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「 seven. let the fear you have fall away
I've got my eye on you
I've got my eye on you . 」

June seventeenth, two-thousand and fourteen
Chicago Illinois , United States.

THE SUN BEAT WITH PAINFUL LIGHT, CURSING THE LAND BELOW IT IN A WARM RADIANCE. A messy halo of golden hair rested over a taller, older boy's shoulder as he supported his sister's weight on his back.

A woman stood beside the two, a deep scar running front one side of her cheek up to her temple. Her clothes were stained and her body ached with every agonising step.

She was beautiful nonetheless, despite her jagged appearance. Her hair was blonde and fell in curls over her shoulders, and her eyes sparkled despite that hidden layers of sadness within.

"Just a little bit longer, okay, sweetheart? Then we'll rest for the night." The woman comforted, placing a tender hand on the boy's head and caressing it softly as they carried on their journey.

"Where did you even say we were going?" The boy asked, readjusting his sister's tired frame that lay draped over his back.

"You were probably too young to remember," she breathed out, a breathy chuckle falling from her rosy lips, "your uncle, Leon, lived a couple of miles away. Place called Detroit in Michigan." The woman stated, pulling her dark green jacket over her arms. "He passed when you were very young. He had a son who'd be around your age now, his name was Charlie."

The boy nodded as he listened before speaking, "But if they're dead, how're we gonna get to them?" The boy asked, the tuffs of his blonde hair falling over his eyes.

"Well, that's the thing, we're not going to find them. Leon had a wife. Your aunt. We're meeting with her. I spoke to her over the radio, and she told me she would be able to meet us at the old house." The older woman responded, sparing a glance to the sleeping girl on the boy's back.

"What was her name?" The boy asked curiously.

"Theresa."

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Two-thousand and twenty-three
Ten miles from Boston.

CAMPING IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST WAS AN ACTIVITY LIZZIE DIDN'T NORMALLY TAKE PART IN. But beggars can't be choosers, and she didn't have the urge to complain after the recent course of events.

Dawn had melted away into the morning, however, it'd seemed the Sun neglected its usual brightness, casting the forest in a bitter atmosphere.

Sat with her back against a narrow oak tree, Lizzie contemplated Tess' final goodbye.

It almost felt shameful to say, but Lizzie really missed Tess. She didn't know the woman long, it made little sense for her to feel so impacted by the older woman's death.

Though Lizzie felt bitterly towards him, she couldn't image the internal agony that would most likely been racing through Joel's mind. The man had walked away from the small camp sight at the first sign of twilight, still yet to return. To lizzie's surprise, Joel had decided to take Bellamy with him too—stating that he needed the exercise.

Tess words played like a melody caught on loop in Lizzie's mind. The chance of Tess knowing her mother was almost nonexistent, but Lizzie couldn't deny her curiosity to know the truth.

Deep in her thoughts, Lizzie almost didn't hear Ellie's voice call out to her. "You alright there Beth?"

The blonde looked over to the brunette girl. Joel's jacket lay strewn over her lap as she stared towards the blonde.

"Yeah. Just frickin' freezing." Lizzie responded, sinking into her thin jacket.

"Well, just come here." Ellie spoke, moving over and patting the space beside her, beckoning the blonde to sit beside her.

Grabbing her backpack, Lizzie sat herself down beside the brunette, pulling out a thicker coat from her bag and putting it between hers and Ellie's backs, and the tree. Ellie moved to place Joel's jacket over Lizzie to prevent her from still being cold in the freezing air.

When Lizzie went to close her backpack, Ellie's eyes focussed on the bright blue and white words that read, 'SAVAGE STARLIGHT'.

"Wait, shit, you know savage starlight," Ellie gawked, her eyes dazzling in amazement as she looked at the blonde. "I fuckin' love these!"

"Hmm, you do look like a savage starlight kind of girl." The blonde commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ellie raised an amused eyebrow to which Lizzie just waves her off.

Lizzie pulled the comic out of her bag, holding it towards the brunette who took it gratefully. "I used to have eight of them back home at the QZ. Never got to read them all though. Marlene took them all away one night after we fell out."

Ellie turned to the blonde with a foreign expression, her eyebrows creased and a small frown forming on her open mouth.

Ellie had been aware of Marlene and Lizzie's unsteady relationship. During her time at the firefly base, she'd heard two or three rounds of yelling between what sounded like a young girl and a middle-aged woman—Most likely Lizzie and Marlene.

"Managed to get this one back though." The blonde shrugged, "it's the seventh one. You read it?"

Ellie shook her head, "it's like the rarest fuckin' one, no way would I have it." She marvelled, opening the comic and fluttering between the pages with a grin.

Lizzie looked to the brunette for a moment, the first smile she'd produced since Tess' passing adorning her face fondly. "Well, it's yours."

Ellie snapped her gaze towards her, "wait, really?" She beamed, "like, you're not messing?"

Lizzie chuckled lightly, amused by Ellie's wide-eyed stare, "no, I'm not messing. Take it before I change my mind, weirdo."

"I'll get you something back, it's only fair," the brunette grinned, "What'd ya like? Oh," she lit up, "you like art, right?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly, "yeah. . ." Noticing the slightly confused expression laced into her face, Ellie jokingly pushed her away, "stop it, I've seen you draw, idiot. You're good. Can I see them?"

Lizzie shook her head, grinning fondly as she moved back. "Absolutely not, ponytail!"

"why not?" Ellie turned to the blonde beside her, her eyes resembling an irresistible puppy's as she pouted.

Before Lizzie could reply, the two heard a masculine grunting sound approaching, followed by a trail of light footsteps.

hard boots crunched above the leaves as Joel passed them, ignoring their presence as though they weren't there. Beside him, Bellamy left his side to seek comfort in the two girls who welcomed him warmly. "Hello boy." Lizzie cooed, stroking him softly as he nestled in with herself and Ellie.

Lizzie couldn't shame Joel for being cold towards them. If Tess and himself weren't tasked with the journey of travelling them across the country, Tess would be alive.

Ellie and Lizzie shared a look, the younger of the two gesturing for the brunette to speak. Finally, Ellie spoke up, "do you want your jacket back?"

Joel remained silent, preoccupied by whatever he was rummaging for inside of his worn-out backpack. The two girls watched in uncertainty as he pulled out the remains of his food from the previous day and began eating it.

For a moment, he turned to the two with a hollow gaze whilst throwing them part of the out-of-date food. "Thanks, gunman." The blonde chimed, catching the food and passing it to Ellie.

It may of seemed rude to admit, but Lizzie didn't need Joel's scraps of food considering the fact that Marlene had given her enough sandwiches to last almost a week.

"I've never been in the woods," ellie began, looking around at the tall trees that towered above her, "more bugs than I thought."

Lizzie looked to Ellie, a blank look on her face as though she were unimpressed by Ellie's attempt at conversation, to which Ellie shrugged back.

Lizzie sighed, "okay," she started slowly, "are we going to tal—"

"No, and I don't want your sorries." Joel dismissed, standing from his spot.

With creased eyebrows, Lizzie frowned, "Well, tough 'cause you're getting 'em."

Ellie turned to the girl, shaking her head. "No." She objected. "Nobody made you or Tess take us. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever, and you made a choice. So don't blame us for something that isn't our fault."

Joel simply stared for a long moment—which felt like more of a void-like eternity than a moment. His gaze was blank, covering layers of emotional agony, because under the façade of valour and ruthlessness, Joel Miller was a man who's daughter was taken from him, who was desperate for a word from his younger brother, and who'd recently lost his partner.

Then he nodded, wordlessly. Silently the man picked up the gun that lay to rest on the roots of a large oak tree—Lizzie wouldn't have been surprised if he just turned around shot them both dead at that point.

The two girls shared a look of mutual understanding, picking up their backpacks and standing up. The dog beside them, noticing the movement in the trio, rose with a stretch and a howl-like sound.

"How much longer do we have to travel?" Lizzie asked, holding out the older man's jacket to him.

"five hour hike."

"Five hour fuckin' hike?" Lizzie gawked. It by far wasn't the longest distance she'd traveled, but the thought of walking endlessly made her knee's ache.

"We can manage that."

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GREEN TREE'S BLOSSOMING WITH LIFE SURROUNDED THE TRIO, followed by a creaky wooden bridge, and then an abandoned path surrounded by grassy fields.

It was safe to say that the hike had been eventful. Ellie had almost pushed Lizzie into a river that flowed under the bridge, to which the blonde had jumped on her back and forced her to piggy back her for half an hour. Joel had almost knocked the two girls out after they repeatedly spoke in southern accents, stating, "we're cowboys, like you Joe."

However, the trio along with the butterfly-chasing golden retriever trekked through the long path, silence almost taking its turn on them before Ellie had spoken. "You've gone this way a lot? No Infected?"

"Oh, don't jinx us now, ponytail." Lizzie groaned, blowing a strand of blonde hair from her eyes.

"Not often, no." Joel responded, ignoring the blonde's remark.

"What are you looking out for?"

"People." Joel stated blankly.

"Bill and Frank, right?" The blonde asked, kicking the stones under her shoes as she walked. "What if they kill us?"

"They're not gonna kill us, bug." Joel shook his head, exasperated.

"Are they nice?" Ellie interjected, looking up to the man.

"Frank is," he affirmed, casting his gaze to the blonde, "he reminds me of you."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "I'm gonna take that as a good thing, cowboy." She shrugged, a witty smile tugging at her lips as he sent her a glance.

"How'd you get that scar on your head?" Ellie asked, changing the subject.

Joel turned more stiff than he already was—if that was even possible.

"What is it something lame?" Ellie inquired, an amused chuckle falling from her lips. Lizzie nodded, "oh, he definitely fell down the stairs or something."

"I didn't fall down any stairs."

"Okay, so what then?" The brunette pestered.

Joel licked his lips, "someone shot at me and missed."

"See, that's cool. You shoot back?" Ellie grinned.

"He's the gunman, 'course he'd shoot back." Lizzie boasted, her voice laced with dramatics, making Ellie release a laugh.

"Yeah. She's right, I did." Joel answered.

"You get him?"

"No, I missed, too. It happens more often than you think." Joel breathed out, his tone holding a new level of annoyance as he dealt with the two girls.

"So's that 'Cause you suck at shooting or, like, in general?" Lizzie interjected, glancing to the dog who'd taken to chasing a bird that'd landed not far away from where they walked.

"In general." He spared her a glance.

Lizzie, noticing the long scar that kissed his jaw, creased her eyebrows. "What about the one on your jaw?"

Joel looked down for a moment, before staring dead a head. "Okay, enough about me."

Lizzie hummed, shrugging. Joel was a weird guy. And like she'd told Tess—angsty.

Ellie's eyes shone as she scanned that gun that sat against his hip. She released a tsk before commenting, "you know, seeing as it's just the three of us and Bell, I was thinkin' I should pro—"

"No." Joel immediately shut down.

Lizzie looked to Ellie in surprise, "can you even use a gun?"

Ellie clicked her tongue, "can you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, fuck yeah, I forgot you're a firefly." Ellie groaned, pointing a finger to the girl as she nodded.

Lizzie just sighed, shaking her head.

The group continued walking along the tree-lined path, a silence covering them as they journeyed on. A narrow tree sat idle on the floor of the path, knocked down by an unknown force. Joel stood over the fallen tree, followed by Ellie, Lizzie, and Bellamy.

A rundown convenience store sat amongst the sphere of trees, wrapped in vines and plants. Amongst the white-painted wood, the words
'C mberland farms." sat, still readable despite the missing letter.

"Cumberland farms." Ellie read aloud, her eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at the abandoned store.

"Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed." Joel ordered, his words falling deaf amongst the girl's ears.

"No offence, Gunman, but I don't know if a random store is the best place to stash. . .stuff." The blonde creased, unsure how to phrase her sentence.

"Yeah, why do you stash stuff here?"

"You two ask a lotta goddamn question." Joel huffed, despite his back being to them, they could both sense the irritation that practically emitted from him.

"What's that phrase? About the cat who died." Lizzie asked, biting her lip in thought as she tried to recall the phrase.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Joel deadpanned.

"Oh, that's the one," Lizzie grinned, "curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."

Joel shook his head, rolling his eyes with exasperation as they entered the isolated convenience store.

The man kicked the door open, walking in with his hands secure around his gun. Immediately, Bellamy had entered and began searching the floors for anything he could find—which was simply plants and leaves.

"So, are you gonna answer me or what?" Ellie interjected, pursing her lips.

"We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear, which I currently am 'cause. . ." Joel's voice drifted.

Lizzie grimaced, the smell of dust and rotten waste lingering in the air and invading her sense of smell. The interior was adorned with flashes of spray paint, flipped and broken shelves, and useless items. Lizzie assumed after the start of the outbreak, scavengers or stray groups took anything and everything that could've been any use.

"Now I know why you decided to stash your stuff in here," Lizzie commented, her hands trailing an abandoned shelf. "Cause nobody else would ever want to step foot in this shithole."

"Huh, funny." Joel responses, sarcastically.

"No way!" Ellie lit up, bounding towards a lonesome arcade machine with a beam, "you ever played this one, Beth?" The brunette asked, flipping the controls.

Lizzie shook her head. "No, looks fun though."

"Oh, it is, trust me. I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There's this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth, and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones!" Ellie gleamed, looking to the blonde with excitement glorifying her eyes.

Lizzie smiled fondly. Not her usual amused grin, or her cocky smirk. Just a simple smile as she looked to the girl. However, the sound of a huff caught her attention as Joel rummaged through the piles of waste.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten where you've put your stuff." Lizzie raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the machine beside Ellie.

"No. I'm just zeroing in on it. It's been a couple of years." Joel scoffed, giving the girl a light sneer.

"Okay, well, we're gonna take a look around, see if there's anything good." Ellie added, gesturing for the blonde to walk with her as they went on a mini exploration.

"Trust me, it's all been picked over already." Joel dismissed.

"And you're sure there's not gonna be anything bad in here?" Lizzie cringed, her eyes scanning the mood that absorbed the walls.

"Just you." Joel responded.

"You're a comedian, truly." The blonde spoke bitterly, her tone rooted with sarcasm.

"I try."

"Yeah, try harder old man." The blonde grumbled under her breath, receiving a disapproving glance from the older man.

The sound of paws hitting the floor followed the two girls as they left, alerting them that Bellamy was joining their endeavours.

Joel had been correct—there was nothing worth taking. Rubble, dust, and spare pipes lounged over the floor, receiving kicks as the two girls moved them from their path.

A pile of cardboard sat over a square-shaped trapdoor, catching Ellie's attention instantly. "Beth," she called, 'Beth!"

"What?" The blonde asked, turning to give the girl a glance, her gaze shifting to the floor where Ellie pointed. "Oh, fuckin' hell."

The two girls began moving the wooden stools and planks from the way of the trap door, attempting to be silent despite the way one of them—mostly Ellie—would drop, or nearly drop something onto the dust-ridden floor.

Finally, Ellie pulled open the door, sharing a glance with her companion as they looked into the looming pit of darkness below. The space inside was swallowed in shadows, like a sea of pure blackness that neither could see through.

"You two alright back there?" Lizzie almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of Joel's distant voice.

"Yeah, don't worry Gunman!" The girl affirmed, sending Ellie an unamused look. "I don't know about you ponytail, but you won't catch me in there."

Ellie huffed, rolling her eyes. "Give me your shoe."

Lizzie's eyes widened, "give you my fuckin' shoe? No way."

"Well, give me something."

Lizzie pursed her lips, looking around until her eyes latched onto a small rock, which could've been more of a pebble. "Here."

"Seriously?"

"Yep." Lizzie beamed.

Ellie dropped the rock, hearing it make a 'clank!' That alerted her that it wasn't a far down drop. "Right," she sighed, "take my bag."

Lizzie complied, holding the girl's backpack as the brunette reached for the flashlight. "I won't be long."

"Don't you dare die on me in there, m'kay? I mean it ponytail." Lizzie warned, her tone holding a serious sense under the false layers of entertainment.

"How could I die knowing I haven't read the seventh issue of savage starlight?" Ellie tilted her head, her voice playful, as she descended into the darkness.

Beside Lizzie, Bellamy whined. He looked down at the pit anxiously as though sensing something negative residing inside. "You okay in there, El?" The blonde asked, hearing the sound of a bin dragging against the floor.

"Yep." The girl underground breathed out, positioning the metal bin upwards to help her get out.

Lizzie rolled her eyes, leaning back on her arms and dangling her legs in the darkness, one of her hands stroking Bellamy's fur fondly.

Lizzie listened to Ellie's rumbling for a minute, glancing at the door every so often to see if Joel had become curious enough to find them.

Only when a sudden snarl emitted from below did Lizzie pull her legs up as fast as her could. "What the fuck was that?" She asked, though the back of her mind was already screaming the answer.

"It's nothing. Don't worry." Ellie dismissed, her voice tainted with dishonesty, though she relaxed when she didn't see the blonde making her way down.

Lizzie sat nervously above the void, waiting to see the familiar brunette ponytail appear with the playful grin she'd commonly adorned.

"Liz!" A voice yelled from the main room, "Ellie?" It repeated. Lizzie's eyes widening slightly as she recognised the voice to be her favourite cowboy's.

Finally, Ellie popped her head out from the void, holding a hand out towards the girl as a gesture to help her up. "What'd do you find?" She asked the brunette, rising to her feet.

"Nothing."

☼

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