Chapter Text
BOSTON QZ - MALL, 3:32AM, 2022
“My vote… let’s just wait it out. You know, be all poetic and just lose our minds together.” Ellie heard the sentence but didn’t quite hear it; her eyes locked on the ground as she cradled her knees against her chest, as though holding onto the warmth of her body while it was still hers; while the blood rushing through her veins was that of her own and not of the fungus that would soon turn her into the monster she had spent the last fourteen years being trained to kill. Her heart raced, and had been racing since the moment she had finally shared a kiss with Riley. Ellie thought it was ironic, almost comedic, that the joy of a first kiss so quickly became the despair of being the last one.
It took everything in Ellie to turn her eyes up and meet Riley’s, who had been staring at her intently yet softly since she had made her suggestion. Though, both of the girls knew it wasn’t a suggestion and more so a fact, despite Ellie’s stubbornness in treating it as such. “What’s Option three?” was the only thing that Ellie could bring herself to say. There was no option three, which Riley aimed to reiterate as gently as she was able to, her innate desire to protect the younger teenager that she cared so deeply for making her feel responsible for the events that were about to happen. She responded with a soft “Sorry,” and a reassuring touch to Ellie’s arm. A touch that was enough to keep them both going for a few more minutes.
One thing was certain. Whether they had two minutes, two hours, or two days together, they were going to enjoy it. There was no one else they would rather be with for what they assumed was the end of their life, and neither one of them was going to allow this to ruin their date. In a twisted turn of events, it was almost cathartic to Ellie, knowing that she would never have to part with Riley after all, despite that being her disappointing realization only an hour prior. Riley and Ellie’s physical forms would be together forever, and that sickly sweet thought brought some comfort to them both as the duo picked themselves up and made their way back to the Mortal Kombat arcade machine for round two.
It had been 34 hours and 47 minutes. 34 hours and 47 minutes since Ellie and Riley had resigned to the infection taking over. 34 hours, now 48 minutes, since they had booted up the arcade machine to hear one more “Fatality!” and tease the other at their street fighting abilities. The experience best described as that of Christmas Eve, though rather than the wait ending with gifts and food, it would instead end with the bite spreading through the host’s blood and lymphatic system until the host was no longer a person and merely a shell for the Cordyceps infection to do it’s bidding.
34 hours and 50 minutes. The young couple had gone through their bucket lists together, albeit rushed as neither one had put much thought into what they would like to experience beyond the FEDRA military school walls. Riley’s list was obvious. Join the Fireflies, save the world. Ellie thought it was bullshit, though deep down, it was one of the many reasons that she admired her. 34 hours and 53 minutes. Of all places to be bitten and await your uncertain death, the mall was perfect for them. They barely slept, choosing to stay awake and use each moment wisely. They danced, sang, hugged, laughed, cried, and kissed. Ellie told many punny jokes, much to Riley’s dismay.
“I guess it’s not too bad… the clicker that bit us, you could say he was a…fungi.” Ellie displayed a proud grin, swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for some praise from her crush. Humour was her way of coping, after all.
“Jesus, Ellie… if you’re going to make more jokes like that, I hope this thing kills me sooner.” Humour was Riley’s coping mechanism too. Both of them were aware of this about each other. They giggled, leaning into each other as they laughed, and continued on their small adventure of making the last moments of their life poetic.
37 hours. The bites had begun to display healing properties; the blood had clotted completely and a scab forming over the wounds. The usual appearance of a bite was that of obvious infection. Red skin, sticky pus and a large bite oozing dark red blood from the open teeth marks that scattered in a uniform manner. The veins affected by the bite displayed inflammation, creating dark blue tendrils underneath the skin that weaved their way in all directions. Neither Ellie or Riley’s bite looked like this. The veins were a lighter blue, calmer, much like Riley felt about Ellie’s eyes.
How could this be happening? A bite was a death sentence. No cure, no stopping it. Yet here they both were, not only alive and well, but the bite had begun to heal, rather than becoming all consumed with fungi. There was no science to explain this, and if there was, Riley and Ellie would not know where to start in understanding it. Their confusion overpowered their relief, the unfamiliarity of why this was happening being more scary than the certainty of knowing death. This rang more true now that they had somewhat accepted that this was it. But now? Now they were starting to feel hope, that perhaps they might be okay. That they’re not sick. That they can have a life again. The relief flood through them as each minute turned into another hour, but despite the good news, they were scared.
Scared to think they were OK, only to take a turn for the worst an hour later, their hope being as false as the supposed care FEDRA had for the quarantine citizens. Scared to have the weight of the world on their shoulders, potentially being the first people since the outbreak began twenty years ago that have not been infected with Cordyceps after a bite. Scared of the implications that they have been missing from their respective homes for the best part of almost three days now, and upon their return, the same people they could trust would have a bullet in their head the moment they saw a hint of a bite mark.
They were scared.
There was only one person that Riley could think to talk to about this development. A determined, yet level-headed, firefly. A leader of anarchists, if you were to ask a FEDRA soldier their opinion of her, but to Riley, she was an admirable activist looking to improve the world and take it back from the fascist hold that the military units and quarantine zones had over the people. A woman looking for a cure, so she could liberate, and save, everyone. A grand goal that she was willing to risk everything for. It had taken Riley many attempts, and risks at her own life, to prove her loyalty to the cause and be accepted as one of them. Ellie, on the other hand, showed reluctance, but she trusted her companion with her life and knew that the boarding school she once called home was no longer an option. Now Riley could do what she wanted to do most - impress Marlene. Her ego buzzed with anticipation as she considered being the one to bring such news to the people that still had a cold attitude towards her.
She wanted to be known as the girl that finally found the light.