TO JACKSON

"I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it."

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

To Jackson

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Robin walked down the stairs towards the exit of the WLF stadium. The tight, concrete corridors suffocated her, but she was willing to traverse the hallways for the sweet release of fresh air that she had been begging to breath in. Her lungs had been screaming at her to inhale something other than the horrible, air-conditioned oxygen that was recycled in the vents, so the fact that she was called outside made her body relax with recognition that it was getting what it wanted.

She didn't really know why she was going down. She was still waiting on Ollie to give her the 'okay' so that she could get to Jackson. Robin knew her way there, she just needed Isaac and his men to stop hounding her ass on assignments. Even though she had taken her fair share of patrols in the prior months, everyone had been on edge. She was expected to take the roles of everyone who had been busy fighting Scars, which she hated.

At the end of the corridor, a door stood tall, leading to the outside world. Robin took a deep breath, opening it and watching as it slammed shut behind her. Outside, many WLF members and patrolmen were standing on the road, fully dressed in their tactical gear. What was going on? Robin looked around for a sign as to what happened, only finding many more soldiers scattered around the outside perimeter of the stadium.

Tired of not knowing what was going on to cause the commotion, Robin stepped across some of the road, greeting one of the soldiers. His helmet had come off, revealing his panic-stricken face. WLF members were always fearless, what the hell happened? "Hey, what's going on?" Robin asked, causing his eyes to dart around until they faced her.

His eyes seemed to soften as he confirmed that it was Robin Arn who was talking to him. "Some girls came in and out, they-" He cut himself off as he saw the woman's eyes glow with hatred. If those were the same girls that came in from Jackson, she would kill them both. "You should go see Liam, he's at the entrance to the sewers."

Robin looked at him, puzzled. "Why?"

"Just- talk to him before you leave."

The woman nodded slowly, stepping backwards and completely turning around. Most of the commotion that had circulated was around the sewer door, so she made her way towards it. Some of the soldiers were still on edge, their guns drawn and held against their chests. It was almost unsettling to see so many people shocked and appalled at something that had happened. Robin hadn't even heard the commotion, was it as big as she thought?

Two of the WLF soldiers stood in front of the sewer grate, seemingly keeping guard. Robin approached them both, standing out on the concrete and letting the rain dribble down her forehead. "Do either of you care to let me know what happened here?" She asked, desperate to try and find any answers to the rigid men in front of her. They only stared, seemingly looking her face over and panicking at the sight of her.

"Look- maybe you should wait a while until you go in there-" One started. Robin only furrowed her eyebrows, confused as to why everyone seemed to tip-toe around her. As if she was glass shattered on the floor.

She scoffed. "What's in there?"

"We have everything under control, our best men and women are in there-"

Robin brushed past the two soldiers, rendering them defenseless against her advancement into the sewers. She pulled on a gas mask, preparing for the spores down in the main area. The walls surrounding her seemed to close in as she continued down the sewer, slowly approaching the small amount of water that constantly wavered and brushed against the floor of the sewers. Nothing would prepare her for the sight she saw at the end of the hallway.

The dead, lifeless body of Ollie Peterson was slumped against the back of the sewer. Blood was still pouring out of his head. Robin held her mouth agape, suddenly frozen still as she gazed upon her best friend. He had two gunshot wounds in his head, and a large knife wound crashed into his kneecap. His once long, gray hair was matted against sweat and blood, his lips cracked with the impact of spores brushing past his lips and into his lungs.

She cried out loudly, sobbing and gripping onto her chest. The soldiers in the sewer caught attention of her, immediately pausing. Robin struggled to breath, the weight of her best friend's death settling in as hot tears ran down her face. She made a pursuit for Ollie, desperately trying to see through the mass number of spores surrounding her. Two soldiers took her arms, stopping her from making it any further towards Ollie.

But she could still see his face. The face that was stained with blood from bullets. She could barely hear her own cries through the ringing that pounded through her ears. All she could feel was her tears as her whole body went numb, she could barely feel her arms as they were held back by the soldiers. Her body slumped downwards, exhausted and not built for crying. She was racked with deep and loud sobs that echoed through the sewers and caused her body to convulse.

Robin's stomach began to bubble as she was released by the soldiers, both realizing that she was too weak to run over to the body of the decorated WLF member. She held her hand to the ground, stabilizing herself before her throat began to heave and she gagged. The tears flowing down her cheeks made her want to throw up, but nothing came out of her stomach as she sobbed. Her eyes were sore, she didn't want to cry anymore. But she could still see his body.

Nobody had bothered to take him away. Nobody wanted to have the job of taking him out of the murky water and laying him somewhere to rest peacefully. It seemed like Robin was the only one who wanted revenge. Revenge for killing Kam. Revenge for killing her closest friend and ally that she had in the apocalyptic world since her parents. As much as she had wished them away as a child, all she wanted to do was to sit and visit her own world again. She wanted to be able to daydream again.

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A young girl sat down in a metal chair, shifting under it uncomfortably every few minutes. A table stood across from her, and her hands were tied against it with handcuffs. She was in an interrogation room, but she looked to be barely even fourteen years old. It wasn't an environment she seemed to fit in, but her face was badly bruised, small cuts littering around her cheekbones. It was a tragic sight to see, she was too young.

An older man walked in, shutting the door behind him softly before sitting down across from the young girl. His face held kindness; his mouth upturned in a sweet smile. Although his facial features were quite harsh, he was kind, his eyebrows were soft and not harsh at all. He had short, brown hair, but it was slightly covered with a beanie. The one-way mirror beside them was frosting along the edges, Winter in the apocalyptic world was unforgiving.

The man repositioned himself on the chair, leaning back a bit casually. "I'm Ollie." He spoke carefully, seemingly tip-toing around the small girl. "I think I caught your name to be Robin?"

She timidly nodded, fiddling with her fingers. He only nodded, seemingly satisfied, even if the answer was short-lived and mute. Ollie looked down at the table, gazing at the handcuffs that bound Robin to the table. He quickly fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a small pair of keys. The man took them and pushed them into the handcuff lock, maneuvering it around a few times until it made a 'click' noise. They fell off the girl's wrists, letting her roam free.

"Look, kid, I trust you." Ollie stated, looking into her hazel-coloured eyes. "I just want to know why you were messing about near the hospital."

"I-" Before Robin could answer, a bright red light began rapidly flashing against the walls, flickering back and forth.

A scratchy voice called through the speakers above the two. "The smuggler has taken the girl! I repeat, the smuggler has taken the girl! This is a fuckin' emergency! Get the fuck out-" The voice cut out abruptly and unevenly, prompting a large crash to come from the outside of the room.

Ollie immediately grabbed a hold of Robin's wrist, dragging her out of the door. Her face held confusion, was the girl the same person her mother talked about before she was ripped to shreds by a nearby infected, just like her father? Was the smuggler the man who she had claimed was a 'good man' and had been selfless to help the future for everyone? No matter what- or who they were- Ollie held tight onto Robin's arm, leading her through- a hospital?

The sights were gruesome, but it wasn't anything the young girl wasn't used to. Dead bodies were piled against the walls, blood pouring out of every inch of them. Ollie tried to pry her eyes away from them, but it was no use. His fellow Firefly companions had been brutally murdered, and it was up to him to escape with no wounds. If he could turn the corner without being seen by the smuggler, he could get out of the hospital and to Seattle- where everyone would go if something were to go wrong.

He quickly turned the corner, only to see the older man, cradling the cure in his arms. Ollie paused, holding his right hand- the one not holding onto Robin's arm- up in the air, surrendering. They stood in silence, looking over each other. They each had a girl, one that they would each call their own one day, far along the lines. They both had something to lose, one much more than the other, but Ollie still held tightly onto Robin's hand.

"Please." The Firefly begged; his voice nearly cracking. It was obvious he didn't want to die, at least- not to the hands of the smuggler. "You have a daughter, I do too." Something struck within him as he lied, maybe it wasn't exactly a lie. He had always wanted a baby girl, maybe it was his time to take control of his own life. "We can both leave here without dying."

The smuggler took a moment, mulling over his options. The man standing across from him had one of his own, a girl- just like Ellie. But he was a Firefly. Joel vowed to keep nobody alive in the hospital that tried to take her from him, but for some reason- he couldn't bring himself to keep the gun trained on the Firefly. He lowered it slightly, still holding Ellie up with his two arms to the best of his ability. He quickly turned around, leaving Robin and Ollie to make their way out on their own.

That night was the night that Robin would never forget. The night where she had first met Ollie, her best friend. And Ellie Williams, the one that she would call 'the bitch who killed her boyfriend'.

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Her body stopped convulsing after what felt like a few minutes, she was too tired to keep up her own movements. Robin's eyes still pooled with water as she held onto the ground, desperate to find some sort of stability in her broken life. Her mind recalled the girls, it was them. It had to be. She wasn't going to let them go again, not after waiting for Ollie to take them. Robin's lungs hurt with every staggered breath she took, her eyes clearing up from the tears that had glistened across them only minutes before.

Standing up, she stumbled against the concrete, only then noticing that barely any of the soldiers had remained in the sewer. Robin didn't know how long she had been out on the floor, but it didn't matter anymore. Not to her. She staggered up the steps, trying to see through the number of spores and her clouded gas mask. She needed to breath, she needed to let her lungs taste the salvation that was the fresh air.

Her wishes were granted as the door opened in front of her, letting her heave in the beautiful and rich oxygen. She fell to the ground, her body still too weak to hold herself up. Someone's arm pulled her up, letting Robin's feet stagger against the road. She stabilized after a few moments, her breathing still heavy and the dense weight still pushing harshly against her chest. The soldier's arms helped keep her upright, not letting her fall to the ground.

Without bothering to find out who was standing beside her, Robin seethed with energy that could only be taken for anger. "I'm going to Jackson." She spat harshly. "And Isaac won't even try to fucking stop me."

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