•• 2023 ••

IN A COLD SWEAT, Y/N's eyes were darting around beneath his eyelids. The voice of a little boy filled his head and there was a blurry vision of a memory.

"Wake up! Please wake up!"

"Open your eyes, hermanita. Please!"

"Wake up!"

Y/N sat up with a gasp and let out a breath, waking up from his nightmare. The twenty-four-year-old stared into the darkness of his dimly lit room.

He shifted and sat on the side of the bed. Y/N rubbed his face and closed his eyes, processing the unpleasant dream he just had. Once again, the screaming...the crying...the futile calls for help.

It was all still there.

Y/N got up and went into the living area of the small worn down apartment. He had a ripped-up couch, a coffee table that served also as a dining table, and a desk by the window containing radio equipment.

He turned to his left and looked into the small dirty mirror hanging on the wall. Y/N rubbed his eyes, staring at himself for a moment. He brushed his finger over the scar on his cheek before exhaling and walking away.

The first thing he did afterward was to check the radio. No bathroom, no breakfast, no routine workout, just sit and turn on the device. It's been that way for some time now.

He pressed the button on the microphone, taking a breath before speaking to it.

"Wednesday? Wednesday...2-15?"

That was the call sign for the person he usually spoke to. The number was said for added reassurance that it was indeed just them on the channel...and it also had meaning.

Y/N waited for a moment, but there was still no response. He figured they were away so he put the mic down, letting out a sigh. A knock at the door suddenly got his attention and he went to answer it.

On the other side was a young man about his age. His dirtied clothes matched Y/N's. The young man moved aside and let him in.

"Wow, you're up earlier than usual." Brent said sarcastically.

"Funny." Y/N replied as he closed the door.

Brent went to a cupboard nearby to grab the bottle of whiskey he knew Y/N had. He walked over to the table while eyeing the radio.

"Jane said anything?" He asked.

Y/N just shook his head, Brent nodded and started pouring the bourbon into glasses.

"Probably away doing something with my moms." Brent remarked.

The person they'd always radio was Brent's sister, Jane. They had gotten separated several years ago while traveling the country. When Y/N first discovered her communicating on the airwaves, it was by sheer luck or coincidence that she turned out to be related to his comrade and close friend. While they were currently in Boston she was in a town somewhere in Wyoming.

Brent handed a glass to Y/N. The young man took it and leaned against the wall while Brent immediately downed his drink.

"No toast or anything?" Y/N asked.

"You know me. I don't waste time with some booze in hand."

Y/N chuckled before drinking his. His light smirk slowly vanished as he turned and looked out the window. Brent noticed his mood.

"What's got you down in the dumps?"

"Nothin'." Y/N replied with a shrug.

Brent had an inkling that his friend had one of those nightmares again. He was part of the few in Y/N's circle that knew about his family history, both pre-outbreak and currently. Brent let out a small sigh as he glanced at his glass.

"Didn't wake up well, huh?"

Y/N just nodded. There was a brief pause before he decided to speak.

"Same old shit, you know? I should just get over it."

"Look, man." Brent put the glass down. "I get it's hard, and I'm the last person that could understand what you've been through...but in times like these...it's best to move on."

Y/N finally looked at him. Brent continued.

"I'm just telling it to you straight, man. Because it sucks seeing you like this. I love the funny and cheery side of my dude."

The young man lightly chuckled. For a moment, Y/N thought that he had a point. Dwelling on what happened with Sarah and the circumstances with his living family wouldn't be healthy for his survival and current cause.

Forgetting that part of his life and moving on would be best...but there was still a question in his mind, would he actually be able to? Can he?

Y/N chose to move on from the subject, drinking before speaking again.

"Aside from the whiskey, what made you come here?"

Brent crossed his arms. "Mike needs us."

"For what?" Y/N asked.

"A convoy in Area 2 is passing through Battery and Hanover."

"So he plans on hitting it?"

"Following Marlene's plan."

Y/N knew of their leader's strategy of causing some chaos so FEDRA can be distracted enough so the Fireflies could leave the quarantine zone. This attack on the convoy would be just one of many.

"Now?" Y/N asked.

"Now."

Y/N nodded, finishing his drink and putting down the glass.

"Let's go, then."

• • •

THE ARMORED VEHICLE drove down the road. A truck containing a few more FEDRA soldiers was tailing it closely. A few civilians were on the sidewalks, watching as they went by.

One of the light posts had fallen and was on the road which blocked their path. The armored car stopped and then the truck, where a soldier came out and held his rifle.

"Goddamnit." He cursed as he walked toward it. "Didn't we have someone repair this yesterday? How did it fall already?"

The soldier stepped away and was about to radio for some help, but suddenly an explosion erupted.

The pipe bomb under a parked car on the sidewalk blew up and the force was strong enough to flip over the armored vehicle.

"Shit!" The soldier shouted.

The rest of the FEDRA officers came out of the truck but a couple of them were immediately shot down.

"Fireflies!"

They were in the shop nearby, shooting from the rooftop and windows. Y/N aimed his rifle and shot another soldier down.

"Cover!" A soldier yelled. "Co—!"

Brent shot him down as well. The soldiers from the overturned vehicle tried getting out as well but were starting to get gunned down by the Fireflies.

This was going as planned and was happening rather fast, but they knew reinforcements would arrive so they had to get out of there soon.

"Nade out!"

Suddenly, a frag grenade was thrown inside the shop where Y/N and his comrades were at.

"We got a live one!" A Firefly exclaimed.

As they all took cover and prepared for the blast, Y/N instead dove toward the grenade. He picked it up and while still on the ground, threw it back outside.

It soon blew up, taking out the few soldiers ready to engage the shop.

"Holy shit, Private." A Firefly reacted to his act.

Another spoke. "Miller got some balls."

Brent was also impressed but kept his attention on the task at hand. "Let's fall back! Reinforcements are on their way."

The Fireflies listened and started leaving the shop through a back door. Y/N peeked out the front window, seeing the devastation they had just left. Bodies of the soldiers that were killed from the blast littered the sidewalk.

"Come on." Brent called out and got his attention.

Y/N slung his rifle over his shoulder, turning around, and followed his friend out of the shop.

They regrouped at a hideout near the outside border of Area 2. While a few Fireflies spoke and went over plans, Y/N was at a table sorting the guns that belonged to them.

As he was doing so, a senior Firefly went over to the young man. It was Mike, a guy in his late twenties who had actually mentored him and Brent since joining the group two years ago.

"Count's all good?" He asked Y/N.

"Everything is accounted for."

Mike nodded. He picked up one pistol and checked it. His stoic look then turned to a smirk, which Y/N noticed.

"What?" He asked.

"You diving at grenades now?"

Y/N chuckled. "Word getting around?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised how fast."

"Had to act quick. Threw it back at the senders."

"Yeah, that's the impressive part." Mike admitted. "It's like something out of Medal of Honor."

Y/N and Mike chuckled. Unbeknownst to the mentor, the young man didn't know what that was.

"What's that?"

Mike paused for a second. "It was uh—It was a video game about the army. Played it when I was nine. Forget about it."

Y/N shrugged it off. Mike put down the pistol he was checking and continued.

"Look, what you did today..." He pointed at the Fireflies in the other room. "They won't forget it. You basically saved them."

"Any one of them would've done the same." Y/N said.

"Maybe they would've, but you actually did. That's some hero shit and that's what we need to continue our cause."

Y/N looked at Mike directly and nodded, appreciating his words. To him, it felt like a long time since he's gotten praise like that.

Mike continued. "You got real heart. A couple of more years and you could lead too."

The young man nodded again and looked down at the sorted guns. "That's the goal."

Moments later, Brent came into the room. He spoke to the senior officer.

"Mike, Marlene's on the radio and wants to talk."

Mike bid farewell to Y/N. He also gave Brent a nod before leaving the room. Brent kept walking in and went up to his friend.

"What did the big man have to say?" He asked.

Y/N shrugged, picking up another pistol and checking the slide as he replied.

"Just a good job on the mission. Also mentioned some video game he used to play called Medal—Medal of Honor or something?"

"Sounds weird. It's like that show he mentioned about a talking sponge."

Y/N looked up, remembering the cartoon when he was growing up.

"SpongeBob? Bro, that was awesome."

"I literally never heard of it before in my life." Brent replied.

Y/N put down the gun. "At least tell me you know about Spider-Man."

Brent shrugged, which garnered a shocked look from his friend. Even if they were both around four years old at the start of the outbreak, he should've at the very least known about the popular superhero.

"How the hell are we friends, bro?" Y/N asked with a chuckle and started walking out.

"Please." Brent followed him. "Enlighten me with the lore of your strange heroes."

"I'll let you borrow some comics."

"What are comics?"

Y/N turned around and looked at him in shock again. Brent let out a laugh.

"I'm fucking with you this time. I know what they are."

"That would've been the last straw." Y/N joked and walked out.

Brent chuckled and followed him out. "Nah, man. Can't get rid of me that easily."

• • •

Y/N WAS BACK home after the day with the Fireflies. Brent reminded him to check the radio before calling it in for the night, which Y/N was going to do anyway.

He didn't need to be reminded...as he was looking forward to it.

Closing the door, he dropped his pack on the sofa and immediately took a seat at the desk. He sat back and looked out the window, seeing that it was now starting to rain during the summer night.

Y/N leaned in and picked up the microphone, pressing the button and finally speaking into it.

"Wednesday. Wednesday 2-15."

He sat there for a second, and that second turned out to be several more. But finally...a voice responded.

"February?"

The young man smiled. February was his callsign when making initial contact. February and Wednesday both had a meaning as they corresponded with the numbers 2-15.

It was the day he first contacted Jane, on a Wednesday. February 15th.

"I'm here." He replied. "I, uh...I tried contacting you earlier today."

"Sorry. This is the first time I'm able to be here today."

"It's okay. What have you been up to?"

"Just been helping my mom around. Spending time with Maria as well."

From what Jane had told him, Maria was the leader of their group in Wyoming. She also seemed pretty close to Jane and her mom.

"Boss lady taking you under her wing or something? You the next in line?"

"Can't imagine me leading."

"Hey, you never know. I'd say you got a tone people would follow."

She chuckled. "You think so?"

"I know so. There are men here that'd be at your beck and call once you give that no-nonsense attitude."

Jane laughed again and Y/N joined her. They quieted before she spoke again.

"How's Brent?"

"He's fine. He and I got some work done today."

"Oh. Care to share?"

Y/N paused for a moment. Jane knew that her brother and him were part of the Fireflies but didn't exactly know what they were doing in quarantine zones. He surely didn't want to tell her that their job was to basically kill soldiers.

"Stopped a FEDRA convoy. A small distraction so we can find a way out of this place."

"So everything went well? You okay?"

"Without a hitch." He replied, then smirked. "What, Miss Meadows? You worried about me?"

"You caught me. I guess I am."

There was a brief quiet after her reply. He decided to speak and give his honest thoughts.

"I worry about you too. There are times when I don't get a response on this channel and assume something happened. Being able to hear you...it brings me relief."

There yet again a pause. Y/N just sat there waiting for what she had to say. On the other end, Jane was touched by what he told her.

"There are plenty of days where things get tough. Mom and I missing my dad...when she's sad that makes me sad. Hearing you makes everything better."

He softly smiled. Jane had told him about the passing of her father a few years ago. Y/N also told her about his sister's death long ago which still affected him. So in a way, the two being able to talk and bond helped them with their trauma.

"It'll be much better being able to see you." Y/N replied. "I can't wait."

"Ditto. Run that plan of yours by me again."

"My unit of Fireflies plan on going west to Utah once getting out of Boston. Something the boss wants to do. Not sure why. From there, Brent and I will split off and go to Wyoming."

"You think your boss would allow that?"

"We can ask. I'd say we're pretty close. If not...well...hey, it ain't like the old days. They can't arrest me for being a deserter."

"Aww, committing a war crime just for me?"

"Does that make me more attractive?"

That got a laugh out of Jane. Y/N also chuckled and was rather proud of the line (real rizz). He sat back on the chair, still holding the microphone by his face.

The two could talk all night, but it was getting late and Jane needed to be somewhere in the morning. Before signing off...they had a ritual they'd often do.

"I got my excerpt. You?"

"Uh...yeah, sure. But you go first."

The girl began, reading a sonnet by William Shakespeare called Shall I compare thee to a summer's day. Y/N listened, always entranced by how Jane read poems. She was about to finish.

"When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

"Wow." Y/N replied. "That was great. That guy Shakespeare seems to always have gems."

"Thankfully we have a couple of books about him here." She replied. "What do you have?"

Y/N had lied before. He didn't actually have a poem in hand or mind at the moment, having been preoccupied with Fireflies the entire day.

"I...uh...I actually don't have one. Sorry. Got caught up today."

"Oh. Well, that's okay."

"But I can give you something else." He quickly said.

She was intrigued. "And what would that be?"

Y/N paused for a second. "A pun."

"A pun?"

"Yeah. I actually got a couple."

"Well...tell away."

"Okay." Y/N began. "You wanna hear a joke about pizza?"

"What?"

"Never mind, it was too cheesy."

It took a few seconds until Jane laughed on the other end.

"That's so stupid."

"I got another one—I got another one." He cleared his throat. "Why can't a nose be 12 inches? Because then it would be a foot."

Jane chuckled almost instantly this time. Her laugh also brought a smile to Y/N's face. It was as good as hearing her read poems.

"How'd you even think of these?" She asked.

The young man took a moment as he thought back. Those were jokes from the book Sarah had. For it being so long ago, he shouldn't have been able to remember...but he did.

"I guess you can say I inherited them."

• • •

IT HAD BEEN two days since the attack on the FEDRA convoy. Y/N had woken up to a knock on his door. The young man groaned and got up.

"I'm coming! I'm coming." He called out as he walked into the living room. The knocks kept going. "Brent, I already told you I'd be sleeping in."

He opened the door and on the other side wasn't Brent. It was Marlene, his superior and leader of the Fireflies. He was taken aback by her arrival and straightened up.

"Marlene." He greeted. "Uh...good morning."

"Morning, Y/N." She replied and let herself in.

Y/N shut the door. "Surprised to see you here. Out in the open when FEDRA got your posters everywhere."

"What's your assumption?" She asked.

"Must be important."

"It is."

Y/N nodded and placed his hands on his waist. "Lay it on me."

"B unit was ambushed by FEDRA early this morning."

"Really?" Y/N asked in shock. "How many—"

"All of them." She interjected. "They cleaned house."

Now that B unit was gone, all that was left was C, which included him, Marlene, Brent, Mike, and a few others. A unit had all been killed a week ago.

"Shit..." Y/N muttered. "So where are the rest of us hiding now?"

"At Miguel's hideout."

"Ain't he dead?"

Marlene shrugged. "He's not around to keep us out, so..."

"Brent? Mike? They there?"

"No. During the commotion, they were able to slip out of the QZ. They're going to regroup with our allies at the abandoned State House. That's where we'll be going too."

Y/N nodded. "Okay. When will it be time?"

"Not sure. But first, we're gonna need that car battery for the transport."

"Right...from Robert." He scoffed. "Has he come up with it yet?"

"I actually got word that he has, and I'm gonna need the muscle in case the deal goes awry."

"Not a problem. I'm there."

Y/N went to go get his pack from the room. Marlene called out and stopped him.

"That's not all."

The young man turned around and arched a brow. The woman continued.

"We also got someone of high value that needs questioning. An eye kept on them too while we wait for Robert."

"Okay..." Y/N replied. "Who is it? An officer?"

"No." Marlene answered. "It's actually someone that I think is way harder to crack than a senior FEDRA soldier."

Y/N chuckled. "Really? Enlighten me."

Marlene started making her way to the door. She turned around and smirked at Y/N.

"A fourteen-year-old girl."