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THE TREES SPED BY AS JOEL SPED DOWN THE ROAD, ONE HAND RESTING ON LUCIA'S THIGH AS THEY GOT THEY NEARED WYOMING. The woman looked out the window, her mind racing with all sorts of uncomfortable thoughts as she tried to focus on the grip Joel had on her. His fingers were brushing slow circles onto her jeans absentmindedly and she closed her eyes.
"Lucia?" Joel peered at her as he averted his gaze from the road.
The brunette didn't show any signs that she had heard him call her name and he grew worried, glancing between her and the road ahead. He briefly looked through the rear view mirror to see that Ellie still hadn't woken up from her anaesthesia.
"Hey," he squeezed Lucia's thigh. "you still with me?"
Lucia lolled her head to the side and opened her eyes to meet his gaze, offering him a weak smile. It had been a few hours since they'd let the Fireflies and the hospital behind and neither had said much since they'd left, both to worked up to say anything.
"Sorry," she murmured and pried his hand off her leg to hold it in her own. Lucia ran her fingers over his skin and counted the freckles. "just really tired I guess."
"Yeah, I know." he kept driving down the empty highway, mountains in the distance. The sun was setting and even if they could make it to Jackson in the next few hours, they were too tired to drive through the night. "Let's find a safe place to set up for the night, alright?"
Lucia hummed in agreement and went back to staring out the window. The woman wondered how life in Jackson was going to be. Would they fit there or would they be to feral for the content little community? What was going to happen to Ellie? The question kept playing through her mind and she let out a long sigh.
The brunette glanced over her shoulder when the teen let out a low groan. Ellie tried to push herself up as she pried her eyes open but she was too weak to do so.
"What -?" she muttered, panic laced her voice.
"It's alright," comforted Lucia, turning in her seat. "You're with us."
"Take it slow." added Joel, looking at her through the rear view. "The drugs are still wearin' off."
"I was with the Fireflies and then -" she managed to say before fallen silent, opening her eyes with worry. Her gaze found Lucia as she offered her a soft smile. "What drugs?"
"They were running some tests on you," she explained, furrowing her brows as she tried to come up with some sort of lie that she would believe. Lucia hated lying to her, but she could never know the truth. "and some others. Turns out there's a whole lot more like you. People that are immune."
