Synopsis: Traveling with the wolf, Abby. The trip is long and frustrating.
CW: Owen, TLOU kind of violence, mentions of suicide, slow burn.
(Proofread to an extent..)
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“South.. we’re going to Santa Barbara.”
You frowned for a moment. You had no idea why she would want to go there and no idea why she had invited you, but you had nobody. This wolf was treating you like one of her own already. You were conflicted between hearing she’s a top Seraphite killer but she saw you were a Seraphite and fixed your wounds.
“South..? What’s over there?”
You were more than curious and you wanted to know if this strange man was coming with? He was standing so close to her it made your mind wander between thoughts.
“Some people we need to find..”
You watched her start packing, she walked behind you and left you in front of the other wolf. Owen. You backed up a little making a bigger amount of space between the both of you.
“You’re one of the wolves..?”
“So.. are you with Abby..?”
You asked, wanting to know everything about them. You had never been this close to a wolf before and you had always knew them as loud people who seemed to lack strategy. The wolf replied.
“Nah.. me and Abby.. we’re just friends now.. I’m with Mel...”
He scratched the back of his neck while speaking.
Abby finished packing before slinging her backpack over one shoulder. She brushed past you, leaving you standing awkwardly in front of Owen once again. You looked over at her and then you moved to grab all your belongings. Owen seemed ready to go too. Then you asked him.
“What about the other wolf.. Mel?”
“She’s pregnant.. is she not?”
Owen looked at you his expression suggested he was surprised, maybe you had been too blunt.
You nodded thoughtfully and then you all started walking. Owen left you and Abby alone by the front door. You assumed it was to talk to his partner. You looked up at Abby.
“Do you know how far the trip will be..?”
Abby glanced back behind her back as she spoke.
“3 weeks.. if we’re lucky..”
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At the last minute before leaving Owen had argued with his girlfriend. He realized he couldn’t leave his girlfriend to chase something, someone who might not even be there. They decided to stay at the aquarium, maybe even go back to their base but they knew it was risky. After you and Abby left she didn’t say much about what was going to happen. Maybe it was because she hadn’t thought this far ahead.
The days felt as if they were longer and more exhausting with each step. The first day was especially exhausting for Abby. You didn’t understand anything about how the new world worked. You lived on that island your whole life. How were you supposed to know “stalkers” grew against the wall?
“I can’t take this.. it’s old world stuff..”
You knew taking supplies from the old world was against the rules. Although you noticed how some of the older soldiers used guns. The rules seemed to be getting more and more bent after the prophet passed. You blanked for a moment staring at the useful things inside a drawer.
“I-You need supplies… you mentioned elders right?”
You nodded and tilted your head
“Forget what they’ve taught you..”
She picked the supplies up and shoved it in your bag. Then roughly zipped your bag up.
“Out here, you use anything you can to survive.”
You stayed close behind her, you noticed she kept glancing back checking if you were behind her still. You kept going through shortcuts the wolf swore she knew where she was going. You followed her mindlessly. You both went through a broken building. The lobby had collapsed years ago. Plants pushed through cracked tile, and rainwater dripped steadily from the ceiling. Mold climbed every wall.
While walking Abby saw spores. She lifted her hand signaling you should stop.
She had grabbed her gas mask out of her bag and waited for you to take yours out. When you didn’t she sighed. She took another one out from her bag and handed it to you.
“You’re lucky Owen left his in my bag..”
You put it on, you rarely ever used one. There weren’t many places on the island for demons to stay long enough for spores to appear. You struggled to tighten it around your head and Abby appeared behind you and tightens the straps herself for you. Her fingers brushed against the back of your neck. You froze for a moment. When she stepped away your face felt strangely warm.
She had walked away before you had managed to thank her.
You and Abby walked into the spore filled building, you squinted looking around. You grabbed your bow and pulled it out worried. You stayed close to Abby. You both barely noticed it, the wall. It started twitching almost.
The wall twitched again and then before either of you could react a Demon, a stalker to be exact, tore itself out of the fungal infested wall.
You gasped and fell to the floor on your stomach. You tried to elbow it but Abby moved quickly. Two gunshots echoed through the building. You were gasping and crawled up quickly checking yourself for marks. Abby grabbed your arm tightly, her eyes searching yours then looking at every inch of you.
You were out of breath and shook your head quickly. Only then did she let go of your arm. You felt as if your heart was beating outside your chest. Abby kept walking, after a few steps she couldn’t hear your foot’s steps and turned around. She sighed.
You both worked your way through the broken building. Abby noticed you were a good shot with a bow. She had made a Molotov and showed you how to make one.
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You and Abby started talking a lot more. She had realized there were a lot of things you didn’t understand or took too literally. She showed you many tricks she had learned and you shared some of your tricks the elders had taught you. She had even made a joke with you but you had looked at her confused.
“It was a joke.. don’t tell me scars don’t have that either..”
You shook your head, why had they insisted on calling you that. It felt like an insult, the scars on your face were meaningful. You let out a small huff
Abby glanced at you confused then she stopped and nodded.
As both of you pushed forward you looked down at the broken ground and heard water. The wind blew and it was foggy. You both moved closer and saw that the cement road had turned into a river of some sort. You walked with Abby and she seemed like she was looking for another way. You seemed confused, you walked in front of her and easily hopped on each rock and got to the other side.
“Abby..? Why aren’t you coming..?”
The wolf looked at you like you were crazy. She knew if she tried she would fall. You barely heard her but she mumbled.
“I hope you know I don’t have that much agility..”
Oh now you understood. Sorta. Why wouldn’t they train a soldier to be able to move quickly on something simple like this. You shook your head and looked to the other side.
“There’s an easier way over there. Just go around..”
You pointed and she followed your finger and walked over there. It was a much more sturdy path and she met up with you. You glanced up at her from the side.
“It would be easier if you had got a running start.. you probably could’ve jumped on the rocks..”
Abby glared at you like you said something she half knew already. She didn’t respond which made you feel a funny way. Neither of you spoke for over an hour. The silence filled the air. You had never tired so hard to do basic small talk. Why did you find talking to her harder than fighting demons?
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The air became salter as you got closer to the sea. You hoped it would be the last week. You were close to Santa Barbara, just not close enough. It was day 1 week 3 and as you and Abby walked.
“There’s a Seraphite hideout nearby.. I recognize where we are the closer we get to the water..”
Abby looked around and the stopped for a moment.
A whistle echoed through the trees. Then an answer from somewhere high up. Abby heard and looked around. You had stopped and Abby almost bumped into your back.
“They’re changing outpost..”
“You got that from a whistle?”
It was getting darker as the sun went down, the Seraphites had their torches out as you and Abby crouched down behind a tree. Their hideout was in a tall building. It was broken from the bottom floor but made it easier to get in and out. They were all upstairs.
The Seraphites used the same routine on repeat. One stood by the window, one by the door, one on the other side of the room, then rotated.
All you had to do was sneak under them and get to the boat on the other side. There was one standing near the boat. You snuck by with Abby trying to stay as quiet as you both could be with water splashing beneath you.
You took your bow and arrow out, the Seraphite guarding the boat moved back and forth. Your finger tightened on the string, you took a deep breath then let go.
it went in clean and didn’t break.
You both got to the boat and before you started the engine you took your bow back out of the man’s head. You started to boat up quickly and got out of the area. You heard them whistling, one long whistle signaling they had found a dead body. You didn’t glance back. Abby didn’t speak until the boat started to drift further into the sea.
You smiled slightly and nodded. Then the ride was silent, you didn’t know where you were going so when you left the area you weren’t familiar with you switched spots with Abby. The waves felt louder. Then as you sat in her spot she started speaking.
“You don’t hesitate.. I’m assuming you didn’t know him then?”
You let out a humorless laugh.
“Do you know every single wolf?”
She shook her head then smiled.
“Touché like- never mind..”
You tilted your head, you were confused to say the least but when you made eye contact with her she just smiled. She stopped making you feel bad for not knowing things someone this day and age should know. Heat crept onto your face. She saw but didn’t say anything.
Taking a deep breath you looked away and stared off into the ocean.
“I never asked.. who’s so important that we’re traveling almost more than 3 weeks to get there?”
She looked forward, looking past you.
“Owen believes they’re still out there.. so we promised each other at least one of us would get back to them.”
“fireflies? I thought they weren’t around anymore.. why would they be in Santa Barbara?
She answered your question.
“We got.. Well Owen got intel that they were over there. I used to be a firefly.. before we got.. recruited into the WLF..”
Your eyebrows raised a little then a soft smile appeared on your lips, you turned back to look at her with just a small glance. She didn’t understand what the smile was for, Until you said.
“You’ve been talking more..”
“I like it.. makes me feel less alone..”
Abby nodded, she didn’t say anything back. She seemed like she was holding something back. You could see it in the way her shoulders just ever so slightly tensed and her mouth formed a thin line for a moment before relaxing. You sat back in the boat, took a deep breath and felt relaxed for the first time in maybe years. Especially since running away.
Your eyes began to feel like they were burning. Every blink brought you closer to exhaustion. Then the engine would sputter a few times before steading back into a low rumble. Your body swayed a little and you became hunched over. Though you couldn’t sleep. You looked up at Abby.
“Then why aren’t we stopping..?”
“Because we’re almost there..”
To try and help you stay awake, or maybe out of her own curiosity Abby asked.
“What.. age do they do the scars at..?”
You looked to the side thoughtfully.
“It varies.. but I got mine around 10..”
“Do wolves even know why we do it?”
Abby sighed and pulled the string on the motor to keep it working.
“I assume most of us don’t..”
“Well.. to keep it short, we do it for a few reasons.. one being it’s a ritual we do.. it shows our devotion to the prophet.. another one is because we reject vanity.. and the last one I can think of is.. it’s just a group identity thing.. something to differentiate us from others..”
After that conversation Abby hadn’t said much. Abby seemed determined, you switched spots a few times but for the most part Abby drove. You had wished there had been a bigger boat. Maybe you guys could’ve rested more if it was bigger.
When one of you got tired the other drove while the one who was tired slept uncomfortably on the floor half laying down. The boat rocking seemed to make it impossible to sleep.
While on your shift of making sure you went in the right direction and keeping the boat going you heard a soft mumbling, it pulled your attention away from the water. You looked down at Abby slouching while sleeping.
You saw her jaw tense like she was grinding her teeth
Now after a long week of trying to stretch the amount of food you had between both of you and having clean water was almost over. You saw land. You almost cheered out loud from just the sight. The boat had surprisingly not given out yet. Sure you had to hit it a few times to make it go but it still worked.
After an hour or so you got to land, the boat scraped against the sand as it hit shore. You climbed out quickly, your legs gave out from under you and you laid on the sand.
Your body felt wobbly, like you were still on the boat and water was moving your body.
Abby got up off the boat and stretched. She grabbed her backpack and took out a map. You turned over on your back. You lifted your hand up covering your eyes from the sun.
You watched her walk over to you and she lent you her hand. You grabbed her hand, you didn’t let go. Not until you were fully balanced. Not until she realized you were holding on longer than necessary, yet she hadn’t pulled away. You gently let go.
You huffed a little at her response. You followed her as she started walking. You brushed the sand off of your clothes. You realized how much the temperature had changed here. You took your coat off and left it by the boat. You figured you wouldn’t need it anymore. The heat was an intense change.
From the beach there was a pair of broken stairs leading up. She got up with ease, you jumped up and pulled yourself up. The waves crashed against the sand, it was a calming noise to you. It faded away once you both got to the top of the stairs. Then there was a sign, SANTA BARBARA. You officially made it. But how did Abby expect to find fireflies here?
“How do you expect we’ll find them?”
She didn’t glance back at you, just kept walking.
“Search.. If we find people here maybe we can trade information..”
After hearing that you realized Abby had no idea where the fireflies were. She just knew they were here in Santa Barbara. You nodded and took a deep breath. You trusted her.
“So should we search the houses..?”
“what if they’re demons inside..?”
“Demons? Oh- right.. we just clear the house out then..”
You both searched through houses together, there was a surprising amount of resources. Even if it didn’t seem useful it was. There were a few Demons or clickers inside. You killed some and so did Abby. After searching around 8 houses you sighed and stayed next to Abby.
One house had stuck out to you more than the others. While searching though it you stared at family photos. Some smashed, and some frames empty. You walked through what you thought was the kitchen. You gasped. Abby quickly moved her gun out already. When she saw what you saw she put her gun lower by her side.
You were surprised. You saw what you assumed was a couple. They were together at the dinner table. A rusted gun placed in the middle of the table. Two skeletons sat across from each other.
“Nobody should die like that..”
“Maybe.. but they chose that way out..”
“No, it's a cowardly and sinful way out..”
After that house you were tired of looking through them. Tired of trying to find something you weren’t even sure existed.
“Are we sure this is the right method.. couldn’t we just explore.. outside..”
Abby turned to face you, her face showed she was thinking for a moment. She lifted her hand into a fist and let her other hand hold it as she looked around.
“Alright.. sure.. just remember which house we stopped at if we make our way back over here..”
As you both walked past all the houses you asked her.
“You talk in your sleep.. on the boat..”
She kept walking but you noticed her stride had faltered for a split second. Then she gained pace again. Silence had settled between you, heavy enough to drown out the sound of your own footsteps.
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a/n: I tried to rewrite chapters 3-5 so this is 3-4 put together.
