A long road By Maria Ours

A loud bang echoed against the metal walls, prompting the young girl to spring out of the bed. She stood there listening to the deafening silence for a moment, listening intently. Just as suddenly as the first, another loud bang roared through the halls. She quickly grabbed a stiff wooden bat, slowly making her way to the metal door. Slowly, she opened it, making a shrill groan as it grinded against the floor, She clenched her fist before continuing on to identify where the noise had come from. She proceeded down the hallway, her bare feet burning against the cold steel. As she turned the corner, she saw something moving in the darkness. She didn't think twice as she swung the bat as hard as she could. The figure ducked out the way "Pepper! It's me!" A familiar voice rang out.

Pepper looked at the person and let out a sigh of relief. "Elliott, you scared the hell out of me!" She said, lowering the bat. Elliott scoffed "I scared you!? You're the one who nearly busted my head in you psycho!" He said pointing to the wooden bat. Before Pepper could reply, another bang echoed out. Elliott looked down the hall into the darkness. "I think it's coming from this direction." He said as he began walking. Pepper followed him, the pair creeping through the halls as the banging continued. As they walked farther down the hall, the panicked banging started to become Louder and more frequent, the walls shuddering with each impact. They were approaching what appeared to be the source, the main entrance. "Do you think it's a person?" Pepper whispered to Elliott, a bit nervous. Elliott gave no reply as they rounded the last corner.

They reached the main entrance, a large mechanical door, dwarfing the pair in size. The banging had become so loud that it started to hurt their ears. Elliott turned to look at the side panel, which displayed the outside camera's feed. "Oh shit." He said quietly. Pepper leaned over his shoulder, grasping her bat. "What is it?" She whispered. Elliott gestured at the camera feed, revealing a little girl banging on the outer door. Pepper Immediately went to open the door, but was stopped by Elliot. "We can't leave a child out there!" Pepper said, wheeling round to face Elliot. "We don't even know what's going on! What if it's a trap to get us to open the bunker?" Elliott shouted back. Pepper glared at him "It's a kid, What's the worst that could happen?" She said angrily. Elliott stared at Pepper for a moment, finally letting out a sigh. "Fine, Open the door, but it's your ass on the line if your wrong about this." He said hesitantly.

Pepper moved to the control panel and entered the code. all at once, mechanisms began to come back to life, letting out a groan as the locks released and the door slid downwards. Pepper stepped out to find the little girl on her knees, crying and still striking where the door once was. Pepper bent down to her level and spoke softly. "Hi sweetheart, Are you okay?" She looked the little girl up and down. She was in a horrid state; malnourished, pale, bruises on her hands from the repeated strike on the door, the only piece of clothing she had was the ragged dress that barely clung to her spindly shoulders. The little girl looked up, tears running down her dirty face. "Please, I need help, I have no food and my c-camp was attacked!" She said as her voice cracked. Pepper picked her up "Let's get you a bath and some food, okay?" She said smiling. The little girl nodded, looking down once again. Elliott took one more nervous glance outside before shutting the bunker door.

Pepper carried the girl into the dark maw of the bunker, stepping into what they called the bath, a large metal container lined in ceramic. Pepper set the girl down into the tub, removing her dress. "Give me one second." Pepper grabbed a pale and filled it with warm water, and slowly poured it into the bath. "I'll bring you some clothes, and once you're done you can eat something." she said warmly. The little girl nodded, still looking at the ground, before walking into the bathroom. Pepper walked down the hall still holding the bat, Elliott followed her "Are you sure this was a good idea? We are already low on supplies, and we don't know if she has any ulterior motives." He said, glancing back towards the bathroom. Pepper rolled her eyes "She's just a child, and if you're so worried about it, you can stand outside the bathroom and make sure she doesn't leave." Elliot stepped back with a nervous look plastered across his face. Pepper walked into her room, setting down her bat by the door and turning on a light. The room was basic, with a high bed with a desk under it and a dresser with a mirror above it. Elliott leaned on the wall "I just don't have a good feeling about this, We haven't seen or heard anyone in two weeks, and now there was a little girl who was banging on the door begging for help? Who says she wasn't followed?" Elliott said, crossing his arms.

Pepper picked out a small pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt "I know, I know. your right to be concerned, but we couldn't just leave a kid out there. Please just trust me on this one." Pepper said, looking at him with sad eyes. Elliott groaned "Fine, we have enough room here, I just don't know how long our food will last." He said as he left the room. Pepper smiled walking back to the bathroom. "I brought you some clean clothes." Pepper said, setting them down next to the door. The girl reached around and grabbed the clothes and went back in to change.

the girl came out with her new clothes, hair still wet. "What's your name?" Pepper asked kindly. The girl was playing with the hem of the shirt "M-my name is Haley." She said nervously. Pepper smiled, "Let's get some food, I'm sure you're hungry." she said, holding her hand out to Haley to take, and the pair made their way to the kitchen area. Pepper noticed Haley looking up at her. "Is there something wrong?" Pepper asked. "What's that on your neck?." Haley said pointing to a chain on Peppers's neck. "Oh, this? It's a necklace that Elliott gave to me on my 16th birthday" Pepper said, pulling it out of her shirt to expose the heart-shaped locket. They got inside the kitchen area to see Elliott they're who set down some food "Here, eat." He said sitting down. They all sat down and started eating beans. Elliott sighed "I'm going to go out and find more food." He said eating.

Haley looked confused "How come?" She asked, looking at him. Elliott looked at her exasperated "Well. Food is running low, the garden hasn't produced any food yet and NOW," he gestures at Haley "We have an extra mouth to feed." He finished his beans. Pepper glared at him, but he just stood up and went to clean his dishes. Pepper followed him and grabbed his shoulder. "Elliott, that was very rude," She said, upset. Elliott snapped back at her "I'm being honest! She is going to take more supplies, If she's staying you're having her help around." Pepper relented. Taking a couple steps back. "Alright." She walked back to Haley. “Hey, don't take what he said to heart, okay? The pressure is just getting to him.” Haley nodded, once again playing with the hem of her shirt. Elliott left the room. Pepper watched him leave a little sad “How about we go and see him off alright?” She said looking back at Haley who nodded.

The pair went to the main entrance to wait for Elliott so they could see him off. He came in with a bag on his shoulder, He rolled his eyes “What do you want?” He said looking at the pair. Pepper hugged him “We just wanted to see you off.” She said softly. Elliott hugged her back, keeping a stoic expression. “Hey, relax. I won't be gone for more than three days. I’ve made this trip plenty of times.” Elliott whispered. Once they pulled away Elliott unlocked the main door a familiar groaning and scrapping filled the room. As Elliot went to step out he was thrown to the ground, four large men walking in. Before Pepper or Elliott could react Haley ran to them hiding behind the leader's leg. Pepper looked shocked. The man was in a leather vest, jeans and boots which all have seen some use. “Alright you pieces of shit, you thought you could keep this place all to yourself?” the man spoke in a thick southern drawl. “Well here's what's going to happen. Y'all are going to scram before I make you mincemeat.”

Elliot quickly goes for his knife, but Pepper grabs Elliott’s arm. “Let's just go, It's not worth risking our lives for this place.” She said looking slightly scared. Elliot Glanced back at the figures, all holding weapons. “You're right, And you.” He stands up using the control panel as a crutch. “Using a little kid to get what you want. That's just low.” he said, glaring at the man. The man scoffed, “You two are just sheltered little brates, You don't know what the real world has for you.” The man said, smiling a toothy smile. Elliot and Pepper walked past them, Haley looked at them sad, Pepper and Elliott ignored her once they were outside the door closed...They had no home, Pepper held her necklace sad, Elliott put his jacket around her “Let’s find you some better clothes to travel in.” He said quietly. “On the bright side,” he spoke, holding out a slip of paper. “They will never be able to close the door.” The two shared a final laugh, not knowing what their future held for them.