Separated

by Michael Blue

  Juan walked out with a noticeable limp, and lifted his arm at Joel, wanting to backhand him.

  "Boss!" Gregory called out.

  Gregory was the man that Joel and Josh knew as Abel. Juan looked over at him, enraged.

  "You'll open up your stab wounds again...and we don't have the supplies to stitch them back up..."

  Juan appreciated Gregory's generosity, and placed his arm back down to his side. He still had that wicked grin on his face, and it was highly upsetting. Juan paced the room back and forth. He was upset, and his constant footsteps were heard creaking through the wooden floor boards.

  "I've been searching high and low for that little bitch after what she did to me," Juan examined his arms in front of Joshua, "And I already made my promise to kill you."

  "Why?" Joshua scoffed, "Are you that horny?" he spat out of pure hatred.

  "Joshua..." Joel worriedly said.

  "No, Joel..." Joshua said rather sternly, "He wants those girls for himself."

  Immediately, a red flag in Joel's head went up. He wasn't going to let Ellie go through someone else like this. After that, A concerned look appeared on Juan's face, something Joshua caught in an instant.

  "What are you talking about?" he said, falling out of his usual demeanor.

  "Don't play stupid with me...you know what you wanted to do my cousin back there..."

  "Yeah," he agreed, "Kill her."

  "That's not, what I meant..." he mumbled angrily.

  As Joshua was going to say another word, Juan cut him off.

  "Hey, Gregory!" Juan pointed at him as if he were playing a game, "You know this boy's mother was the last person to be sent with your father before he was found dead right?"

  Speechless, Gregory scowled at Joshua. Joel didn't like where this was going after he noticed the intensity on Gregory's face. Josh had received the most indignant look he had ever received from an enemy. He was afraid of what was going to happen next since stakes were now on a personal level. Juan had gotten what he wanted, and Gregory was ready to personally torture Joshua himself. Gregory tipped the chair on its two hind legs, and roughly, dragged Joshua into the former soundproof office that was one room over. Joel, was fighting to see what was happening and was practically begging for them to stop him, but all Joel was good for was getting hit and being told to remain silent. It was now his turn to be interrogated.

  * * *

  There were two exits to the room that Joshua was sealed in with Gregory: One to the left and another to the right. It was an empty room, and there was nothing inside of it except for a gynecology chair, an empty desk and other crap. Gregory stood by the wall with his arms crossed, not taking his eyes off of Joshua. He scowled at him for an awfully long time before speaking, it made Josh rather uncomfortable.

  "Your mom killed my dad..." he said running his fingers through his silk curls.

  He looked confused and stressed.

  "Your "boss" ordered your dad to kill my mom." Joshua cooperated.

  "Well, now my dad's dead thanks to her!"

  As inappropriate as it sounded, Joshua was fascinated at the probability of his mother's survival. He immediately became tone-deaf, and went deep in thought as Gregory spoke to him even more, but Joshua wasn't paying the slightest attention and Greg noticed. He shouted even louder, and surprisingly enough, something caught everyone's attention when they heard a large shattering noise from the outside and an ear-ringing scream. From the window, the man guarding outside could be seen running back and forth as he was engulfed in flames.

  Everyone could be heard, rushing out the area to help their ally, including Gregory. He yelled and spun violently, and panicked, causing himself to fall off the porch balcony. Joshua couldn't see what was happening next, but he rolled off far enough into the distance to try and stop the burns. Unfortunately for him, he was too late. His skin and clothes were blackened. That's when everyone's hostility went up, and they immediately stood alert from the outside. This worried Joshua deeply, because he knew who it was. He knew it was the girls.

  Spring

  * * *

  "It smells like shit in here..." Ellie swore as she continued crawling.

  "Do you think this leads to anywhere? My knees and hands are starting to hurt..." Erlina complained.

  "I sure, hope it does."

  Erlina and Ellie had been crawling for countless minutes in attempt to escape the house they were being kept hostage at. Joel and Josh managed to create an escape plan for them, and the only way they could escape was through a small space behind the wooden walls. It was round and all, and luckily, the girls crawled their way into what appeared to be an old iron pipe. It smelled old and funky and they doubted it had ever been used again.

  "Do you think this use to come from a toilet?" Erlina questioned in disgust.

  "I don't even want to think about that right now." Ellie groaned just as disturbed. After a long silence of crawling and shuffling, Ellie was the first to speak again, "Finally," Ellie said gleefully.

  "What?"

  "There's an open space up ahead."

  As Ellie crawled, she made her way out of the small pipe line, leading into a new dark area. There were wide puddles of water on the ground, but not enough to surpass their ankles. She shined her flashlights upon some areas and noticed some rats and a couple of old supplies, such as rags and stuff. Shortly afterward, Erlina followed and Ellie helped her down to her feet.

  "What is this place?" Erlina asked curiously, standing erect.

  "Probably some old sewer system from the house we just came from?"

  "Ellie! Look!" Erlina whispered in excitement, "There are a couple of things we could use down here...there's rags and some empty liquor bottles. Maybe we could make molotovs like Joel if we find a full one somewhere?"

  "I guess people really do flush anything down the toilet..." the usually quick-witted red head answer.

  "Or maybe we're just not the first survivors to ever end up here...?" Erlina said as her voice trembled.

  "What makes you say that?"

  Erlina grabbed Ellie by the arm and pointed towards a skeleton that was laid-out in the corner. Already, they began freaking out. Not to mention, they heard snarls and croaking echoing from one of the tunnels. Terrified Erlina and Ellie stood side by side without moving a muscle.

  "Shit!" Ellie said turning pale, "Hopefully we won't be the last survivors either!"

  "We can't fight those things off with a screwdriver!" Erlina whispered sharply.

  Ellie looked around and noticed bricks that were big enough for creating diversions. Ellie pointed out the bricks to Erlina, and they each picked one up. Putting it in their bags, they quickly, but cautiously decided to continue their underground trek. Erlina was most nervous of all, she was just a child and so was Ellie. Having Joel around would've been a really good idea. She noticed a husky man like Joel's size was capable of punching someone's head off; and there was no argument there because she witnessed it with her own eyes. As for Joshua, he was a small guy himself, but he was smart and quick enough. He was the guy who used most of his heavy kicks and surroundings rather than brute punches.

  Walking through the sewer was like walking through a maze, and they were worried about ever finding a way out. There were tunnels that led to exits and entrances and it made their travels longer. The perplexed little girls even mentioned the idea of splitting up, but it took a Clicker to remind them that they were in a situation where that would be the most preposterous idea ever. This was their first time encountering a Clicker ever since they've been down there. The Clicker staggered from one passage and stood right in the center of crossways leading to the two other passages. One passage was with them, crouching in a dark corner, and the other lead to god-knows-where. Ellie reached back and stuck her hand in through the small space of her backpack, holding it with her most dominant hand and she tossed into the opposite passage way in which the Clicker came from. The brick didn't travel so far, but the Clicker surely went searchin
g for it. Without hesitation, that was the girls' cue to move. Quickly, they shuffled around the corner and made it into the new passage way. They made their way to a ladder, and Ellie was the first to climb up. Erlina followed right after her, not even caring if she happened to get her fingers stepped on. As they made their up, they immediately turned a corner that led down a misty slope. At first it was mistaken for spores, but it was just plain ol' water droplets.

  As they made their way down, they entered a whole new area that seemed to be separate from where the Infected were. Ellie stood by the entrance, dazzled by what she was looking at. Erlina, on the other hand, checked other paths to only to find out that it was dead end. Once Erlina turned her attention back to Ellie, she too, had the same look on her face.

  "You were right," Ellie smiled, immediately shuffling through a crate on the ground. "There's alcohol, a first aid kit, and some ammunition..."

  There were crates that were filled with things, some that the girls didn't even need. Ellie packed her bag with a full and empty bottle of liquor while Erlina grabbed probably around eleven bullets that were in good condition and stuffed the first aid kit into her bag. Meanwhile Ellie continued shuffling around for things, she found a lighter.

  "What do you think this could've been?" Ellie asked checking to see that the lighter was still working.

  "Maybe a bunch of survivors lived here...look at all this stuff," Erlina said looking through some crates herself. There wasn't much except for old clothes.

  "It's abandoned?" Ellie conversed.

  "Probably something bad happened," Erlina shrugged, "There are no dead bodies, so they safely got away."

  What an interesting conversation for two young girls to be having. After that, Erlina thought it'd be best to search around some more for a way out; assuming another minute down here would make her lose her mind. Without even realizing it, Erlina came across a latter that led to another path. Calling Ellie, they both climbed their way out, only leading to another path. As they climbed closer to the top, there appeared to be rays of sunlight. As they surfaced above the latter, they saw the tunnel path that led to outside.

  "A way out!" Ellie said, pointing to the entrance in astonishment.

  They both quickly exited the sewer tunnel, shading their eyes as the bright daylight hit them. Both girls inhaled the fresh air and hugged each other in satisfaction.

  "I can't believe we did it," Ellie said in disbelief, overlooking the forest from where they stood, their arms still on each other's shoulders.

  "Now let's go save our boys,"

  * * *

  Erlina and Ellie made their way down to the forest and hiked back to where the house was. From where the shabby house sat from the forest, it was much of an open area. It was too dangerous to be caught by the two men patrolling the outside (or the ones inside for that matter). They both sat crouched behind the plumped blushes and could see a little of what was going on through the windows.

  "Do you see them?" Erlina asked, considering she had a broken pair of spectacles.

  "Only Joel..."

  "What?!" she whispered sharply, "Joshua?"

  "I don't see him...let's circle the house."

  Erlina was the first to start off to the back of the house, and Ellie immediately followed. As Erlina continued, Ellie stopped her. Erlina reversed to see that Ellie was showing a broken space underneath the patio of the house.

  "Come on!" Ellie ordered.

  The two girls quickly ran towards the back of the house, keeping their heads down and staying at full alert. Erlina was the first to crawl into the hole, toggling on her angle-head flashlight as she made her way in. Ellie was the last to follow.

  As the girls both crouched and slowly maneuvered there way underneath the house, they listened closely to the constant chatter that above them. They could over hear Joel being asked questions he knew nothing about. They were questions like: Do you know who these people are? Do you know that boy's mother? Is she a friend of yours?

  Even if Joel told the truth, they didn't believe a word he said. Erlina pointed out something similar to a trap door and the girls reached up for the handle. It couldn't be pushed open, so they pulled it down, which gave them immediate access to the floorboards. They could see little through the spaces and noticed the men scattering over them every now and then. When the men were clear out of their sights, Erlina reached up just to get the floorboard a soft tap; it lifted. Bingo, loose floor boards. Once the she heard the room go quieter, she quickly pulled back her arm.

  "Juan?" she heard on of the men call. "Juan, what is it?"

  "Nothing, I thought I saw something."

  The girls waited a couple of seconds and Ellie felt an old, rusty light bulb go off in her head. She reached into her pocket and gave Erlina the screw driver.

  "I have an idea." Ellie said turning away, "I don't have time to explain, but when they all leave, you'll know what to do. Give that screw driver to Joel."

  Ellie made her way out and Erlina anxiously sat alone in the dark with the screwdriver clenched in her trembling hands, constantly fixing up broken spectacles on the bridge of her nose. Within a couple of minutes, Erlina heard loud shattering and a loud terrorizing scream. Surprised to hear where it was coming from, she jumped out the sound of it. It made her uneasy, but just knowing that it wasn't Ellie, Josh, or Joel made her feel a little better. The man was shouting gruesomely, and she could hear the burning and crackling of the flames. She was in shock, and looked up to hear the men leaving the room and making their way outside. This was her cue, and just as she reached up to push up the floorboard, she quickly fell back down after seeing Gregory be the last to rush out from a back. She continued up and pushed three floorboards out of the way, only to be seen by the astonished face of Joel who was restrained in his chair.

  "Oh, dear God." He praised in disbelief, "I'm so glad your both safe."

  Staying crouched to avoid being seen through the screen door entrance; Erlina knelt behind his chair, and untied his knots with little effort.

  "Where's Ellie?"

  "She was with me a second ago. I'm sure she's the one who did that"

  "Wait, you mean she's out there?!" Joel worried.

  "Not anymore," Ellie's voice answered. She quickly climbed in through the open space in the floor boards. She placed the boards back into place and crouched in front of him.

  "I'm so glad you're okay!" She spoke.

  "Me too," he said taking a moment to admire his girl's loyalty, "Now both you girls go and get Joshua. He's in the other room over there."

  Joel directed the girls, and was given a screwdriver before they both exited the room. As Joel was going to follow them, he noticed one of the men coming towards the house. Shit, he didn't want to alarm them once this guy noticed that he wasn't in his chair anymore. He immediately ducked, faced his chair towards the door and sat with his arms behind him, giving the impression that he was still tied up.

  The man entered the house and laid his eyes on Joel only for a split second to continue on to the next room where the girls were. Immediately, Joel thought it'd be best to stall.

  "Um, what happened out there?" Joel asked.

  "Some fucker flamed him and we bet it was those two little bitches you were with." The man answered. He examined Joel a little while longer and fully turned his body to face him.

  "Wait a second..." the man said, "Wasn't your chair facing that wall?" he asked aggressively.

  As the man stepped closer enough to Joel for him to sneak an attack, Joel pounced up and grabbed him. As the man tried to shake Joel off, Joel quickly countered the man's movements and reversed him, holding him from behind. Joel covered the stranger's mouth, telling him not to make a sound or Joel would kill him without a flinch. As the man nervously and foolishly agreed to cooperate, Joel grabbed the man's head tightly between his palms. Joel snapped the man's neck in a split second; letting him drop to the floor as if he were a dummy. After that, Joel shut the house door behind the screen door
and locked it from behind, but it didn't make a difference, because the locks were broken. Quickly, he went on to the next room, noticing Erlina first. She was shuffling through a double door closet. Much wasn't inside it except junk and old cardboard boxes.

  "I found our bags, but I can find my bow and arrow." She intensely pouted. She pointed back at a barrel that was in the closet, "And your guns are in there."

  Joel patted her on the back.

  "Go get your cousin and Ellie. We're getting out of here."

  Erlina quickly hassled off into the next room and while she was gone, Joel gathered his weapons and grabbed his bag off the counter that was in the middle of the room. As he turned to look back at the closet, he noticed something peeking over the edge at the very top of the closet. Reaching up, he grabbed it, and it appeared to be Erlina's bow, quiver, and numerous of its arrows fell down with it. Searching for the rest, he only came up with eight arrows. The other came back in the room and Josh was more than thankful to see that Joel was okay. Joel passed him his guns, as well as Ellie's.

  "What'd he do to you?" Joel asked, placing on his backpack.

  "My bow and arrow!" Erlina cheered, grabbing her weapons.

  Josh focused back on Joel,

  "Nothing, thanks to that Molotov."

  "Uh, guys?" Ellie called, catching all of their attention, "We've gotta get moving. They're coming." Ellie said looking out of the window.

  "Damn!" Erlina said.

  Everyone's neck turned to Erlina in shock, and Joel looked over at Josh nervously and then looked at Ellie who crossed her arms quite impressed. Josh realized that now wasn't the time for a lesson, and shook it off. It's what'd he expect from a girl who'd been hanging out with Ellie and even him for the past months.

  Josh, Joel, Erlina, and Ellie all left the room and continued going through rooms until they were led right to the final room that led to a back door that led to the back of the house. Opening the back door, they were surprised to see a screen door barricaded by half-empty barrels and trash bags.