𝕺𝖜𝖓 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕰𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖞

- CHAPTER ONE -
AN UNWELCOME ADDITION

KATHY WILLIAMS COULD do a lot of things, but being the perfect role model for her niece wasn't one of them. As the world fell into a permanent state of despair, the brunette became someone she was not proud of. She had killed people who hadn't deserved the welcoming arms of death, she'd tortured and maimed to ensure the ones she cared didn't have to.

When her brother and his wife died, their daughter, Ellie, was left in her hands. She watched that  girl grow up into the little spitfire that she was. Kathy never thought she could care about something as much as she cared for that girl. She did the best she could to raise her in an apocalyptic world, but it wasn't enough in the end. All it had taken was one day. Ellie had snuck off with her friend Riley and came back home alone sobbing with a bite on her forearm. They waited for her to turn, Ellie had been insistent on it, but she never did. Kathy had been surprisingly calm the whole time they waited and Ellie never knew why because her aunt refused to tell her.

Marlene, the queen Firefly and a friend of Ellie's late mother, offered to escort them across the city once she found out Ellie was the key to curing the apocalypse. Ellie had sat through countless brain scans to prove she was well and truly immune with no signs of turning and as promised, Kathy hadn't left her side for one second.

Now, Kathy and Ellie were hold up in a small blocked off cafeteria, waiting for Marlene to return so that they could leave the quarantine zone as soon as possible to avoid the soldiers that lurked on every street. Marlene had assured them that whatever the Firefly doctors did to Ellie during the procedure wouldn't be dangerous, wouldn't risk the young girl's life. That was the only reason Kathy agreed to such a thing. If there was any chance it would hurt her niece in the slightest, the brunette would put a stop to it and let the world continue to wither. Ellie was more important to her than some supposed cure that might not even work. They could find someone else, Ellie wasn't the only person immune in the world, surely.

But if the queen Firefly took any longer, Kathy would leave her behind and take Ellie by herself. She didn't have much trust or patience in people nowadays, even if they were family friends.

"Ellie, get away from the window." Kathy called to her niece from the other side of the room, "Someone could see you and we don't need soldiers asking questions around here. Especially with our situation."

"But Kathy-" Her niece tried to protest.

"No buts, sweetheart, sit down. Marlene will be back soon." The brunette told her, pointing to the desk for her to sit down. Ellie groaned, throwing her head back as she trudged over to the desk, but she stopped mid-step when the door to the office opened and Marlene fell into the room.

A man came into view, seemingly only a few years older than Kathy, trying to help Marlene up as she gasped in pain on the cold foor, "Whoa, whoa, whoa...Come on now, get on up."

Ellie stepped in swishing her knife, thinking that he was hurting her, "Get the fuck away from her."

Kathy was about to reach forward and pull Ellie away from the man, but was interrupted by his lady-friend who grabbed her knife wielding arm in mid air. Kathy was immediately at Ellie's side and glaring at the woman.

"Hey, hey, hey - let her go." Marlene told Tess with a wave of her hand. Kathy still had a glare set on her face as Tess dropped Ellie's arm.

"Don't you dare, touch her again." Kathy warned the strange woman who nodded stiffly in reply. She didn't look it, but when the time called for it she could be very intimidating.

"You're recruitin' kind of young, aren't ya?" Joel asked Marlene, momentarily glancing at Ellie. He could tell by the way Kathy held herself, that she was much older than she looked.

"She's not one of mine," Marlene sighed as she slowly stood up, clutching her stomach. She nodded towards the oldest Williams, "Neither is Kathy."

"Shit." Ellie cursed, going to Marlene's aid. "What happened?"

"Don't worry this is fixable." Marlene assured. "I got us help, but I can't come with you."

Kathy's eyes widened in surprise, "Are you shitting me, Marlene?!"

"Well then we're staying." Ellie stated, her voice full of determination. Their whole plan had been riding on Marlene getting them out of the city and now she wanted to pawn them off to two strangers they didn't know or trust.

"Ellie, Kathy, we won't get another shot at this."

"Screw them, I'll take her by myself!" Kathy voiced, she was planning to do that anyway five minutes ago.

"You know you can't make the journey by yourself. You need someone to watch your back." Marlene told her knowingly and Kathy sighed in defeat, knowing she was right.

"Hey - we're smuggling them?" Joel interrupted their little moment, pointing between the two Williams.

The Queen Firefly replied, "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol building."

Tess scoffed at her, "That's not exactly close."

"You're capable." Marlene retorted, "You hand them off, come back - the weapons are yours. Double what Robert sold me."

"Speaking of which, where are they?" Tess asked in an accusing tone.

"Back in our camp."

"We're not smuggling shit until I see them."

"You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons, I can get patched up. But Kathy and Ellie are not crossing that part of town. I want Joel to watch over them."

"Whoa, whoa! I don't think that the best idea." Joel began to protest.

Ellie didn't like that idea either, "Bullshit! We're not going with him. Kathy, tell her we're not!"

"Ellie...maybe we should give it a shot." Kathy shrugged, looking down at the girl sympathetically. She didn't want to put trust in people they didn't know, but if this was the only way they could get Ellie out of the city safely it was worth a go. "Marlene trusts them for a reason."

Ellie broke eye contact with her aunt reluctantly, knowing that she had a point and looked back at Marlene, "How do you know them?"

"I was close with his brother, Tommy. Said if I was ever in a jam, I could rely on him." The Firefly told her, sending a look in Joel's direction.

"Was that before or after he left your little militia group?" Joel remarked, snidely.

"He left you too." She countered. "He was a good man."

Tess turned to Joel and spoke in a quiet tone, but Kathy could still hear them clearly, "Look, just take them to the north tunnel and wait for me there."

"Jesus Christ." Joel sighed with a facepalm.

"They're just cargo, Joel."

"Marlene..." Ellie began, but the Firefly cut her off.

"No more talking." She said softly, "You'll be fine, you'll have Kathy protecting you the whole way. She'd never let anything happen to you."

"Damn right, I won't." Kathy agreed firmly, putting her arm around Ellie's shoulder and pulling her into a sideways embrace. The fourteen year old hugged back, wanting her aunt's comfort during a situation she really wasn't comfortable with.

"Now go with him."

"Don't take long." Joel told Tess and then turned to the girls, "And you two, stay close. Let's go."

"He's gonna get on my nerves, I can just tell." Kathy whispered to Ellie who chuckled quietly and they sent one last look to Marlene before leaving the room, trailing behind their new escort.

❝IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ME, I AM MY OWN WORST ENEMY❞