CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

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          THE ACHE IN HER BACK HAD DISPERSED FROM THE WAY HER BODY DIPPED INTO THE COMFORTABLE MATTRESS. This was something she could get used to, but they couldn't linger in the small town for more than a few days. Compared to sleeping on hardwood floors and forest soil, this was a heaven she never wanted to leave.

Lucia blinked her eyes open as she awoke from her slumber, she had not remembered falling asleep, but it was the best sleep she had experienced in years.

Soft rays of sunlight cascaded the room in a soft glow from between the gap in the curtains. It was mostly eaten by moths but it still kept out most of the harsh light. Lucia wanted to savour this for another moment when a soft breath blew against the back of her neck. The woman froze, blood turning cold and her eyes widened as she sobered up.

Turning her head carefully, she saw Joel laying along side her with his arms crossed and his head halfway onto her pillow. His legs were pressed against her own but he had his arms tucked underneath his armpits. Her cheeks heated a dark crimson, a foreign feeling washing over her as she felt his breath mingle with her own.

Heat radiated off of his body, something she hadn't taken notice of before. The woman swallowed and turned back around, not knowing if she should get up or stay still incase he woke up. The smuggler shifted behind her and his arm now rested against her own, another puff of air hitting the back of her neck.

It wasn't as if she hadn't been close to a male before but she had never slept in the same bed as one without having slept with them. This felt strange and her palms turned clammy and she wiped them onto her shirt. If she had fallen asleep before him, he'd be the guy to get up and leave her to herself, at least that is what she thought.

After another moment Lucia pushed herself up with one arm and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing at her face.

The smuggler stirred at her movements and opened one of his dark eyes, startled by their close proximity. Joel sat up abruptly with a huff and scooted away from her and toward the other side of the bed.

"Morning, Joel." she tried, raising a brow as she looked at him over her shoulder. The only sense of acknowledgement he gave was a grunt as he turned his back toward her. "Sleep well?"

"I'm going to check on Ellie."

Joel was out the door before she could say another word and she kept her eyes on the spot where he had disappeared to. He had blatantly ignored her and she grimaced at the feeling. Lucia rubbed over her still healing bullet wound on her arm and scooted back and let herself fall back onto the mattress.

"Jesus," she muttered, closing her eyes for a second before sitting back up to pull on the boots she had kicked off somewhere during the night. 

The empty flask of found alcohol laid on the bedside table and she took hold of it, twisting it between her fingers before sliding it into her pack. They'd be scavenging the town today, in the hopes of finding anything useful for the next leg of their journey.

The door burst open just as the woman was pulling on the coat she had found a few rooms down and Ellie waltzed in with a large smile on her face, sporting a new winter coat as well.

Joel, coming in behind her, leaned against the threshold and peered around the room as if he wasn't just in there.

"I have never slept as well as I did this night." she blabbered in greeting while dropping her backpack onto the bed. "We have to stay here for another night."

"Let's go, Ellie." grumbled Joel. "We have a lot of ground to cover today."

"It's a small town." Ellie shot, glancing back at him nonchalantly. "We can do that in a few hours, right?"

"Right," he commented.

"We should start in the south," began Lucia as she swung her bag over her shoulder. "work our way back toward this place and see what we can cover after that."

"I think we should split up, cover more ground that way." Joel voiced, finally meeting her gaze. "One of us in the south the other in the west, we can meet up halfway. It looks abandoned, there weren't any infected outside. It should be an easy run."

"I don't think we should split up, Joel."

Ellie was moving her head from side to side as she watched the two of them argue over their next move, brow raised. Joel was grumpy, Lucia was annoyed. Both not a strange sight to behold, but something was off and she couldn't quite pinpoint why.

"We can cover more ground." he pressed, hand resting on his hip as he leaned against the open door frame. "Ellie's with me."

"Whatever you say, smuggler." 

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ONE OF THESE DAYS JOEL MILLER WAS GOING TO GIVE THE BRUNETTE A WHIPLASH BY THE WAY HE CHANGED HIS ATTITUDE EVERY FIVE MINUTES. One moment he took care of her, the next he promised her safety and the next he couldn't even bare to look at her, as if she was a disgrace or something.

There was a permanent scowl on her face as she walked through the streets, not a soul to be seen. The woman didn't mind being on her own, it was all she did when she lived back in Boston and she was somewhat thankful for the peace and quiet.

It had been weeks since she was able to be alone with her thoughts. She wondered how Marlene was doing. Wondered if she was even alive after the injury she had sustained back in the quarantine zone. Or she might even have been caught by FEDRA. 

Lucia slid along a building, peering inside through the broken window. There had been nothing to loot in the last four buildings she had cleared and she could really do with some solid food.

A putrid smell reached her nostrils as she stepped over the broken glass and into the storefront. Her stiletto knife was tightly pressed into her palm as she squinted her eyes to see to the back of the store. No movements, so she went on.

Lucia gagged at the sight behind the counter. It reminded her of a crime scene she had seen on tv when her mother watched those true crime documents with her in the room. There wasn't much left of the guy, skin ripped from his limbs. 

The blood was still wet, and when she leaned down to feel through his pockets, his skin was still warm.

"What the fuck." she muttered as she took his revolver, which was still loaded as she slid it into the waistband of her jeans.

It was eerily quiet as she continued to manoeuvre her way through the store, stopping once she reached the door that would lead toward the stock room. The woman turned the door handle slowly, cautiously.

Lucia wasn't even given the time to push it open as it slammed inward and out of her hand. The brunette was on her back the next moment, pushing at his body weight with all her might.

"Fucking get her!" It came from the small room. "Kill it!"

Lucia plunged her knife into the man's side, adrenaline taking over as she kicked her legs upward and into his stomach. He cried out and doubled over and Lucia was able to slide out from underneath him.

"I'm not infected!" she bellowed, scooting away from him.

"Aaron!" someone wailed, rushing from the room and toward the man's side as she tried to stop the blood gushing from her stab wound. "You fucking stabbed him!"

"He attacked me!" she defended, taking in the couple as she got to her feet a couple of meters away from them.

They were older, probably both in their mid sixtees. The woman was frail, too thin for someone still trying to make their way through the world and the man only had his height to his benefit.

"I'm sorry." he croaked, grimacing as he held his side. "I thought you were one of them. It came out of nowhere, killed our friend so we hid."

Lucia narrowed her eyes at the strangers, not daring to take her eyes off of them in case they'd attack again. The brunette really wasn't in a mood to deal with anyone other than herself.

"You're that girl that came to town yesterday, are you not?" sniffed the woman, holding the man close. "With that man and the other girl? We saw you. Thought you'd left by now. There's nothing left in this town."

"You two alone?" demanded Lucia, taking a step back.

"You shouldn't stay in that hotel. It's dangerous. It's full of those clicker things. There's more coming every day."

"I asked you a question." she pressed, pointing her gun at them after she had slid it from her waistband. "Are you two alone?"

"It was just the three of us, now it's just ... just us. You should leave." heaved the man, managing to sit up. "This place isn't safe."

"Nowhere in the world is safe -"

The back of her head throbbed as something blunt came into contact with her skull. Lucia fell forward onto her knees with a hiss as she hunched over. There was a shout coming from the couple but Lucia couldn't make out anything coherent as another sharp pain shot through her head, and she lost consciousness.

introducing a few new characters, just for the next chapter/(s) which i am very excited about. I was thinking maybe three more chapters till we reach Jackson? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. also, joel is just sjkhskdfdksjf i love him so much and more will happen soon <3