, baby, you got to wake up! Joel, wake the fuck up!"

Lucia cursed loudly when he wouldn't and desperately looked around basement before sliding out her stiletto knife and thrusting it into his hands by the handle. The woman let out a soft gasp when she met his gaze, his eyes half opened as he looked up at her with a frown.

"Okay, good." she breathed. "Look at me. There are men coming, okay? I'm gonna lead them away from you but if anybody makes it down here, you fucking kill them. You got it?"  Lucia didn't know whether or not he could hear her but his eyes stayed on her own. "Joel? Joel, do not fall asleep!"

The brunette planted a quick kiss onto his forehead before pushing away from him and taking her backpack, wanting to make it look like they were leaving the town while Joel stayed there. Ellie was coming even if she really didn't want her to. But they had to get out of there to give the smuggler the best chance he had.

"Ellie, honey, we gotta go." urged Lucia, pulling her up the stairs toward the living room. "Help me with this."

The two girls took hold of an old bookshelf on either side and began to push it in front of the door of the basement, hoping to conceal the room completely. It creaked heavily and before Ellie could reach the garage, Lucia had already opened the door and taken the horses outside.

"We run as fast as we can, alright?" she said to the girl, eyes stern as she helped her onto Callus. "They have to see us leave. Which means we gotta make sure we're far enough away but close enough that they can spot us, and then we run like hell."

"Lucia ..." muttered Ellie, glancing back toward the home. "it's gonna be okay. Joel's gonna make it and we'll be alright."

The woman offered her a weak smile before she urged her horse forward, the Williams girl close behind her as they made their way through the streets. The horses are silent as they walk, barely making a noise through the snow and Lucia caught sight of the group easily, their backs turned toward them.

"Hey, motherfuckers!" shouted Ellie, trying to get their attention.

Lucia and Ellie are already off once the shooting begins, getting out of the fire range quickly. In the frenzy she looked behind only to see one of them chasing Ellie into the other direction. Lucia cursed underneath her breath but continued, deciding to go through the other end of the street to catch up with the teen.

"Alive!" screeched David as the chase began.

Lucia focussed on leading as many away from Joel as she could, but also kept her eye on Ellie whom after a moment she saw galloping away through an alley. The brunette aimlessly fired her gun behind her, in the hopes of hitting someone as bullets whizz past her own head.

Apple whines loudly as a bullet rams its way through one of her legs and the horse collapsed, causing Lucia to tumble toward the ground with a harsh thud. She isn't given a chance to get to her feet when someone grabs the back of her head and smacks her face first into the snow.

"No, no ..." she mumbled in a haze. "Ellie."

The woman was able to twist around with as much force as she could muster and shot the weapon in his general direction. Lucia cried out when she felt a kick to her ribs and the gun slid out of her grip.

"Get the fuck away from me!" she hissed, holding out her hands in front of her as the stranger tried to grab at her throat. "Fucking asshole!"

Lucia is able to get in a good punch before he gets a hold of her face and holds it in between his palms, bringing her head up and slamming it back down onto the ground, knocking her out.

"We got the girl!" came a shout from down the road and James, whom had knocked out Lucia gives a shout in return.

"Three of you with me," ordered David, glancing down at the unconscious woman on the ground before him once he reached James. "Two of you take the girls, the others take the horses back toward the town."

Lucia doesn't notice when James reached down to gather her into his arms, nor did she notice Ellie having the same faith as her as they are taken away to god knows where.

i fucking hate david. joel's gonna go feral :)

i will be writing the WHAT TOWN scene