the inexplicable

Tess Morell. 19 years old. I look like a girl but apparently I'm a precious piece of cargo. Don't be fooled - I definitely bite.

[tessmorell]

a bump in the road → jackess

[tessmorell]

jackbancroft:

Without remorse, without shame, and without looking back, Jack left his hostage bleeding out in the corner where he had shot him. Eventually, a wolf or a coyote or something would come to get rid of it for him, though it wasn’t as if Jack had exactly wanted to waste his time shoving the worthless piece of shit back into the dirt. So, with newfound motivation, he continued toward the direction the man had told him to go. Pain shot up his leg, forcing him to grimace, but thinking about whatever the fuck they were doing to Tess seemed to alleviate his discomfort. 

Too many days had passed, and he knew that there was a possibility that she could already be dead–and that should have been a relief to him. He had wished death upon the his traveling companion more than once throughout the few weeks they had been together, for Christ’s sake. But thinking about the very real chance that she was being dissected at this very moment was genuinely worrying. It had been a long time since he had worried about someone other than himself.

After a significant amount of time practically dragging his leg behind him, he laid his eyes upon their compound. It was an old warehouse, a big concrete building with a rusty “stco” hanging above the padlocked roll-up door. Clearly, Tess’ kidnappers were not the brightest of the bunch if they really thought a measly padlock and two guards would be enough to secure their gates. His hiding spot wasn’t even that great, and he was sure that if they were actually paying attention they should have spotted him by now. Getting rid of them only took two quick pulls of his trigger. Picking the lock took longer than taking the guards out. He took their weapons and turned towards the entrance, a little surprised that the sound of gunshots hadn’t attracted immediate attention. At least it made it easier for him to retrieve Tess and get the fuck out of there.

He pulled the gate open slowly, doing his best not to make too much noise. Again, much to his surprise, there was no one on the other side. It seemed suspiciously easy to get inside, and for a moment Jack had assumed he had been dragged right into a trap. But the moment of conspiracy passed, and still no one had taken a shot at him, so he stealthily navigated through the aisles. Although he was moving slower than usual, he was still making progress. The only issue was…he didn’t actually know where to go. This place was huge, each aisle twenty feet high. All he had was his intuition to guide him; there were no tracks to clue him towards Tess’s jail cell.

With each step he grew increasingly wary. It seemed impossible that no one had snuck up on him or spotted him yet. There were some human noises traveling through the warehouse, but they seemed distant and not worth worrying about. Everything was moving smoothly until he heard the panicked voice of someone alerting whoever else was trapped within the concrete walls.

“Intruder!” They shouted. “Guards outside reported dead!”

Jack’s heart began to beat faster and with more ferocity, the grip around the handle of his pistol growing tighter as his blood pressure rose. Figuring that stealth was the only way to go about this situation, taking his fucked up leg into account, he took a few deep breaths to steady his heart and continued moving slowly towards the door his gut had told him to approach. Unfortunately for him, the door was locked. He bit down on his lip, praying to whatever deity up above to keep anyone from coming his way as he shoved his pick into the keyhole and began to feel around for the picks. One, two, three, four, and five. His body disappeared behind the door just as a lookout turned the corner. 

In front of him was a hallway with doors on each side. The end of the hall separated into two more hallways. He took another exhale, tiptoeing down the cheap, musty carpet. It permeated an odor that made his nose crinkle. It smelled like several people’s corpses had been buried underneath the floor, and for a split second he wondered if Tess was one of them. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head, peering around the corners to make sure no one was waiting there for him. There was no one there, but he was faced with another hallway that split into two at the end. He was starting to think that this place was some sort of labyrinth.

“Maybe someone just killed the guards and ran off?” A raspy voice said, coming from the hall he was just in. Jack quickly ducked into an open room, held his breath, and pressed himself up against the wall. Hopefully they wouldn’t come in here.

The footsteps neared. 

“The entrance was broken into. He’s gotta be out there somewhere.” A female voice, but very low in the register. She sounded angry. “We’ll find him before he kills anyone else.”

There was a quick pause. “David was a good kid.”

“I know that. He was my little brother.”

That was definitely not something he was prepared to hear. He knew what it felt like to lose a younger sibling, and it was a kind of numb yet painful grieving process that was hard to explain. Losing his parents was hard enough, but losing Aimee felt unbearable. And he still couldn’t find it in himself to let her go. He could understand the emotions running through that woman’s mind, and he made one wish: if he died today, let her be the one to kill him. 

After some time passed and Jack felt confident that the coast was clear, he ventured further into the maze. Left, right, look through the door, straight, pick a lock, hide door, right, left, straight, lock, door, hide. It seemed endless, and he was starting to think that they didn’t have her here after all.

That was until he unlocked one more door and found her standing there.

She looked different. Physically, she was bruised and battered. There was blood on her clothes and bags under her eyes. Her skin was stained with blood–hers, most likely–and there was a kind of fear in her eyes that he had to look away from. It scared him too.

She muttered something under her breath. It was his name

Concerned, he spoke quietly, under the impression that if he said anything too loudly she would shatter right then and there. “Tess?”

She looked at him like he was the messiah, sent to save her from this hell. The fear in her eyes turned into relief as she coughed out his name again, her voice not the stubborn, annoying thing he had remembered. In fact, he was so relieved to hear her voice that he asked her a question. “Are you okay?” It was a stupid question, because she was clearly in bad shape. Still, he had a feeling he knew how she would answer, and that answer was exactly the one he wanted to hear. 

“I can get us out of here, but everyone out there is looking for me. They know I’m here. Can you…no. You can’t walk on your own.” He wasn’t in any shape to be adding more weight to his leg, but there was no way she could hobble out of here without being caught or killed. So, he put his backpack on his stomach and got down on one knee, his back facing her. “I’ll carry you, but I’m going to need you to hold on tight, okay? And…” He handed her one of the guns he had taken from the guards outside. “I’m going to need to you to watch my back.”

Seeing Jack again broke a wave of conflicting emotions over Tess. Of course she was relieved to see someone there who might help. Even if he hated her guts, she could at least feel relatively confident he wasn't there to pull them out of her body. She refused to think back to what occurred in the time since she last saw him. In a way, her current weakness saved her from doing so, because the protesting of her limbs and their many screams of pain as her cuts shifted, along with the lightheadedness she felt, kept Tess from focusing on anything. As a result, even keeping the vision of Jack straight served as enough of an ordeal.

There was the caveat of not knowing whether he really would assist her. He didn't appear to be in great shape, himself. Though the seemingly simple task of cooperation frequently alluded Tess from time to time, right now, it comforted and worried her more than usual. Knowing Jack had a plan seemed like a great thing. Yet putting her trust in anyone at a moment when she felt unsure of even the sturdiness of the wall keeping her upright did not appeal, whatsoever. He stood before her as a figure who simultaneously served as a ghost and a savior. She found herself unsure whether escape from this hellhole or death sounded like the more pleasant option.

She heard him speak, and she closed her eyes momentarily upon hearing her name, doing her best to maintain balance on the ground. When he asked if she was okay, Tess couldn't really process the question. One part of her wanted to give an easy 'yes' in response, while another wanted to break down and cry. But she had no energy for the latter right now. The young man for whom she had wailed and who she had been told was dead was looking down at her, and she didn't know what to make of it. For the time being, she needed to muster up some sort of answer. In the end, she managed a small nod in response, even if any sort of agreement was a blatant lie. Even Tess would acknowledge she was far from okay. Still, she was better now that Jack was here.

Tess watched without comment as he moved some things around and then turned his back to her, crouching downward. She hesitated for a few seconds. This was no time for delays, but while she knew Jack was offering help, she unintentionally cringed away from the thought of being carried by anyone after how poorly that went last time.

However, she couldn't stay on her feet much longer. Reminding herself this was just Jack, and surprisingly not coming up with any insulting adjectives in the process, Tess stepped forward and did her best to clamber onto his back, ignoring the way her body winced in response as she wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. This was no time for toppling over and causing problems, even if her strength barely existed, and she was hanging onto him mostly by luck.

At that moment, he turned enough to hand her a gun. Any other time, Tess would've been thrilled. Not because she had any desire to shoot the thing at anyone, but because after months of trekking together, he'd finally accepted she wasn't a complete failure of a shot (still questionable) and decided she most likely wasn't going to shoot him in his sleep, and thus concluded the time for her to try to start defending herself was here.

Instead, it came when they had no options and she could barely find the dexterity to keep the object firmly in her grasp. Still, she accepted the weapon without retort. In her mind, she knew she couldn't possibly do anything to keep Jack safe right now. Yet even having enough air in her lungs to say anything wouldn't warrant doing so. She had no idea how she appeared, but from his accurate conclusion she couldn't walk on her own, surely he presumed she wasn't about to take down any surprise visitors.

She chose to accept the action made out of desperation and perhaps the smallest little ounce of understanding. Keeping her thoughts on not letting go of Jack or the gun made for a much better option than giving any weight to the prospect of encountering one of the faces of which she'd grown so familiar over the past several days.

Getting out of the room served as a challenge, not just because Jack limped with each step, undoubtedly straining himself more now that he had an added weight on his back, but also because the place appeared rather maze-like. Since the people who brought her in here knew just where they wished to go, Tess hadn't realized this earlier.

Though she had no idea what happened to Jack after she was carried away from him, she guessed by his attentiveness even through injury that getting in here hadn't gone without incident. A real possibility of ending up on the ground because someone - or more than one someones - snuck up on them loomed all too close.

She told herself they were fine. It was easier to lie to her own consciousness than to dwell upon how she wanted to scream in pain or the way every other step brought her far lower to the ground than the one before it thanks to Jack's incredibly uneven gate. They weren't anywhere near okay, either individually, or as a pair. So it was rather miraculous that they didn't fall prey to anyone's line of fire. Their exit made a good deal of noise, simply thanks to the heaviness of their breathing, the unintentional grunts of discomfort, and the loud sound of the young man shuffling his way out of the building. Somehow, they avoided getting caught. At one point, a few shouts came closer, and they froze, listening, unable to suddenly run to safety. Yet no one turned around the bend or came out the door after them, so he kept trudging forward as fast as he could.

In the end, they made it out by a rather close margin. Though they didn't know it because neither of them were going to look back, a few people arrived at the front of the building when Jack and Tess were only several yards away from that prison of an abandoned building.

It was pivotal they got away from that group, since their original determination to find Tess didn't imply they'd be shy about looking for her again. Regardless, Jack could only carry both of them so far on his busted leg, and they were forced to stop far sooner than was likely wise.

When Tess reached the ground, she did little more than crumple in relief at the sudden lack of effort her body needed to exert. Surely they had all sorts of things to deal with immediately, and she wouldn't be surprised if Jack had something new to tell her. But she didn't have anything to say. She had neither the words nor the will to utter any. It felt strange to consider how both being alone and having company made her nervous in some way.

She reminded herself this was just Jack, though she wash't sure whether or not it helped calm her. With eyes full of uncertainty and a slight jumpiness, Tess looked over him, pausing to give his leg a better inspection. Nothing about it looked good, but without any real medical knowledge and with so much space between them, she had no idea the extent to which it affected her traveling companion. She couldn't bring herself to say thank you because she couldn't bring herself to say anything as she sat there.

It was the first time since they were separated that she wasn't living with the constant anxiety over when she would next be bothered by a visitor. Yet it didn't mean she felt safe or relaxed, and she was far from healing. Tess had nothing to tell him. Sure, she likely had quite a lot to report, but she wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about discussing anything right now, and felt much more comfortable remaining quiet and waiting for him to say anything he wanted. Though not the most helpful tactic in terms of forward progress, it did allow her a moment to remain in her awkward position on the ground and not think.

[tessmorell]

a bump in the road → jackess

[jackbancroft]

For hours, the pain was too much to bear. Jack did his best to track the direction the mysterious group of men had gone, though he made little progress due to the wound one of them had inflicted on him. With every step he felt as if his foot would shatter, though he did feel lucky that the man had shot him in the foot rather than the chest. In all honesty, though he was living for no one and nothing, he was happy to be alive. Death was not something he saw too near in the future, despite the amount of death he had seen occur around him. His mother, his father, his sister, Fiona…they were all gone. And as much as he had convinced himself that he hated Tess, he knew that it was too early for her to follow the path of his other family members. So, he was going to get her back, even if he had to go through Hell to find her. When he looked up however, he remembered that he was already there. 

Little progress was made, but luckily for him, the men had done nothing to cover up their tracks. There were hints here and there, leading Jack–slowly but surely–towards their hiding place. He didn’t even want to think what they were doing to her; he had put the pieces together in his mind during his lonely quest to find Tess. If they didn’t know what Tess was, there was no reason for them to take her. They had the Firefly dog tags around their necks, but they were too far away from any of the main headquarters for them to be active members, so he had figured they were deserters of the group. He didn’t blame them for leaving.

It was hard to think about what they were doing to her, even for him. Sure, he had thought up a few aggressive ways to get her to shut up, but he was positive whatever it was they were doing to her, it was ten times worse. But thinking about her pain was the only thing distracting him from his own–it was the only thing that kept him moving.

The journey there was desolate and surprisingly lonely without a small, impish girl trailing alongside him. He did his best to bandage himself up, and eventually, he started getting used to the pain. Things started to seem more and more bleak as day turned into night and night turned into day, and just when he was about to give up his search, he ran into a man, the glint of the dog tag around his neck catching Jack’s eye.

It didn’t take long for Jack to have him in his grasp.

The barrel of his gun was pressed up against the side of the man’s shaggy head, his wrists and ankles turning blue where Jack had tied them.

“Where’s the girl?!” He asked, spitting in the man’s face. “You tell me where she is, and I let you go without a scratch.” Jack could see the fear clouding his hostage’s eyes. Yet, he kept his mouth closed. “This isn’t enough to get you talking, is it?” He spat, pushing the gun farther into his skull.

“I’d rather die than tell you where our little Firefly is.” Saliva flew into Jack’s face. He wiped it off with his free hand, curling his fingers into a fist and sending it hurtling back towards the man’s face, sending Jack’s hostages head jolting backwards.

“Who said anything about letting you die?” He was desperate now. “Now don’t make me ask you this again–where the fuck are your people keeping her?”

The man didn’t budge until Jack starting digging his knife into his knee. After he told him where she was, Jack sent a bullet flying in between the man’s eyes. In this world, mercy was not an option and all loose ends had to be tied before they came back to bite.

[tessmorell]

The footsteps faded, evidently heading down a route she couldn't see. While she disliked not knowing her surroundings, letting someone disappear farther away was far more enjoyable than facing any of these people again. Tess couldn't focus on anything. Her heart pounded in her chest, but her head throbbed just as much, if not more. The seemingly endless series of wounds she withstood simmered as dull pains. In reality, they caused her agony, but she couldn't think straight enough or gain enough consciousness to pay them much mind at the moment.

Rolling onto her side took some effort, and she whimpered at the sensation. She didn't know what parts of her simply ached out of stiffness and which others required serious medical attention. Either way, no one was coming to care for her, and she knew she had to get out of there. The prospect sounded stupid and impossible, and getting caught would likely just land her in more trouble. Regardless, she had to at least make the effort. Maybe her mind was scattered and she was hiding a huge sense of fear built up the previous night, but Tess had little choice. The last thing she wanted was for them to come back and resume their actions.

She managed to prop herself up a tiny bit, trying to muffle her grunts of pain in the process. It only took her eyes a few seconds to hone in on the array of objects sitting nearby. As Tess looked over them, trying to figure out if any of them could help, she slowly realized the instruments weren't stained with anyone's blood, but her own. Swallowing nervously, she shifted away, narrowly avoiding falling back onto her side.

Considering alternate options didn't get her very far. Fortunately - or perhaps unfortunately - the young traveler spotted one of the few objects in her possession sitting among the collection. Scooting over as well as she could, Tess reached out. Her hands shook a little as she grabbed the knife, though whether they did so as a result of her many afflictions or a more mental fear, she couldn't say. When it came down to it, ignoring the fact that her own blood covered the blade was far simpler than positioning the thing properly to make steady progress toward freedom.

The process took quite a while. Tess lost her breath quickly, spending far more time cringing and willing herself not to cave into the pain than meeting any actual success with unbinding herself. The longer she remained awake, the more persistent she needed to grow in ignoring the way her bones protested and her wounds reopened. The blood seeping through every part of her hardly measured up to the frightful tinge of her thoughts, yet she refused to give that any justification. Not yet. She needed to be strong. Jack wasn't here, and she needed to save herself on this journey for once.

Not for a second did she consider the possibility that he wasn't even alive anymore. They'd mentioned such things as they pulled screams from her, but she wouldn't allow herself to reflect. She was alive, and surely he was, too.

When she finally achieved freedom, she took a deep, uneven breath and looked around at her settings. No footsteps returned since, and she could only hope she could find a way out of here. But hope was one of the sparse number of things she always carried with her, as foolish as it was.

Gradually, she eased herself to her knees. Her entire body screamed in disagreement, but she knew she couldn't stop. As quietly as she could, she shuffled over to the wall. It took quite some time, but not nearly as much energy and aggravated grinding of her teeth as did trying to rise to her feet with the help of the flat surface before her. Stuffing the knife into her pocket likely would've expedited the process, but Tess refused to let go.

Once she was standing, albeit at a crooked and incredibly painful angle, she leaned back against the wall, trying to summon air into her lungs. It was then that Tess realized just how alone she was. Independence always seemed like a great thing to the Firefly, yet right now, she needed to provide herself with enough physical and mental support to take a single step in the right direction.

The first two shuffles of her feet took a great deal of time and heaved breaths. But before she could aim for a third, Tess realized someone was approaching at an odd pace. Clinging to the wall for support, she looked up in horror as the figure came into view. She felt acutely aware that preparing for a punch from a foe was nothing like trying (and failing) to ready herself to be dragged back to her own little bed of misery.

But it wasn't one of her kidnappers, or anyone who loomed over her as she shrieked and wavered in and out of consciousness. Her knees buckled at the sight, and it took more determination than she really had to keep from collapsing to the floor out of relief.

"Jack!" if she had enough stamina, her exclamation would've been released in a shout of joy. Instead they came out as a cracked whisper, accompanied by an onslaught of tears threatening to fall. But she didn't have enough energy to cry, and certainly couldn't rush to him as some part of her wanted to do. In fact, she had to thank her drained and trembling nature from revealing just how glad she was to see the young man for whom she frequently proclaimed her hatred.

He didn't seem to be in great shape, himself, but she just stared at him for a few seconds. Finally, she formed a few more words. "Jack." Tess' voice faltered into a quieter tone as she continued. "How do we get out of here?"

[tessmorell]

a bump in the road → jackess

[jackbancroft]

Only moments ago, Fiona had been with them. Now she wasn’t. She had given herself up for them, and he couldn’t figure out why. The blonde’s mantra might as well have been “every man for himself”, so why had she suddenly decided to turn around and let Jack and Tess live? Had the knowledge of Tess’ condition change so much that she was willing to give it all up in hopes of the rebirth of humanity? There were too many questions going through his mind as he tried to recall how to start driving the car. He knew that he had to turn the keys for the car to start, he knew that there was a pedal to stop the car and one to make it go, he knew that it needed some sort of fuel to run, and he knew that the steering wheel in front of him was to maneuver the vehicle. Ironically, a Firefly had been the one to teach him this information during an important exchange with an illegal arms dealer. He had been sitting in the passenger seat and the driver had tried to make small talk. Never did he think that anything a Firefly had to say would actually be somewhat useful.

The smuggler was able to start the car eventually, although it wasn’t until after 500 mocking remarks were made by his tiny yet annoying traveling companion. Every once in a while the car would stop, and he would have to figure out a way to get it to start again. “I’d ask if you wanted to take over, but I know your feet won’t even reach the fucking pedals,” he responded through gritted teeth. The engine sputtered back to life, and they lurched forward and continued down the freeway he had walked down once before. The jerking movement had succeeded in shutting Tess up, and a few more hours of silence and unimpressive scenery passed by until he announced that they were approaching Iowa and that fuel was running low–not that either of those things meant anything to her. Apparently, the announcement had provoked her to speak–what was it with her and talking?–and he rolled his eyes at the first word that came out of her mouth.

“A lot,” he answered simply, mostly because he didn’t know the answer. On his trek across the country, he had encountered several thousand cars just parked in the middle of the street, backing up roads, and abandoned on sidewalks and driveways. However, he wasn’t sure how many of those cars still actually worked, or how the government was keeping their vehicles moving. Surely there was only a limited amount of fuel in the world–where they were getting it, he wasn’t sure. Jack wished he knew because the thought of having to walk again wasn’t a pleasant one. Slower and more painful–painful because he’d have to spend more time with her.

He hit a bump in the road–he figured it was a rock, but if it was a human body, he really wouldn’t have been surprised. “It’s all the same,” he answered, his focus on the road ahead. “The junk doesn’t matter. The signs are still the same. Like that one.” He gestured over to a large sign a few hundred feet down the road. “If you can read, you’ll know which way to go. Do you even know how to read?” It was a genuine question, though it didn’t sound like one. 

They were driving in silence once again, the ride down the road surprisingly smooth until the gas was gone and the car sputtered to a stop. “It’s time to start walking again,” he said, reaching back to grab his things from the backseat. He hopped out of the car, saddling his pack onto his tired back, waiting for a moment for Tess to get settled before leading the way once again.

The walk was just as it was before. Every once in a while Tess would ask one or more questions about things she saw or things she was thinking about, or she would just make some sarcastic remark about Jack for no reason. Both of those things were something Jack had gotten used to over the past few weeks, and he had realized that answering her was the best way to shut her up. A few miles in and finally downtown, they decided to take a quick break at a run-down motel, though it was interrupted when a small group of men approached them. Naturally, Jack pointed his gun at them, the expression on his face warning that if they took a step closer, he’d shoot them all down without hesitation. 

“Stay where you are,” he commanded, finger already halfway down the trigger.

The men put their arms up. “We’re not here to fight. Just to pick the girl up. Under Marlene’s orders.” The man who was speaking nodded towards Tess.

“She didn’t say anything about a pick-up.”

“Well, plans change.”

“How do I know you’re not tricking us?” He narrowed his eyes, gun still up in the air, ready to be shot.

“This.” The men pulled out chains from underneath their shirts. On it was a dog tag engraved with a firefly–many of the Fireflies had them to signify their status. Jack always thought it was stupid, especially if they had gotten captured by the government. It made it impossible for them to lie about their loyalties.

“That’s not enough. I can take the girl to Chicago myself. I have to make sure I get my guns back, anyway. That was the deal.” There was a moment of confusion on the men’s faces before they whipped out their guns–he responded with a shot towards one of the men on the left, but a bullet had hit him in the foot, and he was down before he could shoot another. There was a scream from Tess as one of them men saddled her over his shoulder. He scraped up his pistol from the asphalt, shooting haphazardly at the men who were running off to God knows where to do God knows what with her. Jack rose from the ground, his foot pounding with immense pain, dragging himself towards the way they had gone. But he was too slow, and they were gone.

[tessmorell]

She looked over at the sign when Jack pointed it out, wondering just how far people could travel using only signs sticking out of the bleak landscape. Tess had never traveled far enough to consider how simple the route might be thanks to such markers. Still, there wasn't always one in sight, and they required some knowledge of distance, which she was only starting to understand. Plus, knowing what direction to walk didn't eliminate the challenges of fallen rubble or malicious travelers. The two of them encountered quite a few a both issues, and right now, she was grateful for the vehicle Jack was driving. He might not have a great handle on what he was doing, but they were moving faster and more easily than they had yet. She could complain about him day in and day out, but she couldn't make much issue with this new improvement.

"I can read," Tess replied, rolling her eyes. She wasn't bothered by the question in any way, but she did find it interesting how many disparities they found. There were so many things she didn't understand that it probably made sense for him to ask. But she thought about the little joke book in her backpack. It was one of the few things she really did get to read, and she'd gone through it so many times since Marlene gave it to her that she could recite all of them without even looking. But keeping it in mind now provided her with the small reassurance that she could, at least, do something useful.

Returning to walking wasn't that bad, especially after the bumpy ride, but she knew the feeling of getting out to stretch wouldn't feel so fun after a few more days on her feet. But of course, they couldn't get too much closer to their destination without trouble confronting them. The decision to stop for a short while sounded like a good one to Tess, but soon enough, the pair had company. People joining them was never a good sign, and even if this group looked far less savage than some of the others they encountered, trusting their visitors wasn't exactly on either of their to do lists. For once, she actually listened to Jack when he told her not to go anywhere, though she concentrated on hearing the conversation as well as she could. Their immediate response of surrender caught her by surprise, but it was their explanation that shocked Tess most of all.

When Marlene packed up Tess and sent her off with the stranger she now knew a bit better, the older woman was very explicit in her instructions. They had to get to Chicago. Once there, Jack could get back his firearms, and Tess would get the chance to aid however she could in the search for a cure for the fungus. All of it seemed fairly cut and dry as long as they could actually survive the journey. If something happened to Jack, she was expected to keep trekking in the right direction, though that felt very improbable, because Jack was larger, better armed, and more practiced at knocking down other people. Yet as strange as this new arrangement was, especially since it seemingly came from nowhere, Marlene was known to change her mind on previous decisions whenever necessary. The man showed off his dog tag, and Tess began to wonder if something went wrong with the original plan, leading Marlene to have her picked up early. That made her wonder why Marlene would remove Jack from the equation, since she entrusted him with the task of getting Tess to Chicago, and as far as the latter knew, they hadn't been in contact since.

Jack was the one to question this change, and what happened next came as a far larger surprise than the arrival of people they didn't know. Gun shots suddenly rang out, and before Tess could make a decision to run forward or back, someone picked her up, and she screamed, kicking and flailing to no avail as the man carried her out of the old motel. No matter how tough Tess liked to think she was sometimes, her shouting and wiggling didn't get her anywhere. Instead, she just exhausted herself with her many efforts throughout the journey. The one thing she did succeed in doing was annoying everyone around her, especially the man whose shoulder she was over, who struggled especially hard to get her to stay still. When they arrived at their destination, the group of people wasted no time getting Tess onto the ground and restraining her by pressing her small self down.

They began asking questions, but rather than listening, she began kicking the man holding her in typical, uncooperative Tess fashion. He grunted in displeasure and called for someone to get him something she couldn't hear amidst her struggles. Her continued thrashing earned her a swift kick to her side, and she choked out in displeasure at the feeling, too distracted to hear the culprit get told not to injure her until they decided what they were going to do. Shortly thereafter, she discovered the man had asked for some sort of rope, because her legs were quickly tied up in multiple places, making her motions much less effective.

He grabbed her wrists and she tried to claw at him, but he pinned her hands down to the ground. Suddenly, there was a gasp, and he turned behind him again. "There are two," she heard him announce. Suddenly, the entire group of people crowded around her, inspecting the bite marks now clearly displayed before the audience that gathered. Apparently, even if news of their travels and her immunity had spread, no one was entirely up to date on their activities.

"When were you bitten the second time?" a woman standing just behind the man restraining her asked.

"Get the fuck off of me," Tess frowned, still trying to wiggle around uselessly.

A whole list of other inquiries flew in her direction, but she remained silent aside from the occasional insult or groan of discomfort. Upon realizing just how useless Tess was going to prove when given no added encouragement, the group murmured among themselves, before one person showed up with an especially menacing look. "Let's see if you have more to say when you're prompted a little better."

Before she had time to figure out what that meant, an intense pain ripped through one of her arms, and Tess bit her lip, screaming out and trying to squirm away. With each new sense of pain, another question came her way. They seemed to go in circles, with certain ones coming up more often than others, but her head was spinning, and each pause in the group's attempts left her panting to catch her breath after screeching in agony. Tess had no concept of how long their efforts lasted, but as time passed, each surprise grew more painful, just as her shrieks became louder. At some point, she began crying out of desperation, though she didn't have enough air left in her lungs to do anything but scream. Most of them came out as incoherent wails, though a few turned into a distressed, "Jack! JAAAACK!" Those always met with the reassurance that no one was going to find her, and her friend was dead, which just made her yell with renewed insistence.

They eventually stopped when she lost consciousness, since there was nothing for her to reveal at that point. When her eyes opened again, she glanced around, trying to make out her surroundings. Her focus remained on her confusion, rather than on whatever sources of pain the people left for her to experience. She heard movement nearby, and for once, she remained silent and motionless, cringing inwardly as she waited to see who was coming to pay her a visit this time.

[tessmorell]

a bump in the road → jackess

"You have no idea what the fuck you're supposed to do with this, do you?" Tess knew asking such a thing would just lead to her having to acknowledge she had no better idea of how to drive a car, but that didn't stop her from pointing out Jack's failure. It already took them long enough to come up with a method of turning the thing on and getting it to start a few days beforehand. Now, even after several stretches of driving success, they still got stuck once in a while, both thanks to unknown issues with the vehicle, and Jack's lack of car expertise. She didn't consider the young man sitting next to her to be a fountain of knowledge on any subject, aside perhaps from how to be a douchebag. Yet for some inexplicable reason, she originally just expected Jack to know how to operate the car. It probably came down to how much emphasis he placed on his superior awareness of all sorts of things they encountered, but apparently, even the guy who got to experience several extra years of pre-apocalyptic life didn't have the answers to everything. It made her laugh, and that was exactly what she did as she sat there with her arms crossed, watching him fiddle with a few things until one strange noise turned into a less worrisome noise and they jutted forward again.

Their trip didn't make her stomach want to empty itself as much as it had on the first day. Jack began to get the hang of some parts of the contraption, for which she felt incredibly thankful. She had gotten dangerously close to getting rid of her lunch on the first day, and was likely saved only by the fact that they had not, in fact, eaten anything for lunch. Apparently the thing was going to run out of fuel soon, which made it sound pretty useless to the shorter traveler, but it carried them a good distance without tiring them out, so she knew better than to complain too much about it. "I thought you made a lot of noise trampling along when your leg was all busted up, but this piece of shit doesn't ever shut up." It seemed like every time they solved one problem, another one arrived, and she was pretty sure they were prone to attract more attention riding in the car than they did while walking.

Slumping back in the seat, Tess slid down a bit and then propped up her legs, staring at the uninviting landscape before them. Nothing about it appeared interesting or beckoned them to delve farther, and so she didn't say much about it. But while she remained quiet, Tess found herself intrigued by whatever they saw, even if it wound up as relative nothingness. Each piece of scenery still looked new to her untraveled eyes, and every now and then, they'd pass something that showed signs of once existing as a more magnificent structure. For now, she just stared and tried to find Jack's inexperienced driving less tumultuous than it really was. "How many cars do you think there still are?" She knew the military had some, thanks to the great encounter the two of them had with a few government officials earlier in their journey, but she had little concept of how many existed or could be made. Even if Tess threw a lot of questions in Jack's direction to which he didn't have the answer, she found his annoyance at not knowing something almost as entertaining as actually learning something new. Plus, it broke up the return to silence between them ever since leaving Fiona.

Tess looked down and turned over her right arm, inspecting prominent mark there. It didn't yet resemble its partner on her other arm, but she remembered vividly how the other one had changed over time. Nothing about it looked appealing, and she wasn't about to poke at it. Maybe it wouldn't have been so unpleasant if her sleeve hadn't been ripped aside by someone trying to eat her a while back, but she supposed having to occasionally glance at a bite mark was better than being consumed for dinner. Before she could give any deeper thought to the newer of the two bites, they hit some sort of bump, and she grabbed onto the seat, muttering out a quick, "shit," out of surprise. "How do you even know we're going in the right direction? I know you've walked all sorts of places, but doesn't the wind, you know, toss some of this junk around and make the place look different?"

[jackbancroft]

better dead than alive // jackess +fiona (for now)

[jackbancroft]

It seemed like an eternity before Tess obliged. Never did Jack think that he would be pointing a weapon Fiona, someone he looked up to and someone who had saved his life on multiple occasions. The former duo maintained eye contact, wild fear uncontrollable rage conquering the steely blue of Fiona’s eyes. Jack stared at her blankly, knowing that breaking his gaze would only make it seem as if he was suddenly going to give up this battle, even if this was not a situation he ever wanted to be in. Shooting Fiona was frankly, something he didn’t want to do. No amount of guns could make him do that. Tess, on the other hand, was someone he didn’t give two flying fucks about. Sure, she was immune, but what could the Fireflies really do with her in the long run?

"Put down the gun, Fi," he coaxed, hoping to God that the little bitch that he was protecting would hurry up and follow his order.

Finally she did, displaying the old bite for Fiona to see. It looked abhorring, and the teeth marks were still there, but it was apparent that it was old—it looked like an old scab. Seeing it for the second time was almost as shocking as seeing it the first time. Immunity. Out of all of the people who could’ve been immune—his mother, his father, his sister—it had to be Tess. Maybe it should have given him hope for the future, but hope had been lost the second the fungus had spread, and for Jack, the second his sister was bitten in those godforsaken tunnels. 

There was no God looking out for them. If there was, why would he create people just so he could destroy them?

Jack took a quick glance down at the bleeding Stalker at his feet. That monster had been a person once. A mother, perhaps a father. Someone’s child, maybe a sister or a brother, an aunt or an uncle…it was hard to tell. Its face was too mangled. To know that his sister had suffered the same fate and was probably still wandering out there, the fungus controlling her body like a puppet brought a sharp pain to his gut. Jack ignored it.

Instead, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused his attention to the situation at hand. Tess, being a little dumbass, had decided that it would be a good idea to open her mouth and spew some caustic words. Anytime that happened, he wanted to punch her in the throat. To think what Fiona would do to her if she pushed the blonde’s buttons enough…

"If you want to stay alive, shut your fucking mouth," he responded, still refusing to break eye contact. Fireflies never did have any common sense.

"That’s impossible," Fiona claimed, staring in disbelief at the evidence at hand. "That…that’s not…that’s not possible." She finally lowered her gun, then Jack followed suit. She took a few steps forward and took a strong of hold of Tess’s slender wrists to get a closer look at her bites. It was silent for a few moments while she took it all in.

"I can’t believe it. You’re immune," she muttered, finally piecing the puzzle together. "That’s why Jackass is taking you to Chicago, isn’t he? You’re his tradin’ piece. The Fireflies are gonna work on you to make some medicine. Marlene put him up to this, didn’t she? This has her name written all over it." Naturally, Fiona was full of questions. She had never thought she’d live to see a day when the cure would be released, but with Tess, humanity was one step closer to saving itself from the epidemic at hand. People would once again be at the top of the food chain, where they belonged. Maybe, just maybe, she might even live to see the day when harmony was restored amongst the people. Hope—Tess was a beacon of hope. "Well, you better hurry your little ass to Chicago, then." The blonde pointed toward the car parked solemnly up ahead. "And that’s what’s gonna get you there."

However, Fiona’s moment was ruined by Jack’s announcement. “Stalkers coming our way! Move it!” He shot his last bullet, which brought down one, struggling to reload his weapon while sprinting for his life. A few more gunshots from Fiona rang out, and a few more fell towards the asphalt, but there were still too many. They should’ve expected a second horde, especially after letting the scent of blood permeate for so long.

He fired a few more shots, and so did she. And though many went down, it wasn’t enough. There were too many of them, and getting out of this one alive was starting to look unrealistic.

So, Fiona made a split-second decision, and haphazardly handed Jack her things. Then she said “go”, and ran. The opposite way.

He yelled for her, told her to not be an idiot, but he knew that she had never listened to what he said. She was a goner. Although he had seen many people die before, many of them by his hand, this was something that he just couldn’t watch.

Jack set his sights on the truck only a little farther ahead, blocking out the scene behind him.

[tessmorell]

One thing Tess hadn't bargained for was having to explain her immunity. In part, that was because Marlene made it very clear before Tess left for Chicago that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone. So, the general thought remained that it would be a secret and thus no explanation would ever be necessary. But apparently, everyone out there in the big, bad world (which didn't really look like much to her, either) wasn't just a hardened asshole because they'd survived all sorts of terrors and things 'you could never imagine," but they were also nosy shits. True, Tess was a nosy shit, herself, but that mostly came down to how much she hated feeling excluded when the Fireflies were up to stuff and they left her out of it.

So far, she wasn't doing a very good job of keeping her promise to Marlene that she wouldn't let anyone know she was immune. First, the cannibal had ripped her shirt and seen it. Then that led Jack to see it, and now she was waving it in Fiona's face, since apparently even hardened assholes feared for their precious lives. Tess decided she liked the first reveal the best, because it led the person after her to run away, unlike Jack and Fiona, who then decided to point guns at her head. If this is all getting out of the Firefly base meant, Tess wasn't sure she liked it so much. Yet she had to get to Chicago, and she wasn't going to let a bunch of annoying people influence her to turn back or anything of the sort.

She wasn't a fan of being yanked around, but if letting Fiona pull on her arms so she could stare at the disgusting scab meant Tess wasn't going to die just yet, she figured she had to accept it. Tess didn't bother to answer Fiona's questions, since the young woman clearly figured everything out well enough. Fortunately - or perhaps, unfortunately - the conversation had no time to continue.

With the Stalkers approaching them, Tess suddenly remembered she, too, had a weapon in her hands, and tried her best to fire at them. She was pretty sure she hit one, but she was also certain it wasn't the one for which she aimed. Regardless, the chaos of Fiona's movements confused her, and Jack's yelling didn't help. Though as Fiona retreated quickly, Tess realized she wasn't coming back.

Though Jack stood around for a short while, they finally started toward the truck. His distant look made her wonder how well he and Fiona knew each other. The fact that they joked around together and he actually listened when she told him to do things signaled to the fact that they must have known each other for a while. Tess didn't really know anything about Jack, and while she wondered plenty of things, she didn't really care to know too much. Still, this encounter revealed some small part of his past. If the two had once been close, then losing Fiona couldn't have felt easy.

Of course, she had no desire to hear him spew his feelings if he had any on the matter. Yet she knew well enough that losing people was hard, and losing someone you were close to was even harder. But, thanks to the truck, they'd be in Chicago soon enough, and while she tried to help people find a cure, he could get his firearms and go find some other old buddy who might not want to shoot him in the foot for acting like such a dick all the time. She didn't know if any such person existed, but in the wake of Fiona's sacrifice, perhaps it was better to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Then again, maybe not. His frustration with the truck when they got to it didn't exactly endear her to him.

Tess looked at the thing, trying to figure out what she could. Maybe it wouldn't even work. Did Jack know how to drive a truck? Did he used to use a truck? She had no idea, but apparently there was no time like the present to discover the answer. So, off they went, trying to make their trip to Chicago as efficient as they could.

[jackbancroft]

better dead than alive // jackess +fiona (for now)

[jackbancroft]

Damn, Jack really hated this girl. Although at first, seeing Tess hadn’t given him too bad of an impression. However, once he started correlating her voice to her face, even looking at her became a chore in itself. “I just had to make sure that your little rebel-wired brain wouldn’t decide to revolt and do something stupid. Which, from what I recall, is what all your little subordinate insect friends do.” Annoyed, he spit at the ground, gesturing that he was ready to keep moving. Fiona however, didn’t move.

"Sit back down, Jack-ass. I’m still tired. Plus, I like seeing this feud between you two. It elates me to know that she’ll be here chiding you when I ain’t around to do it no more. It’s definitely what I miss most." She leaned back into the wall, stretching out her back, her satisfied groans filling the silence of the room. "A tip for you, Firefly. You’ll know he’s bugged when he crinkles his nose. Hard to see, but once you see it, you see it," she laughed, regaining her stance on her two feet. 

Jack crinkled his nose.

After their fun little encounter, they trekked through the decay of the town for another hour, give or take a few minutes. The ragged blonde did what she could to spark some conversation every now and then, but it was no surprise when Jack’s stubbornness let her attempts at colloquy go to waste. They all tended to end with a guttural noise of Mr. I’m-Better-Than-Everyone-And-Life-Hates-Me, so most of their trip had been in silence. Within that silence, Fiona pondered over just exactly what these two were up to. She knew that they were keeping a big secret from her, but she imagined that she’d find out sooner or later. There was no need to rush things. Eventually, Fiona pointed out the big, green, military truck up ahead, finally ending their aggravating journey with the sky still light as…well, grey. The overcast weather had done them a favor, keeping the trio from sweating off their skin.

However, there wasn’t much time to react to reaching their destination. Out of nowhere, a horde of Stalkers had come rushing towards their direction, the sound of Fiona and Jack’s bullets firing mixed with the all-too-familiar gravelly cries of the Infected running toward them. A few had been shot down, but there were too many of those creatures compared to the three of them. It looked about a ratio of 15:3, although since Tess would likely not do much, it was more like 15:2. 

"Fuck. Run!" Fiona yelled, shooting down another one of their pursuers as she did so. It wasn’t too long before the monsters caught up to them, their inhuman speed matching their inhuman forms. Though Fiona and Jack were both busy fighting off the hangry mob, they did what they could to keep their eyes on Tess. After all, this whole encounter would be pointless if the annoying bitch didn’t make it out. 

A resounding cry from the tiny brunette caught their attention, the picturesque image of Tess screaming as a Stalker latched its teeth onto her arm displayed clearly for them both to see. 

"Jesus Christ," Jack muttered under his breath. Like old times, Fiona and Jack shot down the last of the horde together. But, instead of lowering her gun, Fiona aimed it right in the center of Tess’s forehead, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. "Don’t fucking shoot her, Fi," Jack growled, stepping in front of Tess, raising his own gun to his old partner. If he had counted correctly, he had one more bullet left to spare.

Fiona narrowed her eyes at him. “She’s bit. You saw her get bit. And it’s not like little Firefly is trying hide it, either. Look at the bite, Jack! Look at it! I warned you what I do to people who get bit. And she. Is. Bit!” Her voice shook with anger. Or fear. Jack couldn’t tell.

"I’ll kill you before you pull that trigger, Fiona. Don’t make me do it." The guns. He needed those guns.

"Why are you protectin’ her?! She’s gonna become one of those…things!" Fiona pointed a finger at one of the dead Stalkers, lying lifeless on the ground. Not that they were really alive beforehand, either. "I’d be doin’ the bitch a favor."

Jack looked over his shoulder, his gun still aimed towards his former friend. “Tell her, Tess. Tell her and show her the other bite.”

[tessmorell]

It was great to have Fiona here. No matter how much disdain Tess felt for her, and how wary she was of spending much time with anyone, the visit had proved beneficial thus far. All she wanted was to get to Chicago, do what she could to help find a cure, and then reunite with the Fireflies. Jack and Fiona putting them down only increased her desire to be back with the people who raised her. Maybe Jack thought the whole fight proved pointless, but surely the militaristic government couldn't stay in place forever. However, it would remain for an incredibly long time if no one bothered to get their asses up and work on way to improve the general situation. They couldn't make trees grow again or restore the world to how it apparently once was, but they could try to fix what they did have.

In the interim period of separation she had from Marlene and the others, Tess had to resolve herself to her traveling companion's presence. He was bitter and rude, but then again, even if she was full of hope, she probably wasn't a ray of sunshine, either. Running into Fiona was incredibly fortuitous. Sure, she was sketchy and not someone Tess was about to trust, but when she ordered Jack around, he barely back-talked, and he seemed to continuously accept her authority for some reason. Tess absolutely loved it. Maybe she would never reach such a point with him, since he remained so resolved to think he was far superior, but she could still revel in it and remind him of this experience for months to come.

"Then with any luck, he'll hike the whole way with a scrunched up nose," she grinned, though it was just temporary.

The fight that followed a couple of hours later was a complete mess. Obviously, shooting creatures down naturally escaped cleanliness much of the time. Then there was the fact that the ratio was completely off. Tess didn't really have the chance to look over at Jack and Fiona, since she was busy. Granted, she probably looked as though she was running around blindly, yet all of the Infecteds were too close to shoot or moving in a way that she knew she couldn't make it. It might not have been a complete disaster, but it certainly wasn't going too well, either.

All she knew was that she could hear shots and the sound of things hitting the ground, and she was left to hope that the two people with guns weren't in that group. As much as she wanted to punch Jack in the face, him dying wasn't going to help her, and she highly suspected that Fiona dying wasn't going to help either of them, as long as they were still facing this horde.

Of course, Tess had to be the one to end up in the greatest mess of all. It wouldn't have been an issue if she could just shoot something, but she was too late, and now her right arm was being chomped on. She pushed the thing away and then someone shot it, but the whole reaction was still too late. The knowledge that she wasn't going to descend into insanity and a lack of humanity kept her from freaking out about the whole thing like she had the first time she got bitten. Still, it wasn't like any part of this felt good or was enjoyable. She really had to learn to defend herself better, especially at the rate she was going.

But the problem wasn't that a Stalker bit her or that she was now going to have asymmetrically matching arms. The problem was that, when she looked up after the creature dropped to the ground, there was a gun pointed in her direction.

She could remember very clearly the way they'd lost those who accompanied her on the outing and had also been bitten. She could remember wondering when her turn would come. The confusion that followed, along with the fear at her unchanging state, were arguably even worse than the thought of being eliminated for her own good. Why hadn't she followed the same path as the rest of the group? Why was she still herself? The curiosity still plagued her, even with the vague answer of immunity in mind. It was easy to see why Fiona had such a reaction. But she couldn't die; not now. Not when she had the chance to help so many people.

Jack stepped between the other two. It didn't surprise her since she knew he needed to get to Chicago and trade her in like some sort of currency. But even that barely registered as she stood there, dazed from the attack and the possible suddenness of her death. Tess wondered how ready he really felt to off Fiona. She could see him shooting the other woman just as easily as she could envision Fiona putting a bullet through her head, yet she hoped neither occurred right now. She needed to stay alive to make it to Chicago, and Jack killing Fiona didn't sound like it would necessarily do any additional good.

It was easy to say that Tess didn't like the direction this was going. Getting bitten again obviously didn't sit at the top of her to do list. Having some law-breaking old chum of Jack's kill her didn't exactly sound too appealing, either. Yet she hated the idea of sharing anything about her bites to this woman. In a way, it seemed funny, since Fiona wasn't nearly as annoying as Jack. The issue was that the two of them weren't stuck together for months, and thus the secret was likely to escape. The only reason she had to say anything was because she wanted to avoid getting shot, but she could remember Marlene's clear instructions not to tell anyone about her bite or her immunity unless there was no possible other option.

The last thing the brunette wanted was to mess up this whole thing and put herself in more danger or the possibility of finding a cure even further on delay.

Realizing she had no other option, Tess reached over and shoved up her left sleeve. Her expression appeared displeased, but there was something resigned about the whole response. "I've already been bitten," she stated blandly, unwrapping her grip on the gun enough to point to the obvious bite with a couple fingers. "A while ago. No effect."

It felt strange to speak about so freely. The immunity forced its way into becoming Tess' largest secret, but since it wasn't her most personal one, sharing it overlaid her mind with a sense of strangeness rather than loss. She knew better than to make it common knowledge, but there was no one else around right now.

"Now that we're all clear on the 'Tess turning into an Infected and trying to eat your sorry ass' thing, feel free to move your gun the fuck away from any part of me whenever you wish. It'd be helpful if you didn't kill this bastard, either," she gestured in front of her. "But if you want to shoot his arm or leg or something, I won't object."

Still, she remained in place. Fiona actually had to move her gun and not shoot before Tess would allow herself the opportunity to relax for a minute and accept that today would not be the day she died.

[jackbancroft]

better dead than alive // jackess +fiona (for now)

[jackbancroft]

Unamused, Fiona shot an annoyed glance at Jack. Was he really so stupid that he wouldn’t let the girl learn how to shoot? She was aware that he had always been quite full of himself and he hated to be helped—hell, it was hard enough to get him to let her tend to his wounds—but if he actually thought that giving Tess a gun would ultimately lead her to strike a bullet in his head, he was more idiotic than she originally thought. Despite what he refused to believe, she needed him just as much as he needed her. Fiona gave him a slow, disapproving shake of the head. “If she wanted to, she would’ve sliced your throat with that knife she keeps so dear to her heart. So stop being an idiot. Get over yourself.” With a roll of her eyes, she made her way over to Tess, placing a hand on her shoulder and pointing to the center of a tree about ten feet away. “That’s your target.”

Although it wasn’t an ideal time to be giving a lesson, and the gunshots would probably attract the Infecteds to their location, she knew that because of Jack’s idiocy, there was no other time. Fiona glanced at the side of handgun. “This is a .38 caliber semi-automatic, which means more recoil than if you were to use somethin’ lower…though I figure you already knew that.” She shrugged. “When you’re not usin’ it, keep it faced down. As much as I’m sure Jack deserves gettin’ shot in the arm, you don’t want that happening.” 

She pulled out her own handgun from a holster she had stolen from those dead soldier-guys, showing Tess the proper way to hold the gun. There was a barely-audible groan from Jack. Fiona ignored it. “Keep the trigger in the center of your first finger pad-thingy, otherwise your aim will be shit. You’re keepin’ the grip on the gun with your middle finger and your ring finger. Keep it tight. Now Jack and I, we can shoot one-handed. I doubt you can. So take your other hand, like this.” Fiona cradled her other hand, waiting for Tess to follow her example. There were a few more steps covered before Tess made her first shot, which was, not too terrible for the first time. 

"Alright. Good. Now you know. Let’s go before some Stalkers come chase us out. Plus, we don’t wanna waste any more bullets." 

Jack, bored of Fiona’s little lecture and demonstration, was ready to leave. He was still uncomfortable with Tess holding a gun and would rather watch her get bitten again, purely for the entertainment aspect of it.

For once, he was not the one leading the way, Fiona up front and him in the back, in order to cover Tess’s ass. For a while, the trio had only trekked quietly along the side of the desecrated road, passing overgrown lawns and lonely houses. Eventually, they were forced into some tighter, darker spaces. A few miles into their journey, they decided to stop and take a break.

"You better not fire that thing unless it’s absolutely fucking necessary," Jack said, gulping down a mouthful of water. "Ammo is hard to find, and I can’t count on you to keep from wasting the bullets that I do have."

[tessmorell]

As unhandy as this whole situation was because her lack of fighting knowledge held them back, Tess couldn't avoid growing amused when Fiona berated Jack. Even if she took part in doing so, herself, it was nowhere near as great as this. The main difference was that, instead of growing annoyed and brushing her off, Jack actually listened to Fiona. He must have owed her something or felt some distant sense of dedication to her, but Tess didn't care about the reasoning. All she knew was that he hung his head (metaphorically and somewhat literally) every time she pushed him around, and the scene proved amazing to watch. However, soon enough the attention was back on Tess, and she tensed herself under Fiona's grasp. She nodded as the gun was explained, and forced herself not to retort when Fiona said she probably didn't want Jack to get shot in the arm. Not having two working arms wouldn't prevent him from getting to Chicago. In fact, it sounded pretty great.

Watching closely, Tess positioned her hands as instructed and steadied her stance before taking a shot. It wasn't as bad as it could've been, she reasoned. For the most part, she was simply glad she managed to get it even remotely close to the target - partly because she didn't want to live with a lack of success in front of an idiot who would remind her about it for months to come, and partly because they didn't have time for mistakes. But, there was no time to reflect upon her shot or the reasoning for it, because soon enough they headed out. The young traveler made sure to stay as close to Fiona as she could without accidentally stepping on the other woman's boots.

They plopped down and Tess ran her hands over her pants without any particular reason. The gun was sitting in the grass beside her. Though it remained in reach so she could access it if necessary, she knew both of her current companions were paranoid about her mistakenly firing it, so she didn't keep it in her hands. Honestly, the prospect made her somewhat edgy, as well. "Yes, thanks for those words of wisdom," she rolled her eyes. "I was thinking of firing this into the air just for the hell of it, but now I think I'll refrain."

Inadvertently, she let out a snort. "Is there a point to your lecture? We've already established that you can't count on me for anything. And next time you injure yourself, I'll gladly let you drag yourself for a good portion of the journey." With a shrug, she leaned back on her hands and looked over at Fiona, wondering what was up with the woman. Tess didn't trust Jack, either, so it wasn't as if she blamed him. Yet they had little choice; as much as she disliked the situation, they both needed each other.

It wasn't long before they were up on their feet again. With each step, Tess grew more curious about what they were going to discover. What was in the car? How did it work? Did it work? She had no concept of the time that passed before they neared the thing, but finally it was in sight, and Fiona announced as much, albeit in a lowered tone.

Things went wrong when they got closer. The whole thing happened so fast, but to some degree, they'd seen it coming. "Shit," Tess' response was lost amongst those of the other two people around her as a group of infecteds sped their way. There wasn't a crazy amount of them, but even one was too many, and now they faced a whole little group. As Jack and Fiona busied themselves, Tess spotted one approaching her. Even with an impromptu shooting lesson under her belt, she remained unprepared for such a situation, and raised her gun too late. The creature managed to latch onto her before she could fire a shot.

"Fuck!" her shout resounded at the familiar sensation of being bitten, and she retaliated by whacking the thing with her gun and shoving and kicking in some flailing manner that she subconsciously hoped would separate her from the Infected. It worked, though all too late, since she was now half a sleeve short, and with a second bite mark to accompany the first one. Despite how fortunate she was to be immune and thus not destined to turn into a crazed version of herself, she didn't feel particularly lucky as she looked down at the disgusting new incision.

[jackbancroft]

better dead than alive // jackess +fiona (for now)

Fiona knew Jack and Tess were keeping something big from her. She had always been hyper-cognizant of liars and cheats, a tool that had come in handy during her time as a smuggler. She was the one who had taught Jack all the signs and tricks, and though he had picked up quickly, he didn’t seem to have the natural ability to be able to pick out the truths among lies. It was a minor setback for him, but proved to be an advantageous situation for her, especially last night. Getting the pair drunk was too easy. Her preconceived knowledge of Jack proved helpful as well; when he was drunk, his hyperaware subconscious didn’t kick in during his sleep. Though she didn’t know much about Tess, her tiny frame was enough to let Fiona know that she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon either. And so, rummaging through their things was an easy enough task, though she wasn’t able to find anything to help rest her case. She did however, end up pocketing a few of the pills that Jack was hiding in the depths of his backpack. Medicine was hard to come by when one lived in a run-down bus.

She armed herself with her rifle, snapping the clasps of the backpack to her waist. It had been quite a few days since she had been out of her mentally-marked borders, which also meant that the blonde had not stumbled across any mass hordes of Infected. In fact, it had been even longer since she had encountered a Bloater—those things were hard to kill. She had almost died the last time she had ran into one. Although it made her slightly nervous, she geared it towards her adrenaline levels. 

Jack was thankfully devoid of any signs of hangover. Though he could still taste a hint of alcohol on his breath, it wasn’t something that he hadn’t experienced before. As long as he shot straight and didn’t get bitten—like some people—he’d be fine. And he knew, that with the help of Fiona, there was no room for failure. Attaining that car meant a little less time spent with the tiny bastard by his side, and he was willing to do anything to make sure his little dream would turn into a reality. The only problem was, he had never actually learned how to drive…

"Alright punks, let’s bounce," Fiona said, nodding her head towards the exit. She scanned over the place one more time, noticing one fault. "You gonna give her a gun, Jack? I’d suggest, if you want to get your shit back, you give her something better than that flimsy little knife. Wouldn’t want to see her get bitten out there…and you know what I do to people get get bit."

Jack raised an eyebrow. Maybe he’d simply draw up Tess’s sleeve right now so Fiona could shoot the bitch right then and there, but Fiona had a point. Tess was his trading piece. No Tess, no guns. He pulled a face, then reluctantly handed her his extra automatic.

"You know how to shoot, Firefly? Or am I gonna have to play teacher and show you how?"

[tessmorell]

The run down bus had made for a nice break from nights spent in the middle of nowhere. Well, maybe 'nice' wasn't exactly the best classification, but it was certainly a welcome change, at least for one evening. Not that Tess cared much for Fiona. Any friend of Jack's - if he even really had any of those - was someone she was automatically going to be wary of in the short term. It wasn't as if the little traveler was completely cynical, but ever since leaving the Quarantine Zone, her ratio of allies to enemies was zero to a number too high to count. Unless, of course, Jack was temporarily holding his silence. A forced partnership, she supposed, was better than being run down by someone else who wanted to eat her. But that didn't mean she was ready to embrace Fiona with open arms. On the upside, the older woman did seem to take pleasure in making fun of Jack, which was one of Tess' only hobbies on this long trek.

Waking up fortunately wasn't too hard. It'd been a while since she had much to drink, though once she shoved herself onto her feet, Tess found that she was in an extra grumpy mood more than anything else. Something she didn't need to parade around, because encouraging rude remarks from those around her wasn't something she was aiming for right now. The prospect of going to get a car motivated her. Tess had never been in a car and had no clue how they worked, but from what she was told, they seemed efficient. If they managed to get hold of one, that could help them immensely. There was the question of why Fiona would let them have it if it was her idea in the first place. She didn't exactly seem like the type to concede to Jack's insistence - something Tess admired about her. Still, camping out here for such a long time didn't guarantee Fiona wasn't planning to use this as her first opportunity to find a new place to stay, and Tess doubted she had any interest in hiking to Chicago when the other woman probably knew smarter places to stay.

Ready to go, with her backpack slung over her shoulders, Tess wasn't expecting the journey to be delayed, much less because someone suggested she have a weapon. She'd already attempted to hint without much subtlety to Jack that she needed assistance learning how to better defend herself, and he wouldn't even give her that much. She didn't know if he anticipated that her dead body would be just as useful to him as she was now or if he was just a stubborn asshole (probably the latter). Not having a gun made sense because he was looking out for himself, yet he also knew that she couldn't get to Chicago on her own since she had no idea where that was or what sort of route could lead here there.

Before he handed her the weapon, she briefly wondered if Fiona would simply shoot her if she was bitten. Which then begged the question of what would happen if Tess was bitten again. She was immune - that much was clear. Yet she'd thankfully not been bitten a second time. Hopefully she never would be, though she couldn't help but wonder the effect it would have. Her thoughts were interrupted when Jack handed over the gun, and she accepted it, holding it closely to her, lest he change his mind. That being said, she doubted he would have the balls to do so, since Fiona seemed more in charge than he'd ever admit.

"You already know the answer to that," she pulled a face, not liking the fact that she had to admit once again that she didn't know how to do anything more than kick people, bite them, and wave around her knife. Not exactly the best fight tactics. "But if you've gotten over your well-founded paranoia that I might have the strong urge to shoot you in the face, then, by all means, show me something useful."

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

Fiona couldn’t keep herself from grinning at Tess’s comment about the girl’s paraphrased version of Fiona’s previous life. Of course, a lot more shit than that had gone down, though that was the stuff that she’d rather not delve into. It brought back stark memories of things that she had always deemed far worse than zombies roaming the streets. Those pieces of shit didn’t haunt her like her memories did. Besides, the blonde was pretty sure that it was Jack’s first time hearing her story before the epidemic as well, and she was well aware that the scruffy smuggler had a soft spot for certain kinds of sob stories. He wasn’t a cryer, he was a sympathizer, and she hated sympathy. She didn’t need it. For a second, she made eye contact with him, and she could see it. Never really one to hide how she felt, she gave him the finger and continued on.

"You have a good point there," she shrugged, looking around at her rusty surroundings. She had tried to make it more homey, though there really was no point. Like Tess said, she wasn’t really living. She was just surviving; Fiona had realized that finding something to live for always ended up in her morose disappointment. It wasn’t too long ago that she had longed to see the sun rise on a day where the Infected didn’t lurk the bloodstained asphalt, but she knew that there was no plausible way that could ever happen—not in her lifetime, at least. 

"Jack, throw me that bottle of there." He obliged, more than excited to share a drink especially after having to lug Tess around for so many days. It was the prime opportunity to drink away his sorrows and frustrations, those of which mostly stemmed from Tess. "And Firefly, grab those cups that are stacked up in that box besides you." Once she did so, she poured everyone a nice shot of the rum she had been holding on to, raising her glass once she finished handing them out.

"To our shitty lives," she announced, downing the contents in a rather graceful fashion. It was no secret that she had done this many times before. Pouring herself another before anyone else could stop her—though she knew no one here was going to.

Jack’s first drink had actually been with Fiona, and so had his last. He hadn’t taken a sip of alcohol since she had trekked off into the world beyond. It was nice to to it again, though he made a note to himself to not overdo it, especially since the three of them were going to be against hordes of Infected in the morning. He only hoped that Fiona would so so as well, though with her, he could never tell.

[tessmorell]

Tess did as she was told, and, perhaps surprisingly, not begrudgingly. Of course, she absolutely hated being told what to do, especially by people who thought they were better than she was because they were older or not part of the same organization. It wasn't until she'd left on this trek that she'd experienced the latter, but Jack annoyed her enough for her to quickly learn what new sorts of things she found bothersome. At least, with the Fireflies, though they picked on her for being small, they didn't act like she was useless. This was a different story, and she wondered how she would have been treated in a more normal environment.

All of that being said, she was all too much in favor of having a drink to protest. Plus, it wouldn't do her one bit of good, anyway, so she just grabbed the cups and shoved them in Fiona's direction. Once all three had something inside of them, she grabbed hers and raised it with a rather sardonic smile before downing the contents. It had been longer than she realized that she - and, by extension, Jack - had been without anything other than weird cans of food and water, so this was a welcome change. The first time Marlene gave her alcohol, she explained that it used to be illegal for people under twenty-one to drink. So, they did the most natural thing, and sat there and drank while commenting on how they fucking hated the government until Tess finally started choking because her throat was on fire.

That had been many years ago, and now she just gulped it down with as much joy as she could muster. Granted, that wasn't saying much, because they were stuck in a pretty shitty situation, but at least now there was some variation to shake things up a bit. "So," she looked up at the other two occupants of the torn apart bus, not quite smiling, but looking a little less miserable than usual.

"It would appear sitting around in the same place helps you to collect a greater inventory of... well... everything." She shrugged, turning her cup in a circle within her grasp. It felt weird to just be there, acting as if things were alright. Ever since she and Jack had started out on their trip, life had been a little too eventful. That wasn't about to change, and she knew it. "You plan to stay here until someone chases you out?" The whole roughing it on your own lifestyle wasn't something Tess much understood, and while she knew her life was shitty enough, in that regard, she felt slightly fortunate.

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

She scoffed. Fiona liked Tess’s humor and her affinity of poking fun at her ex-partner. That had used to be Fiona’s job when it had just been the two of them; she had always wondered whether he had decided to continue solo or had replaced her with someone else when she decided to pack her bags—or, bag—and leave the city. Knowing that he had Tess to do that, at least even temporarily, was enough to give her some sense of satisfaction.

"Interesting life story you’ve got there," she commented. "A baby growin’ up in a world plagued by fungus, raised by a Firefly mother. Orphaned. And now shipped off to Chicago with this jackass," she recited, as if it were a monologue. She pulled a plastic container filled with blackberries and popped one of them into her mouth, then offered some to her guests. She had looted many houses in the neighborhood that was about 8 miles west. Fiona had found some rather nice things and even had decided to decorate her living space with some stolen artwork. There was even a stack of books in one corner. "How old are ya? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

Fiona had just assumed that Tess had been born into this whole mess. The ex-smuggler sympathized with her mother more, if she had been. It was rumored that childbirth without drugs was miserably painful.

"Me? Didn’t grow up in this shithole, but in a different kind of shithole. Never knew my father. Mother had an addiction," she shrugged. Fiona had put that past behind her long ago. She popped another berry in her mouth, not bothering to swallow before she continued. There was no use for manners in a world where people shot eachother in the head without hesitation. "I ran away from home at 12, fungus hit a year later. Almost got bit but, miracles happen. Met this fucker years later. Got bored and left the Quarantine Zone. And now here I am. Hope you weren’t looking for a more detailed life story, Firefly."

Jack had never heard about Fiona’s life before the apocalypse had stuck. He hadn’t known what to expect when she started talking about missing fathers and addict mothers, especially since both of his parents had been perfectly sane and healthy. All he had known before her paraphrased story was that she didn’t have anyone besides herself. Maybe it was to be expected, he had never spoken a word about Aimee, or his father, or his mother to her. Besides, she was always preaching about focusing on the now than focusing on the then. She had had a good point, but despite it, Jack could never get his past to stop haunting him.

"Anyways," she started again, tongue stained blue with berry juices, "How about we lighten up the mood? I’ve actually had a bottle of Malibu stashed away for a few weeks. We can open that up?"

[tessmorell]

As Fiona recited her life story in a summarized version (granted, she had only provided very general points in the first place), Tess just stood there, not sure if the point of this was more for the other woman's amusement, or so she could clarify the story and commit it to memory. There really wasn't much to remember. In addition, hearing it that way made her think about how nice her life seemed compared to what it really was. Just someone born into a rough world. Nothing more and nothing less. Yet, at the same time, it also left out the happier parts of her life, which mostly consisted of little moments that she knew would stick with her forever. Mostly because they were all she had.

Upon hearing the age this woman guessed for her, she let out a snort, glancing at Jack in faint amusement. "Nineteen. Though you guessed higher than this idiot," she nudged her shoulder in his direction. "So that's something." Then she shrugged, picking up a blackberry and eating it. The fruit was better than pretty much anything she'd eaten on her journey with Jack thus far, and so it was a welcome change, albeit not one she was going to adjust herself to at any point. Tess might have been sheltered for a long time, but she was well aware not to expect comforts that would never come.

Being short made Tess used to people teasing her about being young. The thing was, everyone she was normally near knew who she was and knew her age, because they were all fellow Fireflies. She was, in fact, the youngest, so the teasing was double sided. This was different. Now she was going to be surrounded only by strangers, and she was learning quickly that people were either bad guessers or, like Jack, they just enjoyed being dicks. She didn't much care. At least it gave her something at which to roll her eyes during this rather bleak trek.

"That was even more than I expected," her lips curled into some sort of vaguely pained smile-like expression. "But, you know, sounds wonderfully full of sadness and independence." She wasn't exactly one to summarize like Fiona, though she played along at least a little. "And yes, that is quite the miracle. Though," she looked around at their shitty surroundings and shook her head. "I'm not sure you can really say being alive is the greatest blessing you could receive. Especially if you're not trying to do anything but survive." Still, she didn't exactly need to start conflict, especially not with the person offering them temporary shelter and possible other help.

No matter what her commentary, Tess was honestly interested to hear what Fiona's life was like. Maybe the smuggler didn't think she'd given much information, but it was still enough for the little Firefly to create an imaginary picture. She still struggled to envision things like nice little houses with yards and stores that were well put together, but she'd been told enough bits and pieces over time to have her own vision of what it might have been like. A life with neglectful parents didn't necessarily sound better than Tess', but she still liked the idea of knowing what she missed before the fungus spread.

The mention of alcohol didn't fail to quickly redirect Tess' thoughts. She didn't drink very often compared to some Fireflies she knew, but she'd reached the point of being inducted into sitting around with the rest of the group a few years before, and so she was more than able to hold her own, and quite liked the idea of having a drink. "I wouldn't say no," was all she contributed, momentarily wondering if her mouth was blue, too.

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

When Fiona had first found the bus, it had been infested with greens and even a couple dead people inside. Though she had initially decided against settling down, Fiona had ended up throwing the bodies over her shoulders and burning them (it had smelled like burning flesh for a few days, but she wasn’t one to complain about petty nuisances—not that she had anyone to complain to). Throughout the years, she had even done a little redecorating, ripping out cushions and pulling out metal to help accommodate to her needs. It was as luxurious as it was going to get, unless she managed to find some original paintings or something, though Fiona thought that all art was essentially bullshit. She hated metaphors.

She shrugged her rifle off her shoulder, hanging it up by one of makeshift hooks. “A few years. At least four. I was with some other guys for awhile before I decided to kick them to the dust,” she answered, turning her head to face Tess. “Don’t worry. I didn’t kill them.” They had been faced with a Bloater. She was the only one who made it out.

"What about you, Firefly?" she gestured for Tess to take a seat. "You been looking for the light your whole life?” Jack let out a snicker, breaking his silence.

"Her mom was a Firefly," he chimed in, still observing the things that Fiona had done to the bus. She had always been a talented craftsman with an innovative mind, and yet, he was impressed. "She doesn’t know anything else."

"I didn’t ask you." He shut up. "So, you gonna answer the question or do I have to ask again?"

[tessmorell]

Four years. Tess tried to wrap her head around what that could mean for everything that had happened in the time since Fiona had arrived here. That was nearly a fifth of the Firefly's life. Still, it was rather remarkable that the woman had survived here for so long outside of the Quarantine Zone. Either she was great at fending off trouble, or no one paid much attention to this broken down vehicle. Maybe it was some combination of both. Still, four years ago, Tess had just been working on getting Marlene to allow her to participate in more outings and discussions.

She shrugged after hearing Fiona's reassurance. "Not sure I'd be surprised if you had." Even if Tess wasn't totally in favor of killing everyone in the way, she knew it was often what had to be done. Beyond that, she didn't expect hospitality here, so she didn't especially care what Fiona had or hadn't done.

Despite the condescending way in which the question was worded and Jack's more than predictable insulting response, Tess simply looked over at him with an expression someone might make at a little sibling when he or she broke something and then got caught. "Butting in where he's not wanted is one of Jack's favorite hobbies," she commented, fully aware Fiona wasn't looking for any sort of delays in the answer to her inquiry.

"If you're asking whether I've been a Firefly my whole life, then the answer is yes, as you just heard. Looking for the light, however, probably not. I think I spent a few of those early years running around, falling all over the place, and just being generally too sheltered and young to look for any light," she squinted and moved her hand around vaguely as she spoke, as if she was putting in a mild effort to fake seriousness. 

With a sigh, she pushed her hair from her face, ignoring that it was knotted and dirty from their travels. "That's probably not the answer you were looking for, but I'm sure you'll find plenty aspects to hate one way or another." Her smile was insincere, but Tess didn't expect anything chummy or relaxed to come of this encounter.

"What about you, smuggler slash refugee in a bus?" Her eyebrows raised and she just kept looking at Fiona, finding it easy to act as if Jack wasn't there at all when he wasn't speaking. Then again, she amused herself in knowing he had been told to shut up by someone who could actually get him to close his mouth. "You been hiding from crazy people while not inside a Quarantine Zone your whole life?" Of course the answer was no, since the Infection had come after Fiona would have been born, but Tess was curious about this woman, nonetheless.

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

Fiona combed back her choppy hair, raising her eyebrows amusedly as Tess continued to retaliate. She did like her—Tess reminded her of her self at that age—though of course, she wasn’t about to let the girl know that. Fiona wasn’t the type to let anyone have their satisfaction. “Good thing I’m not a smuggler no more. Guess you’re gonna have to sleep with both eyes open from now on, Jackass.” It was an old nickname—one that she hadn’t spoken for years. Perhaps it should’ve felt foreign on her tongue, but it had slipped out naturally and of course, condescendingly. She paired her sarcasm with a look at her old partner.

Through her peripheral vision, she kept her eye on Tess as the girl decided to explore, aware that Fireflies had a tendency to fuck things over. It had fucked her sister over and over until she had ended up dying by some moronic Firefly’s misplacement of a shrapnel bomb. She found it funny when she discovered that her sister and Jack’s sister had been rather close friends, though Jack didn’t seem to find it funny at all. He always had such a bad sense of humor…or perhaps she was just twisted.

"Why don’t you two come in? Knowing Jack, I’m sure that he’s basically refused to eat. Because of you know, resourcefulness. I’ve got plenty of food to share, but don’t ask me how I got it,” she said, turning her focus over to Tess, who looked like she was mentally taking notes of her surroundings. “That goes for you, girl, since you look like the questioning type.”

Jack scoffed at her comment. Tess had definitely asked her fair share of questions.

[tessmorell]

There didn't seem to be much that was interesting about this school but. Tess knew what school was, but she wasn't really sure how this helped. Then again, she'd never attended school or gone anywhere far from where she lived, so transportation wasn't a necessary aspect. Did you learn on the bus? Did you take the bus to school? She felt dumb for not knowing more, but it seemed so simple, the concept of just traveling off to sit around and learn as if that was the most important thing you'd ever do. Well aware of the fact that she was being watched, she spent as much time as possible inspecting every aspect of the bus that she could. Being babysat certainly wasn't something she wanted, but since she couldn't shake Jack if she wanted to get to Chicago, then she couldn't stop Fiona from watching her with skeptical precision.

Yet she didn't care, since she held no greater affection for the older woman. It wasn't until Fiona spoke that Tess' attention was redirected. She made her way over to where the other two were standing, simply rolling her eyes and saying nothing in response. In truth, Tess did ask a lot of questions. She had practically been born into the apocalypse, and so there was a lot she didn't understand, which dissatisfied her. Beyond that, she could be a bit of a smart ass, which she didn't feel bad about in the least. So she tended to ask Jack things that ranged from 'what is that object over there?' to 'why are you such a dick?'. But for now, she just shut up, not wanting to complicate things, not really caring where Fiona had found her food, and, above all, not needing to give anyone the satisfaction of doing what they expected. Sure, she was stubborn, but that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

When they got inside, she leaned against one of the interior walls, taking a look around the place. It wasn't much. In fact, it was pretty gross looking, but she supposed it was better looked after than most of the abandoned places they'd found thus far. Even if she was accurately accused of being a questioning person, she saw no reason to stand there silently when nothing was happened, so she glanced around the bus as she asked a simple question, "how long have you been staying in here?"

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

Fiona hadn’t expected anything more from the girl standing in front of her, the petite girl’s snark similar to her own self at that age. On the other hand, Jack desperately prayed Tess would shut up to a God he was positive didn’t exist, aware that if Fiona had been able to survive out here alone for this long, she had resources—resources that she might spare to them if they were able to convince her to do so. 

She snorted at her old partner’s new companion, making a show to bend down to the girl’s level. “Hope? Only Fireflies have that, girl. I assumed you would’ve figured that out by now,” she replied, matching Tess’s aggression. “I’m sure you’re hoping right now, little Firefly; maybe for something good to eat, a fresh bottle of water, or for me to just turn around and shoot Jack and myself in the head.” Refusing to waste any more time, she straightened out her legs and turned her attention back to Jack. He had barely changed, except for the fact that his eyes looked much stonier than they did four years ago. That was expected. Otherwise, he looked the same.

Jack had saved her life more than once, and in turn, she had done the same. They had always been a good pair, as close as two people could be in the shithole situation they were in. They had the same mindset, the same skills, and neither had been afraid to be ruthless to make it out in the wild.

"Why don’t you stay here for the night?" she offered, her hand gesturing to the rusty bus behind her. "It’s gonna be dark soon. I’ll feed you…and maybe the Firefly, if she can show some proper houseguest etiquette…" Fiona shot Tess a look. "and then you can be on your way in the mornin’."

As Jack opened his mouth to respond, she cut him off again, her eyes wide with the thought that had just risen in her head. “Actually, how about you stay with me tomorrow too? There were some military men our here, doing some sorta testing a few days ago. I was watching them—I was gonna raid their truck—but the Clickers got to them before I could. They’re dead, but their truck isn’t. I was able to check it out for a little while before some Runners chased me off, but it’s got a full tank of gas and a shiny working engine. It’s about four miles east from here, parked up by one of those old government buildings. I’m sure that there’s a hell of a horde of Infecteds down there, lured by scent of fresh meat. So what do you say? A free meal and a free car. Sound good?”

"You’ve got yourself a deal. Though it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to trade you anything much for what you’re offering me," he responded, the corner of his lips curled into the smallest of grins.

"Just let me harass the Firefly a little longer, and all your debts are paid," she laughed, patting the top of Tess’s head as if she was some sort of child. "You know how much I love doing that."

[tessmorell]

The only people Tess had ever spent time with were Fireflies, just like she was. Sure, she'd encountered all sorts of creatures since embarking on this journey, and now she was stuck with Jack, too. But, for the majority of her life, the group was all she knew, and all it seemed she ever would know. That being said, she had worked hard to learn how things were actually going, instead of listening to the rushed and edited reports some members gave her. Yet it wasn't until this trek that she had become so acutely aware of how strongly people were against the Fireflies, just as the group's members were so strongly in support of it.

In some ways, it seemed to be a means by which to make the accuser feel better. After all, it was a group whose success rates were temporarily low, and so why not blame them for everything? It was a lot easier than attacking a bunch of individuals. Still, Tess was none too pleased about it, and only kept her mouth shut because she was at a disadvantage in this situation, and everyone present knew it. She shrugged, smirking in an utterly displeased manner, "nah, just Jack would do." Of course she didn't want to hang around with this Firefly-hating, Jack Bancroft-loving young woman, but she was hardly near the guy beside them on Tess' list of people she would love to die.

It was clear most of their visit was going to consist on Jack and Fiona conversing, mostly to speak uncouthly of the people who had raised the youngest person here. To be frank, Tess had little issue with that first part. While she hated being bossed around by anyone, she had no desire to sit around and chat with them. If they discussed anything important, she'd listen. Any sort of nostalgic shit held no interest in her eyes; she didn't care about Jack, she didn't care about this new acquaintance  and she didn't know what a bunch of the stuff was when people discussed the world before the infection, anyway. Normally she tried to learn. Today, she didn't plan on asking any such questions.

At the mention of her need to show etiquette, Tess smiled in an extremely fake manner, not entirely sure yet how courteous she was willing to be. The mention of military men and supplies forced her to continue paying attention, and while she didn't know what Fiona would try to make her do in terms of staying put, the petite traveller liked the idea of getting to explore and even find something of use." But it was only moments later her head was being patted, and she looked up at the woman in front of her with an unamused yet unimpressed look in her eyes, saying nothing.

"Harass the Firefly was always one of my favorites, too," she said in turn, giving a shrug. It was entirely true, because she had enjoyed causing trouble here and there, and the Fireflies had been the only people around, for the most part. "Though harass the smuggler has started to grow on me recently, as well." That comment was accompanied by a smirk that melted into a look of annoyance in Jack's direction.

By no means did Tess expect to seem threatening, but she figured she might as well amuse herself at least until she arrived at the point where things became dangerous. Since she was supposed to wait like the good little twelve-year-old Jack thought she was (minus the good part, maybe) before she was allowed to do anything, Tess chose to move on her own accord rather than sitting around dumbly, and meandered off a bit, looking curiously the school bus, as Jack had labeled it, from a short distance.

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

Seeing Fiona brought back rather fond memories. The two had started out despising eachother, often finding themselves trying to strike deals with the same person. It had led to quite the infamous rivalry between the two of them in the smuggling community. Today was not the first day that they had pointed guns at eachother. 

Ironically enough, it was Marlene who had brought the duo together, their mutual disliking for her blooming into a very successful partnership between the two of them. They had worked together for about a year and a half before she announced that she was getting tired of the life she was living, packing what little things she owned into backpack and sneaking out of the Quarantine Zone through the tunnels. 

She had since aged since he had last seen her, which was to be expected since it had been four years. She had accumulated many more cuts and scratches and had also decided to chop off her dark hair to the scalp.

Fiona hesitated before she spoke, giving Tess a quick look over once more. “You a Firefly?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, avoiding Tess’s question. “Fireflies always bring us trouble, you know.” She pointed to her chipped tooth. “Got this doing something for your cause…how’s that doing anyway?” Quirking her eyebrows, she turned to Jack. “Still going downhill?”

"Worse than that," he answered, intentionally leaving out the fact that they may have acquired the source of the cure. The fact still bothered him, perhaps more than it should’ve.

She pushed Jack over to move down towards Tess, doing another quick inspection, her fingers brushing through the younger girl’s dirty hair. “Fiona,” she said, finally getting around to giving Tess an answer. “But most people call me Fee. Not that there’s any people around where I live.” She stopped circling her, looking down straight into Tess’s eyes. “Off to Chicago, huh? What does Marlene want with you?”

[tessmorell]

Maybe the prospect of finally running into someone who wasn't out to kill her should have seemed appealing, but it didn't. Sure, it was better than having to fend off more aggressors and watch alertly as her traveling companion fought or killed whomever was after them. But seeing Jack happy didn't please her. Not because she was a cynic, but because his extreme distaste for her made Tess wonder if anything that excited him could possibly be good for her in any way.

If this woman was just an old buddy with whom he could reminisce and complain about Marlene, she could handle it. Yet if new sets of plans that interrupted their trek developed from this chance encounter, Tess wasn't going to be nearly so passive in mind. Then again, she wasn't about to fight this woman since she still didn't know how to properly do so and she likely knew how to use the gun she had aimed at Jack's face.

When asked if she was a Firefly, Tess just gave a curt nod. To be honest, she didn't really give a shit if they'd given this woman trouble. She was still alive and not Infected, and that was more than she could say for a lot of the people in the organization she supported so faithfully. Having to answer the next question was unnecessary, as Jack was clearly a more trustworthy source of information to this woman. While being overlooked could enrage Tess, she didn't much care at the moment. Her desire to hold lengthy conversation with the woman who had a blunt dislike for everything Tess cared about provided no endearing reason she should care.

Fiona. If she was stuck with this new acquaintance long enough to have to address her, she didn't see much of a reason to employ her nickname. They weren't, after all, friends of any sort. Though as the woman's eyes bore down into hers, Tess shrugged, her arms remaining folded. The inspection was something she was used to, between showing up places and having to convince people she was in fact supposed to be part of their spying, and being checked over about a billion times for signs of her infection during its curious absence, she could handle people staring at her.

What she couldn't handle was the thought of being uncharacteristically kind just because Fiona apparently made Jack melt into a faintly less hostile copy of himself. "As if anyone can be entirely sure. You know Marlene, always twisting things a little." And she did, but Tess still trusted her. To the younger girl's knowledge, the woman who raised her had never lied unless it was in Tess' best interest to remain in the dark, no matter how much she hated the prospect. But she wasn't about to reveal the true reasons for her trip.

She made sure to accompany her response with a smile, which read much more like fuck you than anything else. She didn't care in the least. "What makes you so damn determined repetitively show that you're still clinging to past animosities? Are you filled with hope that you'll succeed at getting revenge before you're attacked by something and die since you're not in the Quarantine Zone?" Tess glanced over to Jack, the same sardonic smile on her lips as she gestured her head between the two people before her. "I can see why you two get along so well."

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

[jackbancroft]

It had been a few days since she had inadvertently unveiled her secret to him, and though there was no blooming of fungus on her skin or an inclined hunger for human flesh, he was still superstitious about it all. Maybe it rooted from the fact that he wanted that immunity to be granted to one of his dead family members, the world had made him cruel and untrusting, or maybe because he had never liked Tess in the first place. Yes, they had had their moments—or, one moment—but she was still the loudmouthed, obnoxious girl that she was before he had caught sight of the bite on her arm. Jack doubted that the aching desire to punch her in the face would ever go away.

The days past had been rather quiet, only a few gunshots being fired at the Runners who had gotten in their way. Both Jack and Tess and been scarce with words, keeping what the had to say concise and to the point—there was too much tension to say anything more. The pair had walked miles upon miles, and despite their aching muscles, they continued to walk with no complaint until they had landed at their current destination. They were maneuvering over and under fallen buildings when Tess decided to speak up again, pointing out a shape up ahead. She had scurried off towards it before he had the chance to stop her.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered under his breath, following her with his gun in hand. She had stopped a few feet from it, staring curiously at the RV which was actually pretty well disguised amongst the wreckage surrounding them. "It’s a school bus," he answered, rolling his eyes. Though he was aware that she had probably never seen or ridden in one before, he had no empathy for her curiosity. They needed to get a move on. And as he was about to yank Tess out of there and back on their path, he noticed that all of the windows had been covered up with ripped up fabric, no doubt the work of humans. Based on the other evidence he started spotting, he knew for a fact that this human, or humans, were either here or had been here not too long ago. They were running low on supplies anyways, so he had decided that looting would be a fine idea. He’d just shoot them if they tried to kill him first.

"Wait here," he demanded, reloading his pistol as he forced open the doors of the bus, only to find a hunting rifle pointed straight into his forehead upon doing so. Instinct had him pointing his gun out a the stranger’s gut, but once he looked up, he recognized the face of his potential killer. Everything was there—the heart shaped face, the scar across her left eyebrow, the freckle on her cheek—it was Fiona, one of his smuggling partners from a long long time ago. 

She was the first to put down her gun. “Jack? Is that you?” She cracked a smile, revealing her signature chipped tooth. He had been there when she received the blow.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s me. I didn’t expect to run into you. I thought that I’d never see you again," he answered, the harsh features of his face softening slightly. Four years had passed since he had last heard from her.

"What are you doing so far out from the Quarantine Zone?" she asked him, eyeing Tess suspiciously.

"Fireflies," he explained, knowing that delving too deep into the details would not end well. She looked surprised at his answer. "Marlene took my guns. Gotta take her to Chicago to get em’ back. Need them for the market," he added. She laughed.

"Typical Marlene," she replied, combing her fingers through her hair. "What’s her name?"

Jack gestured to Tess. “Tell her your name.”

[tessmorell]

She knew her wandering was an incessant bother to him, but his whole personality was an incessant bother to her, and so she didn't really care. In fact, she didn't care at all, as long as he got her to Chicago. And, while he had all of this life experience between living with his family early on and then making it as a smuggler, she'd barely ever left the location where she grew up, let alone had the possibility to depart from the Quarantine Zone, so she was distracted by things she'd never seen and interested to learn about the strange things they encountered. As long as none of those things were trying to kill her, which plenty of the people they encountered appeared eager to do with both of them. Jack claimed it was a school bus, and she had no ground on which to doubt him, so she nodded and looked at it with a renewed sense of exploration.

Yet something was off. Even if she was too busy grazing over the details of the bus to realize why, she could tell by the way he began to show interest in the scene around them. Normally he waited with a bored expression until he was too fed up with her and demanded she get a move on right that minute. Now, however, he seemed to find something noteworthy about what was around them, and she highly doubted he was enthralled by the same things that were new discoveries to her. She had a tendency to respond impatiently when he told her to wait somewhere, but both of them were aware that he was the one with a weapon who knew how to use a weapon, and that he was just generally stronger and more able to take on any sort of threat. That might not have seemed important at this moment, but he was loading his gun, and she could sense trouble well enough to stay put with just a frown to show her distaste for being told what to do.

Watching as he forced open the doors, her eyes widened when she realized that there was a gun pointed at him just as he had his pointed at a figure she could only somewhat make out from her angle. Tess was further shocked when the woman's voice spoke his name, her tone implying they had once known each other at least fairly well. Running into friendly people from Jack's past didn't exactly sound like it would be a boatload of fun, but Tess stayed where she was, unsure as to whether the friendly tones were a guise or not. Then something even more shocking happened: Jack's face changed and he stopped looking like such a hateful ass. The world must have been coming to yet another end, Tess decided, because it was an incredibly strange sight to behold. But his words confirmed he and the woman whose name she didn't know had once known each other, and she was reminded of the fact that he used to live a happier life.

The woman was looking at her, and Tess stood her ground, trying her best to maintain a neutral expression, especially when the two made jabs at the person who had raised her for most of her life. It was predictable from Jack. She really wasn't as surprised as she might have been that those he was friendly with shared his sentiments. "Tess," she replied simply, her arms still folded as she ignored the fact that her traveling companion continuously treated her like she was twelve. Punching him in the face was often tempting. "Who are you?"

[tessmorell]

New Endeavors → Jack and Tess

Wandering across the country was incredibly monotonous, but it was to be expected. The sad part was, the most boring days were the best ones, because that meant they weren't running into cannibals or military officials or any other stupid people like that. It meant they weren't getting caught under rubble and subsequently injured, and that they weren't fighting over how big of dicks they considered one another to be, or something of the sort. But, it also meant they weren't finding interesting shelters or hoards of supplies. Still, Tess considered uneventful days to be greater pros than cons. Even if she kept track of how many days and nights passed, she still didn't know what the date was, and so if she paid attention, it was solely for her own sanity rather than for any important marker.

Now they had the added bonus of her secret being out in the open. She didn't see what was so good about that, aside from the fact that Jack didn't seem to know what to say, nor did he seem to want to interact with her, so she didn't have to listen to him be very rude. On the other hand, he was understandably put off about the whole thing, and so he had grumbled more than enough. Tess wasn't dumb, she got that he was incredibly displeased she was immune rather than one of his family members. Anyone might feel the same. Yet she would have wished the ability to survive onto anyone else she had lost rather than herself. Sure, it was hard knowing she had to not only make it to Chicago but also help provide a cure, but it would be worth it once people began to grow immune. Those who she had watched die because they were Infected would be sadly remembered as the world slowly became a safer place.

But all of that was just wishful thinking. For now she had to deal with the fact that they would undoubtedly have many more unpleasant encounters on their journey, and that, perhaps some of the worst things to transpire might be between her and the angry young man with a gun who was guiding her toward her destination. They were climbing over mounds of fallen buildings and who knows what else when she spotted a funny shape up ahead. It appeared too structured to just be a random chunk of something. "What is that?" Whether or not he responded or simply ignored her, she didn't really care. Instead, she hurried up a little and went over to it.

[jackbancroft]

fight or flight || JACKESS HAHAHA

[jackbancroft]

Jack wasn’t going to shoot her—he was sure that she knew that—but he kept his gun raised for his own sanity. Shooting things, or at least acting like he was going to, made him feel more secure. Though Tess, unskilled in fighting and relatively clueless about surviving, wasn’t much of a threat to him, the immunity swimming inside of her blood was. Surely it would pose new threats to the both of them, and once word got out that someone was hauling the cure across the country, he was sure that there’d be more guns pointed towards their heads than there would be rotting teeth bared in their direction. 

He couldn’t help but admit (at least not aloud) that he had respected her cooperation in the whole process. Like she said, she could potentially save the lives of millions—key word being potentially. The Fireflies were too radical of a group, and Marlene was too untrustworthy of a person. Put the cure for humanity into the wrong hands and he was 99% sure there would be another nationwide cataclysm.

Jack finally lowered his gun, though he was still hesitant about it. “People find out, they’re going to start looking for us,” he said. The statement was obvious, but he felt it needed to be said. He was still processing his newfound knowledge of Tess’s condition. “No more fucking around. We get caught and you get found out, I’m dead and you become a test subject, though I doubt that the cannibals out there would spare you.” he barked, stuffing his pistol back into its holster and combing his hand through his unwashed hair. It was due time for a rinse, but there weren’t any bodies of water nearby that he knew of. “I don’t want to deal with this shit more than I have to. No more fucking around.”

[tessmorell]

It was, admittedly, a bit of a relief when he moved his gun away from her head. She didn't think he was going to shoot her; doing so wouldn't make much sense, seeing as she was part of the deal he had made. Granted, he could break the deal, but she suspected neither of them were entirely sure what sort of follow through that would provide him when he went to retrieve his goods. Beyond that, she wasn't actually a threat. Maybe she was a burden to him, but killing her wouldn't save him from her malicious infected ways or anything like that, since she was immune. She could understand his unease. The fact that she survived in a normal state had shocked her. That didn't mean she was pleased about this or that she wanted to deal with his huffy reactions.

Tess knew she automatically back talked, and for right now, she refrained, letting him get out whatever crap he wanted to spew, because she didn't exactly want his gun pointed at her face again. "Yes, I get it, no more fucking around. But if people find out, it's not my fault, because I haven't run around alerting anyone of my immunity. And I was more than happy to keep it to you until you aimed your fucking gun at my head." She uncrossed and then recrossed her arms. Continuing on their journey sounded like a really good idea right now, unlike dealing with Jack. "And you may be pissed about the way I act, but if I hadn't 'fucked around' when the soldiers had us," she used air quotes for emphasis.

"Then I would have scanned positive or whatever that piece of shit says, and where do you think we'd be now? Certainly not gallivanting through who knows where on a trek to Chicago. I get if this is a lot to comprehend, but I don't really fucking care, because you're not the one who has to live with this," she frowned in annoyance. "If you're going to kill me, do it now. Otherwise, let's get a damn move on, because you flipping a shit isn't going to fix this." She pointed to herself and then straightened back out, trying to remind herself to be calmer.