Harley D'Angelo ran around the tiny apartment as she cleaned the mess Joel and Tess always left behind each morning. It brought her peace to clean and ignore everything happening outside the window. It also stopped her mind from thinking about her parents or even Tommy, who she wasn't even sure was alive at this point. Neither her nor Joel had heard from him since he left.

Harley looked up when the door creaked open.

"Let's go," Joel said, his voice gruff.

"Do you think he's actually heard anything from Tommy?" Harley asked, hopping towards the door as she put her shoes on. Joel didn't say anything, just placed his hand on her shoulder and guided her out the door.

"Stay in my eyesight, kid."

Joel and Harley walked past the people lining up outside the door.

"Hey, there's a line!" Someone shouted at them. They just ignored the nasty looks and walked into the little office area. They stood waiting for the person giving a message to finish. Once she was gone they were waved in. Joel tossed a foil packet of cigarettes onto the desk. The communications man, that Harley couldn't remember the name of for the life of her, just shook his head as he lit a cigarette.

"Nothin'?" Joel asked. "Is there any chance it's comin' in at night? You're sleepin', you miss it?"

"When I'm sleeping, Gabriela listens, or my son. The smart one, not the other one, god bless him. If Tommy responded, we'd know."

"You're talking to the tower?" Joel asked.

"Every day. They gave him your message, they haven't seen or heard from him since, and that's it. It hasn't been that long."

"It's been three weeks," Harley spoke up. "He's never taken more than a day to respond."

"I'm sure he's okay."

"Show me where the tower is," Joel said, placing a map down on the desk.

"You can't be serious. Joel, it's in Wyoming. All this open country? I mean, you're a capable guy, but there are worse things than Infected out there. I hear everything in this." He points towards the radio. "There are raiders, there are slavers—"

"But you're 'sure' Tommy's okay?"

He just sighed and grabbed a pen.

"It's the Cody tower... Q-Bar 4, but I don't know exactly wh—"

Joel cut him off by grabbing the map and leaving, Harley quickly stumbling after him.

That night, Harley read on her makeshift bed on the couch while Joel studied the map and drank. He also took a few pills that Harley stopped questioning. She would never get answer other than, 'It's none of your business, kid. Go to bed.'

Finally, it was late and dark and Joel had finally crawled into bed. Tess still wasn't home so Harley stayed up an extra hour waiting for her but she got too tired and fell asleep, her book resting on her chest. Joel didn't have that problem and laid there waiting.

The sound of her boots echoed as she walked across the hardwood floors. She set the book on Harley's chest to the side before walking to the bed and crawling in.

Harley woke up to the sun shining brightly in her eyes and the sound of Tess in the kitchen echoed throughout the apartment. Joel had only gotten up a minute before her and set aside a mug of coffee for her.

Tess had her head down the entire time she was around them and when she lifted her head they both knew why. She had been hiding a swollen black eye.

"I got jumped by a couple guys," She said, when Joel and Harley freaked at the look of it.

"What guys?" Joel asked.

"Just a couple teenagers. Said some shit, probably shouldn't have. Come on. You know these guys were born after the outbreak. Never learned how to argue. They just start swingin'. Fuckin' 19 year old pieces of shit."

Harley could read through Tess' lie but didn't dare say anything. The last thing they needed was for Joel to hunt down and kill some guys.

"It's a miracle you're alive," Joel said, pouring some alcohol onto a rag.

"It's a miracle any of us are alive," Tess said.

"Lucky us," Harley mumbled.

"These aren't new," Joel said, looking at the scratches on her face.

"No. I was in FEDRA lockup all day. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I need you to take a breath."

"What?"

"Joel—"

"What?"

"The guys who jumped me were with Robert. He sold our battery to someone else. Nothing's lost. Shit like this is gonna happen. Now we just shake it off, and we go get our cards back, or the battery."

"I need the battery, Tess. Truck's no good without one, and if I don't get to Tommy soon, he's gonna die out there."

"Can we not talk about Tommy dying right now?" Harley asked, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Tommy was important to her. He was the closest damn thing she had to a parent after her mother passed.

"Okay, fuck it," Tess said. "We get our money back and the battery. But, Joel, listen, Robert is terrified of you. So, you march outta here all Clint Eastwood, he's gonna get wind of it and skip. I need you to take a breath."

"Who's he sell it to?" Joel asked.

"Don't know," Tess said.

"Well, where is he?"

"Don't know. Yet. But we're gonna find out, quietly. Understand? Now I promised Robert that you wouldn't hurt him. But I would very much for you to hurt him. So let's go hunt that motherfucker down, and get our battery and our truck, and then we'll go find Tommy. All right?"

"All right."

"You're gonna with us on this one, Harls," Tess said. "Just stay close and don't be stupid."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Harley smirked, saluting Tess.

Harley stood by a wall with Joel as Tess questioned a man at a table.

"Hey, friend," A man said, standing next to Joel. "Don't worry. I don't want anything. But if you're feelin' lost—"

"You tell me to 'look for the light' and I'll break your jaw," Joel told him. The man held his hands up slightly as he backed up and walked away.

"Well, it cost us a couple of cards, but we got him," Tess said, walking back up to the two. "He's supposedly takin' the battery to a red-tagged building. But get this, corner of Stillman and Cross."

"The one Miguel used to use," Joel said.

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' so. We can take the subway tunnel under Haymarket, get into the building from below, and take Robert by surprise."

"Pay this fucker back."

"Do I get a gun for this?" Harley asked.

"Nope," Joel told her. "You get the knife or you get nothing at all."

Joel took bolt cutters to the lock on the doors and in they walked, soaked from the rain outside. Joel and Tess grabbed their guns from their backpacks while Harley grabbed her knife. She clipped the sheath around her belt loops and held a hand on the handle, prepared just in case.

Tess led them through, her flashlight being their only source of light at that moment. Harley followed her close behind while Joel held up the rear. They entered an office where Tess freaked out over an infected who had grown into the wall. He was far gone so there was no danger there.

"This one's done," Joel said, once he barged in the room, gun drawn.

"Yeah. I know. I just— I wasn't expecting it."

"So he wasn't down here last time?" Harley asked.

"No. You think he came down after he was infected?"

"Well, maybe down here is where he was infected," Joel sighed.

"Let's keep movin'," Tess said, swallowing thickly.

Tess tucked her flashlight under her arm as she climbed up a ladder.

"It's like they reframed the whole structure," Joel said, following Tess and Harley up the ladder. "Probably in the 80's. Everyone was cutting down on apartment sizes to sell more condos."

"This has been Construction Corner with Joel Miller," Harley joked, forcing a snort out of Tess.

Joel rolled his eyes before saying, "How far up we goin'?"

"This far," Tess said, climbing onto a platform. "So, this opens into the hallway. What the fuck? Someone put a piano in front of this?"

"You smell that?" Joel asked.

"Smells kind of smoky," Harley admitted.

"It's gunpowder," Tess told her. She shined her flashlight at the gap in the door to see a river of blood pouring out. Harley unsheathed her knife, preparing for the worst. Tess pushed against the door with her shoulder, pushing the body in front of the door enough to get out. Harley and Joel followed quickly, seeing a hallway littered with bodies. Tess crouched down near their battery. "Well, the battery's no good. And he still tried to sell it. Twice. You greedy fuck."

All three turned their heads at a sound that was nearby. It seemed to be just dwon the hallway. Joel led, his gun in front of him. He peeked around the corner to see a woman trying to pick up someone else. As he approched them down the hallway a door slammed open, a young girl, around Harley's age, jumped out at him with a knife. He flung against the wall, pointing his gun at her.

"Joel?" Marlene asked.

"Marlene?" Joel and Harley asked in unison as she approached him in the hall.

"You okay?" Marlene asked the girl. She reached for her knife again but Joel kept his boot on it. "Ellie. Ellie!"

"Oh shit!" The girl, Ellie, exclaimed when she saw Marlenes injury.

"No, it's okay. I'll be alright. And you can't be stupid like this."

"So this is who Robert screwed us over with?" Tess asked. "The Che Guevara of Boston? War must be goin' pretty shitty for you to be buying from scumbags like him."

"Yeah, it kinda has been," Marlene told her, her voice laced with annoyance. "The merch was bad, and he obviously didn't take 'fuck off' as an answer."

"Gimme my knife," Ellie said. Harley looked down at her, observing the girl in curiousity. What was Marlene doing with this girl?

"What do you need a car battery for?" Joel asked, his gun pointed towards Ellie again when she reached for her knife.

"Not at her," Marlene said, her and her partner pointing thier guns at Joel. "Point it at me." Ellie looked at the gun in fear, her hands held up as she pushed herself farther against the wall. "And to answer your question, I need it for a better reason than you do. No offense, but Tommy's just one man. It's our business to know things."

"'To know things.' You're the cause of it. You turned my own brother against me," Joel told her.

"That was a lot of gunfire, FEDRA's gonna be on the way," Marlenes partner said.

"I know," She hesitated for a moment before looking towards Ellie. "We were gonna move Ellie out of the zone tonight. But we won't make it anywhere like this. Not for a while anyway. So now I'm thinking, you're gonna do it."

"The hell we are/I'm not going with them!" Joel and Ellie said.

"Tess, we don't have time for this," Joel said.

"Oh, you don't have time?" Marlene asked.

"Who is she?" Tess asked.

"To you? She's cargo."

"We don't smuggle people. Sorry."

"I can do it," The other woman, Kim, said.

"Kim, you don't have a fuckin ear on your fuckin head. Could you please? There's a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House. I know what's out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that reason. But now I don't have a truck, I don't have a squadron, FEDRAs five minutes away. What I do have is you. And I know what you're both capable of. Even Harley has enough skills to get her by."

"Gee, thanks," Harley muttered, leaning against the wall where Ellie sat.

"For better or for worse," Marlene continued, ignoring Harley's comment.

"What are they capable of?" Ellie asked.

"Kicking ass," Harley whispered to her.

"You take her there safely and they'll give you what you need. Not just a battery. The whole thing. Fueled up truck, guns, supplies, all of it. I swear. I swear."

It was quiet for a minute before Joel lifted his boot, kicking Ellies knife down the hallway.

"Asshole!" Ellie shouted. Joel and Tess stepped to the side to discuss while Harley slid down the wall and sat next to Ellie.

"Ya'll talk it through, but please remember I'm bleeding out," Marlene interrupted.

"Okay. Here's the deal," Tess said. "We'll get her to your crew at the State House. But before we hand her over, they give us everything we want. If not, we kill her, there and then."

"Deal."

"Really? That fast?" Ellie asked.

"You are all that matters. My team will not jeopardize that. Remember what I told you? Now go get your backpack. Now, Ellie."

"Harley, you keep an eye on her," Tess said as they started to walk away once Ellie had grabbed her backpack.

"Give us a minute, all right?" Tess told Ellie, shutting her and Harley in the apartment.

"What the fuck?!" Ellie said but her yelling was cut off by the door slamming. Harley sighed and walked over to the couch, opening her book in her lap. Ellie put her backpack down and wandered around the apartment. "So, what's your name?"

"Harley," She introduced herself.

"I'm Ellie."

"So I've heard. So what's so special about you that Marlene took interest?"

"It's, uh, hard to explain," Ellie told her. "How do you know her?"

"Tommy, Joel's brother, he took care of me for a while after my mom died."

Ellie hummed, her hand tracing against a book of songs. She flipped through it, quickly catching on to Joels code.

So, who's Bill and Frank?" Ellie asked as Joel walked back into the apartment, laying down on the couch, his feet laying across Harley's lap. "The radio's a smuggling code, right? '60s song, they don't have anything new, '70s, they got new stuff. What's 80s?" Joel got up and snatched the book out of her hand, throwing it onto a table. "What are you doing?"

"Killin' time," Joel told her.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Ellie picked up the book again and sat down in the seat by the window.

"Your watch is broken," She said, walking past Joel.

"You mumble in your sleep," Ellie said when Joel awoke. Harley hand moved to the floor where she sat with a puzzle, at least the part they still had. "I've never been on the other side of the wall. Look how dark it is. You guys go out there a lot?"

"I guess," Joel said.

"When was the last time?"

"Maybe a year. What's it matter?"

"But you know where to go. So we're gonna be okay."

"Yeah," Joel sighed. "So what's the deal with you anyway? You some kinda bigwig's daughter or somethin'?"

"Something like that," Ellie said. "The radio came on when you were sleeping."

"What? What was the song."

"He kept sayin' like, Wake me up before you go-go?"

"Shit," Joel whispered.

"Gotcha," Ellie smirked. "80s means trouble. Code broken."

"Listen--" Joel started but stopped when Tess walked in.

"The spot under landcaster looks good," Tess said. "You got a jacket in your pack?"

"Yeah," Ellie said.

"Okay, get it. It's time to go."

"Okay, we're gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone," Tess said as the snuck around. "You stay close and you follow my lead."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," Ellie said.

In all their sneaking, they hadn't expected for a guard to be taking a piss right where they came out.

"What the hell," He said, zipping his pants up. "Hey, hey! Don't, don't, don't move! Don't move! You gotta be shittin' me."

"Okay, lets talk this out."

"Turn around," The guard said. "Get on your fucking knees."

"Hold on--" Joel tried.

"What did I fuckin' tell you, man? I said stay the fuck home. Get on your knees."

"Just get on your knees," Tess told them. They all turned around, settling on their knees, their hands on their heads. "Really, man?" He pressed the scanner thing to their necks.

"Yep. We're doin this by the book." Ellie looked towards the ground, her eyes wild and panicked. "Unauthorized exit. They'll hang you for that."

"Fine. Everythin' off of this run, and half off on all of the pills," Joel bargained.

"Half off? All off. Risk my job for half off. Outta your fuckin' mind--" Suddenly, Ellie spun around, stabbing the man in the leg.

"Holy shit!" Harley said. The soldier pulled the knife out and pointed the gun towards Joel.

"Get out of the fucking way!"

"We can fix this," Joel told him.

"Move."

Rage seemed to overtake Joels entire body and mind as he tackled the man, beating the ever loving shit out of him until he fell limp on the ground. He looked back towards Ellie who stared at him with an unreadable face. Tess reached for the scanner and the red screen flashed back at her.

"No, no! No, I'm not sick!" Ellie argued as Harley took a step back.

"Joel!"

"I am not sick! Look, look! This is three weeks old. Nobody lasts more than a day. Does this look a day old to you?"

"When did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter! You have to trust me. They're gonna catch us if we don't run."

"She's right, Tess. We have to go," Harley said. "Infected or not, it's something we gotta deal with out there."

"Joel, we gotta move," Tess said, leading the girls away. Joel followed behind, but not before grabbing the officers gun and running after them.

i'm numb after writing this. idk why but this the most grueling writing project i've taken on