Chapter Text
It was Joel’s birthday.
Ellie knew that, because Sarah had made her get up really early before school to make sure that they’d both drawn up their own cards for them. By the time that their father’s thumping, safe footsteps started down the hallway towards their room, their hands were slick with paint and glitter, too much to hide. When he opened the door, Ellie just hid herself behind the card that she’d made, determined to keep her card a surprise until breakfast. She was only three.
“Daddy,” Her sister’s voice lectured beside Ellie. She was twelve. “You weren’t supposed to see yet.”
Ellie heard the warm sound of her father’s chuckle, and then she heard the crack of his knees as he knelt down before her. “Who’s hidin’ behind here?” He teased, and then tipped the card down to reveal her paint dotted face. She met his smile with a pout. “Hey, hey,” He tutted at the sight of tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“It was s’ppoesd to be a surprise,” Ellie repeated, pouting. Her father just smiled again. “I made it awl speshal,” She added, sniffling now.
“Ellie,” Sarah shook her head. “It doesn’t matter that much.”
“Ellie, hey.” Joel leant down to her level, having to get nearly on his stomach on the pink-carpeted floor to do so. “You’re gon’ wipe my memory for me, alright? That way it can be a surprise again.” Sarah rolled her eyes, but still smiled down at their dad.
Ellie sniffled wetly. “How?”
“You take both your hands,” Joel gently placed both of his hands around Ellie’s tiny wrists, and then placed her palms on her forehead. “And then you scramble all the memories up.” He shut his eyes and then brushed her little fingers over his head, smiling when he heard the precious sound of her giggles. “There we go,” He uttered finally, and let her hands down from her head. Finally, he opened his eyes again, and then grinned down at the cards in either of his girls’ hands. “ Hey, what's all this?” He questioned with a feigned look of surprise.
Sarah grinned, despite how stupid it was. “We made you birthday cards, Dad,” She played along. “Show him, Ellie.”
Ellie smiled again, and she presented her card to Joel, her little hands still slick with color and glitter. He smiled, and then sat between them. Immediately, Ellie sat in his lap, and Sarah slumped her face down on her father’s shoulder. “D’you want to read it for me, honey?” He sent the question down to Ellie, who held her card wide enough for all of them to see.
“You,” Ellie shook her head.
“Alright,” Joel agreed, smiling. He pressed his chin gently against the top of her auburn hair, and then read her card aloud. “‘Dear, Daddy,’” He started, squinting through all of the misspellings; they made him smile. “‘You are my favoritest person in the world.’” Sarah smiled beside him. “‘Happy 70th birthday. Love, Ellie.” He smiled again at the misspelling of her own name. “Baby, who told you I was turnin’ seventy? ”
Sarah giggled suddenly, and it was enough of an answer. “What?” She giggled again. “It’s practically true. You’re gonna need diapers next year, Daddy.” Ellie giggled, too, and Joel rolled his eyes, but there was a big smile on his face.
“Sarah’s now,” Joel asked Ellie, who carefully passed over Sarah’s card, smearing paint and glitter on it in the process with her dirty hands.
“Read mine later,” Sarah asked, taking the card from Joel’s hands. “With your presents tonight,” She added. He studied her face, but then nodded, and pressed a kiss to the top of both of his girls’ heads.
“Let’s go see what Uncle Tommy made for breakfast, hm?” Joel asked, to which Ellie faked a disgusted expression. “Hey,” He tutted, and caught her doe eyes. “You want a piggy-back ride downstairs?” Immediately, her face lit up, and immediately, she grabbed at his arms and helped him hoist her up to sit on his shoulders. “There we go,” He sighed, and then led them down the steps.
The kitchen smelled like something was burning, which wasn’t surprising, considering the fact that it was Tommy cooking.
“What’d you burn, Tommy?” Joel smiled as he let Ellie down into her chair at the kitchen table.
“What didn’t he burn?” Sarah grinned, to which she received a playful jab in response.
“Oh, you want to help me out, then?” Tommy replied, handing her a spare spatula and pointing her towards the battlefield that the stove had become. A pan of eggs continued to burn over one cooker, and over the other there was a charred portion of corn-beef. “Joel,” He lectured suddenly. “Your shirt’s dirty and inside out.”
Joel lowered his eyes to his shirt and groaned at the realization, and then started back upstairs to get a new one.
“I don’t know if you can help any of this, Uncle Tommy,” Sarah smirked, turning back to the stove. She tested the eggs with a cautious jab of her spatula, and then received a hiss in response. “It’s hissing at me,” She grinned at him.
Tommy hung his palm against the back of his neck. “That… That just means it’s ready to be flipped,” He decided.
“Do not let her flip it,” Joel interjected with a firm shake of his head. He’d returned, this time with a clean shirt. “I think we’re gon’ have to get breakfast on the road,” He added, talking through the stickers that Ellie was pressing to his bearded chin.
Tommy deflated in defeat.
Sarah smiled up at him. “It’s okay, Uncle Tommy.” She hung an arm around his shoulders, having to stand on her tip-toes to do so. “You’ll be a good cook one day.”
“Am I gon’ live to see that?” Joel interjected as he got Ellie ready for school. From her chair, she watched him behind large, curious, brown eyes as he slipped her sneakers on and zipped up a jacket around her little body. When he was done, he met her eyes and offered a gentle smile. “You all nice and snug?”
Ellie nodded her head all the way up and all the way down, making her dad smile, as well as Sarah behind them. “Let’s get goin’ then,” He brushed his palm over her dark, auburn hair. “We don’t want y’all to be late for school.” He again scooped her up in his arms and then faced Sarah, who’d finished shoving all of her things into her backpack. “C’mon, kiddo.” He moved past her and towards their truck outside.
“Did you do your homework, honey?” Tommy asked for Joel.
Sarah nodded. “Yeah,” She promised, offering a smile up at her uncle before following after her dad and her baby sister.
Sarah sat in the backseat with Ellie while her uncle and her dad sat up in the front. They had their work clothes on, and their contracting tools were stowed in the back by the girls’ feet. Sarah had a fresh bag of hashbrowns in her lap, while she held Ellie’s and helped her eat it in the truck. “Be careful,” She lectured softly when Ellie fussed at the hot food. “Let it cool first, Ellie Bellie.”
Ellie giggled at the nickname. Tommy’s creation at first, but it had spread to the entire family.
“There you go,” Sarah praised after Ellie finished all of her food. She complained a little, but she loved having a baby sister. For the first year after Ellie was born, Sarah had called her ‘her baby,’ and since then they’d been practically attached at the hip. Mostly, Sarah had never had a mother, and even being so young, she knew she didn’t want the same for her baby sister.
Ellie’s school came first.
“Can I drop Ellie off, Daddy?” Sarah asked, already undoing Ellie’s car seat.
Joel turned his eyes back over the backseat. “Be careful of the cars, honey, alright?” He made sure that he saw Sarah nod, and Ellie did a littler nod beside her, until finally he unlocked the doors and watched them waddle together towards the school’s front doors.
“Don’t forget your backpack, El-Bel,” Sarah squatted down before her little sister and then carefully strung her backpack over her small shoulders; dinosaurs covered the back as well as its straps. “Have a good day, okay?” She matched the smile on Ellie’s face. “Don’t take any shit from any of the other toddlers, alright?”
Ellie’s mouth opened. “Shit,” She repeated, giggling again.
Sarah smiled. “I’ll see you in a little bit.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Ellie’s head, who giggled again, before pulling away. “Go on now.” She stood again and watched Ellie waddle her way up into the sea of other toddlers.
Sarah’s school came next.
“Hey,” Joel beckoned Sarah back to his window before she could make a break for the front doors. As humble as she was about everything, their deteriorating, rusty pickup truck wasn’t exactly the ‘coolest’ ride for her friends to see. “I’m gon’ be home a little late tonight. Y’all order a pizza or somethin’, alright?” She nodded, and tried not to let any disappointment show on her face.
“Remember to get a cake for your birthday at least?” Sarah asked.
“Alright,” Joel agreed. “Hey,” He called again as Sarah began to turn. “Have a good day, okay, baby?” He offered a smile. “Love you.”
“ Dad, ” Sarah groaned, looking around them to check if anyone had overheard.
“She’s too cool for us now, Joel,” Tommy nudged from the passenger seat, grinning when Sarah glared at him. “See you later, sweetheart.”
Work came last.
Joel and Tommy were working on demolition day in some old house that was being renovated, nothing interesting, but at least it was just the two of them.
The bus dropped Sarah off at home first. She waited by the bus stop and watched as Ellie’s bus stormed its way down the street. She was the first one out, with her space backpack, and a grin that was missing the baby tooth she’d lost a few days ago. “Sarruh,” She ran forward and then clung onto her sister’s waist. “I missted you.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, but still smiled. “It was only, like, five hours, Ellie,” She lectured as she took Ellie’s hand and began to lead them back to their house. “How are you gonna survive when I get old and go to college?”
Ellie clung on tighter to her sister’s hand, like she could physically stop that from happening.
Like most days, waiting for their dad to get home started with Sarah doing homework and Ellie doodling beside her, and then a movie, and then another. Geez. He really was out late tonight.
“I’m hungry,” Ellie complained, whining.
Sarah nodded. “I know, Ellie.” She forced herself off of the couch and crossed the distance towards their landline phone. “I’m gonna order us pizza, okay?” Ellie clapped her hands together, clearly happy with that.
They began another movie, but now with pizza strewn across the coffee table in front of them. Sarah took her sleeve and wiped away some of the sauce that was smeared over Ellie’s little face. “There you go,” She smiled, and then leaned her head atop her sister’s as they kept watching the movie.
“Where’s Daddy?” Ellie complained.
Sarah frowned. “Uncle Tommy and him are working, remember?” She frowned again as she looked up at the clock. Eleven. It was definitely past Ellie’s bedtime, but she’d wanted both of them to be up to give their dad his presents and sing to him with his cake. “He’ll be home in a little bit, El-Bel,” She decided, and then settled in again. Ellie settled in beside her, already snoozing.
By the time that Joel got home, Sarah was asleep, too.
The jingling of keys in the door announced Joel’s presence rather loudly, and Sarah stirred at the sound. Ellie fussed beneath her, cuddled deep into her sister’s lap. “... Daddy?” Sarah whispered, and then a second later met his eyes through the dim light of the television in front of him.
“... hey,” Joel whispered, both of them keeping their voices hushed so as to not wake Ellie, who was falling back asleep. “... what are y’all doin’ up still?”
Sarah pouted. “... we wanted to give you your present on your birthday,” She answered innocently.
Joel’s expression melted. “... alright,” He nodded. “... let me just put your sister to bed and then I’ll open it, okay, honey?” Sarah nodded. “... okay,” He repeated, and then reached down and scooped Ellie up into his arms and held her against his chest before carrying her up the steps.
“... Daddy?” Ellie mumbled, half asleep as she tucked herself deeper into his chest.
“... shhh, sweetheart,” Joel hushed gently as he nudged through the girls’ bedroom door. “... it’s way past your bedtime.” His voice was just above a whisper, and soft and gentle, and lulled her back to sleep as he lowered her down into her toddler bed. He tugged the space-themed blankets up to just beneath her chin, and then pressed a kiss against the top of her head. “... g’night, baby girl.”
Ellie mumbled something in her sleep, and then surrendered into her blankets.
Sarah listened to her father’s footsteps come back down the steps, slightly less hushed and tiptoed now. “Did you get the cake?” She questioned as he sat down on the couch, to which he sighed, which was enough of an answer.
Joel began to sit up again. “I’ll go get-”
“No,” Sarah interjected, hiding her disappointment. “It’s okay.” Maybe on another night, she’d be pissed, but it was her dad’s birthday, and he also looked really tired. “I’ll just give you your present,” She said, and then reached down beneath the couch and pulled out a small box. The quality with which it was wrapped was adorably bad, and he smiled. “Open it,” She nudged.
“Alright,” Joel agreed, smiling. He made quick work of the red and green wrapping paper, Sarah had probably found some left over from Christmas, and then opened the box.
“It’s your old watch,” Sarah explained. “You’re always complainin’ how it never works, so I… figured, y’know?”
Joel held the watch to his ear and listened to the restored sound of its ticking. A smile drew over his lips, and he turned his dark eyes to look down at Sarah. “This is real nice, kiddo, but… well, how’d you get the money for this?”
Sarah grinned. “Drugs,” She answered, settling in against her father. “I sell hardcore drugs.”
“Oh, good,” Joel cooed in response, grinning. “You can help out with the mortgage, then.” Sarah made a mix of a giggle and a hum, and then snuggled further into him. “Thank you, baby,” He said next, his tone more serious now. “I love you.”
Sarah squirmed like a bonfire had lit inside her stomach. “I love you, too, Daddy.” She felt his hand settle against the back of her head, and then not long after she fell asleep.
When Sarah awoke, she was alone. She felt the sheets of her own bed under her, and when she turned, she saw Ellie snuggled up in her blankets, too. The gentle sounds of their father’s breath had been replaced with a sudden rumbling sound. Along with the rumbling, there was clatter, the sounds of small things across the room fussing or falling over.
The rumbling grew into roaring, and Sarah fussed, and sat up and clasped her hands over her ears. Ellie began to fuss across the room, as well. “Sarruh?” She cried out, drowning her face in her pillows in an attempt to lessen the inexplicable, sudden, deafening sound coming from what seemed like the sky.
“Ellie.” Sarah gathered the courage to force herself out of her bed. She reached down and scooped her baby sister up in her arms, and then escaped out into the hallway. “Daddy?” She’d made her voice loud, but still there was no answer. “Daddy?” She called again, afraid now.
Were they home alone?
At night?
Something was wrong.
The roaring outside repeated itself, and both of the girls fussed again, scrambling for their ears. “What’s it?” Ellie cried when it was over, afraid now and longing for their father.
“I don’t know, Ellie,” Sarah answered, rushing down the steps now after she’d led them into their father’s empty room. Briefly, she caught a glance of planes outside, but… no, they were so low, too low. Something was wrong. “I’m gonna call Uncle Tommy, okay?” She lowered her sister onto the couch and handed her a stray stuffed animal that had been hiding on one of the cushions. “Stay here.”
Ellie fussed again, but Sarah ignored her and moved to the landline phone. She dialed in her uncle’s number, her dad had made both of the girls memorize emergency numbers as well as his and their uncle’s, and waited impatiently. “C’mon,” She stressed, tapping her foot up and down with a pout.
Nothing?
Sarah hung the phone up on the receiver, unsettled. As she joined Ellie back on the couch and stretched up to look out the window, she realized their dad’s truck was missing outside, too. Another roaring sound above did anything but ease her.
“Sarruh,” Ellie palmed her sister’s arm, and then pointed. “Daddy. Look.”
Sarah squinted through the darkness outside and realized a figure standing outside on the neighbor’s lawn. Daddy? She thought, but she wasn’t sure. “Ellie,” She asked, climbing down from the couch. “Stay here. Okay?” She made sure that she saw Ellie perform her little nod before starting towards the front door.
It was cold outside, so Sarah only opened the door a crack. She peered out at the figure on the neighbor’s lawn, but she still couldn’t really make it out because of the darkness. It looked like a man. Sarah hesitated, but then called out. “Daddy?” There was no response. Hesitating again, she left the door behind and then started down the driveway towards the figure.
Before Sarah could get another few steps, however, she heard the familiar sound of the shitty engine in her dad’s truck, and she turned and watched as Joel got out barely before it was stopped. “Sarah!” He ran to her, fast, and it made her nervous, even though she was so relieved to have found him.
“Daddy?”
As soon as Joel could, he secured an arm around Sarah’s waist, and then jerked his head and looked at the figure on the neighbor’s lawn. “Joel,” A voice called, and then she realized that her uncle was there, too, and he had a rifle.
“Uncle Tommy?” Sarah questioned, confused and also afraid. “Daddy, why’s he pointing a gun at them?”
Joel brushed a hand over Sarah’s shoulder, like an attempt at comfort that he didn’t have the time to spend words on. “Is it sick?” He asked Tommy, who was peering through the scope of his rifle.
“I-I can’t tell,” Tommy stammered, breathing heavily.
Suddenly, the figure turned, and all three of them seemed to freeze. Sarah felt her father’s arm tighten around her waist, bringing her closer to and behind him. “Stay behind me, baby,” He asked, or ordered, as the person on the law began to take steps closer towards them.
“Daddy?” Sarah questioned, confused and scared again as the figure started to run, and as he took a wrench from the truck beside him. “ Daddy?” She questioned again when he raised it.
“ Joel?” Tommy questioned, yelling. His shout was followed by a yelp as Joel took the wrench and beat it over the person’s head; they’d been about two paces away from him and Sarah, who was now shaking behind him. “Christ, Joel.”
“Daddy,” Sarah questioned again, but it came out like a whine now.
Joel stared down at the body for another second, but when Sarah called him again, he found himself, and he turned and looked at her. There was a small clang as he dropped the wrench, and he watched her flinch at it. “You… you killed him,” She stammered, trying to stare down at the body, though her father’s hands on her face wouldn’t let her.
“Sarah,” Joel asked above her now panicked breaths. “Sarah, baby, hey, hey, look at me.” Finally, with both of his hands on either side of her face, he managed to pry her eyes his way. “Somethin’ is happenin’ tonight. We need to leave. Do you understand me?”
Sarah whined again, but nodded, unable to make a word.
“Baby, listen to me,” Joel asked again, more serious now, if that was possible. “Where is your sister?”
Sarah stammered again, but then swallowed her attempts at words down and fixed her eyes on the house. “Inside,” She managed.
“Get in the truck,” Joel ordered as he pulled away. He didn’t loose his eyes off of Sarah until she was safe behind the truck’s doors, and then he ran to the house for his other baby. “Ellie?”
“Daddy,” Ellie’s voice instantly responded. She was sitting on the couch, her cheeks wet with tears and her little hands clenched around a stuffed animal.
Joel’s expression softened at the sight. “Hey,” He hushed, rushing down in front of her. He spared a short moment to brush the tears off of her face, and then swept her up into his arms.
Ellie clung on tightly to her father’s shirt, scared now, too. “Daddy,” She fussed. “Bed?” She complained again, grabbing for her bed over his shoulder as he rushed her into her carseat in the truck. She was scared, and she didn’t know what was going on, and she couldn’t communicate that, because she was only three.
“ Joel,” Tommy demanded, drawing his eyes up ahead towards another one of those things through the windshield. “ Get in.”
Both of the girls watched behind frightened and confused expressions as their father rushed into the passenger seat, too preoccupied to even buckle his seatbelt. “ Drive, Tommy,” He demanded, smacking his hand down on the dashboard out of stress. Both of the girls flinched, and then grabbed for each other.
Their dad was never afraid.
Their uncle was never afraid.
And right now, both of them looked scared shitless, even if they were trying their best not to.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” Sarah demanded, speaking the words that Ellie couldn’t manage at her age.
Joel spared the time to look back at either of them. They were driving now, beyond their house and on a long, dark road. “There’s this… this sickness goin’ around,” He explained, more to Sarah, because Ellie probably didn’t understand half of the words coming out of his mouth, which didn’t calm her down. “It’s makin’ people crazy, Sarah, we’ve just got to get away from the city.”
Sarah swallowed, and then pressed Ellie’s head closer against her chest. “W-What if we’re sick?” She managed.
“We ain’t,” Joel rejected. He was looking ahead again now, staring out at the road in front of them and bouncing his knee up and down and up and down as Tommy sped down the road.
“How do you know?” Sarah continued, the fear bleeding into her voice.
Joel turned again. “We ain’t sick,” He promised, more serious now.
“It’s mainly just people in the city, sweetheart,” Tommy chimed in. “We’re fine.”
Joel nodded. “That’s right.”
Sarah pouted deeply, and tried not to let the tears building in her eyes spill down her face, because Ellie was staring right up at her with more than enough fear for the both of them. “It’s okay, El-Bel,” She tried, and then leaned across and grabbed her sister’s hand and squeezed tightly.
Tommy drove them into town, because the highways were packed, but there only seemed to be more people filling the streets here. That roaring sound returned, and they all looked through the windows of the truck and found airplanes soaring not even five hundred feet above them.
“What the fuck? ” Tommy demanded, staring up at the sky so much that he missed the car speeding across the street in front of them.
Both of the girls saw.
“Uncle Tommy!” Sarah screamed, darting forward in a final attempt to move the steering wheel, but it was too late.
The car hit them, and the truck flipped over under its force.
Ellie and Sarah both screamed, and then it went completely quiet.
When Joel came to, the first thing that he heard was crying. Ellie. With a groan, he forced his eyes open, and found himself crumpled on the hood of the truck, as it was upside down now. He groaned again, and then managed to sit up and peer into the backseat. Ellie was still buckled in her seat, but trapped upside down and crying. Sarah was at the bottom, too, not moving, and his heart lurched.
“Daddy,” Ellie whimpered, reaching for a grip on his shirt when he forced himself in between the front and back seats.
“I’m right here,” Joel hushed. “C’mere.” He carefully undid each of the buckles on Ellie’s car seat. She yelped as she fell down, but he caught her and held her carefully against his chest. “ Tommy!” He’d been missing from his seat, and quickly, his face appeared in one of the shattered back windows. “You’re gon’ go to Uncle Tommy now, baby, I’ve gotta get your sister out.” He didn’t give her time to argue before carefully passing her into Tommy’s arms.
“Sarah,” Joel asked immediately after. He pressed his hands against Sarah’s side and shook gently, terrified. Please move, he begged, shaking her again. Finally, she whined, and curled up, and he practically felt his heart fall out of his chest with the swell of relief that came in response. “Baby, hey.” He managed to get an arm under her shoulders and sit her up. “Let me get around the other side.”
Sarah whimpered again, and watched through spinning vision as her dad crawled out of the car, and then quickly appeared in her window. “Can you crawl out to me, honey?” He asked, and she nodded slowly.
Joel’s hands held Sarah’s and helped her balance as she wormed her way out of their now burning truck. After, he tried to help her stand, but almost immediately she whimpered again and took her weight off of one of her legs. “What is it?” He asked, slinging his arm under her shoulders and standing for both of them.
“M-my leg,” Sarah stammered, wincing hard. “It hurts.”
“How bad?” Joel pressed.
Sarah sniffled. “Pretty bad.”
Joel pressed his lips together tensely. “Alright,” He nodded, and then reached under Sarah’s legs and her arms and lifted her up against his chest. She whined on the way up, wincing again. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.” He scanned over her, and then Ellie, who was still crying in Tommy’s arms.
“Joel,” Tommy demanded. His eyes were stuck on a man in the distance, who was sitting atop a woman beneath him. He was eating her. He made sure he was covering Ellie’s eyes. “We can’t stay out here.”
Joel nodded in agreement. “We can-”
Sarah sprang up suddenly in her father’s arms. There was a burning car racing down the street, and her uncle and her sister were right in the way. “Uncle Tommy, watch out!”
Tommy sprang back just in time to dodge the car as it slammed into their truck and decimated anything within five feet of it. Joel heard Ellie scream, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. “Tommy?!” He demanded, unable to see anything through the flames.
“We’re okay!” Tommy’s voice roared back over the flames. “I can’t see a way around!”
Sarah heard her dad curse above her. “Tommy! Meet at the old farm, at the back of town, do you hear me?!”
“Alright!” Tommy shouted back.
“ Tommy!” Joel hollered again.
“What?”
“Keep her safe! Do you hear me?”
A second passed. “I understand,” Tommy returned, and then his voice faded.
Joel tried to let it comfort him, but in reality, it seemed like the goddamn world was ending, and he only had one of his girls. “Alright,” He huffed, forcing himself to focus and start moving. “We’re gon’ be okay,” He added, because he could feel Sarah shaking in his arms.
“What about Ellie and Uncle Tommy?” Sarah whimpered.
“It’s okay, honey,” Joel tutted, trying to sound calmer and stronger than he felt. “They’ll take good care of each other. We’ll see them in a little bit. It’s okay.” He said it again, like maybe that would make it feel more true. Really, his heart was racing in his throat, and every step that he took felt like he was betraying Ellie. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment and then forced himself to focus. He had Sarah, and he had to get her to safety. Tommy would do the same with Ellie.
He had to.
“Daddy,” Ellie whined, having the same conversation with Tommy.
“It’s okay, Ellie,” Tommy hushed. “It’s okay. We’re gon’ see your daddy and your sister real soon.” He cradled a hand against the back of Ellie’s head in an attempt to console her, and then kept on running. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her legs around his body as he carried her. It was dark, and the buildings were behind them.
“Uncle Tommy,” Ellie pointed, but Tommy just hushed her. “Monsters!” She yelped, but by the time that Tommy turned around and saw them, they were being tackled.
Ellie screamed, and buried her face as deeply as it would go in her uncle’s chest as he struggled with the man that had jumped atop them. After a minute or so, the struggle stopped. She waited to be torn away, but no such thing happened. She felt them stand up again, and keep on running. The body that Tommy had left was behind them now.
“Are you hurt, sweetheart?” Tommy demanded, slowing for just a brief moment to take Ellie’s tear-soaked face out of his chest and get a look at her, but she quickly snuggled it right back.
“No,” Ellie answered, hiding in her uncle’s shirt again.
“Alright,” Tommy panted, and then kept on running. The strap of his rifle was weighing down on his shoulder. He tried to take comfort from its presence, but it was hard with his brother and his other niece missing by his side. He held onto Ellie tighter, and then kept on.
The sound of gunshots made him freeze.
Tommy squinted. In the distance, he could see a man, dressed in military-like garb. He had a rifle with the flashlight on the end, making him easy to see. On the ground a dozen feet away from him or so there were people. A man, and a little girl. He was aiming their gun at them.
“Joel!”
Tommy didn’t hesitate. He let Ellie hang onto him with her own strength, just in the time that it took for him to raise his rifle up and shoot. She whimpered at the crack that it made, and was glad to feel him holding her up again a few seconds after.
“Joel! Sarah!” Tommy sprinted forward, still holding Ellie safely in his arms. He spared a glance towards the man that he’d killed, and then his brother, and then-
“ Sarruh,” Ellie whimpered, grabbing out for her sister.
At the sound of Ellie crying suddenly, Joel forced himself up, and he whipped his head around and searched for his other baby. “ Sarah. ” He choked at the image of her. She was trapped on the ground, and there was blood rushing across her shirt with a terrifying speed. Terrified, panted breaths rushed out of her drowning lungs. Weakly, she tried to push against her own blood. “ Sarah! ”
Joel darted across the dirt to Sarah’s side. Immediately, all of the breath and speech was stolen out of his lungs, and he was left a panting, desperate mess. After too long, he stole Sarah’s hands away from her shirt and replaced them with his. As soon as he pressed down, she squealed in pain, and tried to squirm away.
“I know, baby, I know,” Joel panted while forcing himself to press harder. “I know it hurts, I’ve just got to stop this.” His words were tripping over themselves as he found himself ripped between her tear-tracked, squealing face, and the blood soaking her shirt, and her own hands pushing against his in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. “ Tommy,” He choked over his brother’s name. “ Help me.”
Tommy couldn’t bring himself to move. He was staring down at the blood, and thinking of how he’d seen so many grown men die from less. Ellie’s hands moving with terror against his chest brought him back, and he found it in him to cover her eyes.
“Sarah,” Joel sobbed.
Tommy covered Ellie’s ears, too.
“ No!”