to the ends of the earth || ellie williams (book one)

twenty three

Swinging my legs back and forth, I peered over the ledge at my feet that dangled way above the ground. I was scared of heights but the adrenaline that came with facing my fears seemed to make it worth it. Looking up the the sky, I observed the way it darkened in the east. There was a storm coming.

"Check this out," Ellie called from inside the office building.

I placed my palms on the cool stone balcony, pulling myself up to head inside. She handed me a picture attached to a note, leaning against the desk as I began to read it.

"'Jordan, Isaac's got us posted up on a two week at the TV station. Scars spotted in the area. Here's something to hold you over. Leah.'" I read, briefly scanning the photo of a brunette in a risqué pose.

Ellie pointed to her map that laid sprawled on the clutter desk before saying, "TV station."

"You think she's still there?" I asked.

"We've gotta find out," She shrugged as she began to pack her things back into her bag, "It's by a bunch of tall buildings."

I turned to the window, looking around in the distance before spotting a few tall buildings out west. Pointing my finger to alert Ellie, I squinted to see out a little further.

"Must be over there," I nodded, "You ready?"

We were hit by multiple patrols on our way to the TV station. Every time we thought we were in the clear, another van would pull up and they'd come piling out. They were trigger happy so between the wolves and the infected, we had ourselves a package deal. It wasn't easy, but it was definitely becoming more mindless.

I thought back to my conversation with Ellie. I couldn't get the way that she looked at me out of my head. It was as if my words had betrayed her. I felt as though perhaps I was letting past emotions taint the way that I was thinking. I didn't want to upset her more when she had enough on her plate.

"Search for supplies," Ellie nodded, bringing me back to the present as we entered an old bookstore.

I couldn't help but notice the place was littered with rainbows, including the surrounding area. Furrowing my brows, I ran my hand along the brightly coloured fabric before turning to face Ellie.

"What's with all the rainbows?" I asked.

"No idea... but there's a bunch of magazines over here with dudes," She began, "Two dudes."

A book on the centrepiece caught my attention. I grinned as I plucked it from the shelf, skimming through its pages briefly - slightly disappointed that it wasn't a picture book.

"Check this out," I sniggered, handing her the book, "They're so us."

"Oh my god, Charlotte. Can we stay focused please?" She scoffed as she rolled her eyes, trying her best to conceal her grin.

"Okay, okay.." I giggled with a surrender.

I felt the tension break between us. It was like what happened before hadn't have even happened. I wished it hadn't. I knew I'd end up apologising for it in one way or another once we were off of our feet.

After heading out of the bookstore, Ellie and I headed for the TV station. The WLF was slowly appearing to be more and more advanced. They'd trapped the entire route we were heading down. You couldn't move anymore than four foot ahead of you without almost being blown to pieces.

Ellie managed to find a pretty good way of getting us through, said it was an old trick Joel had taught her. It was the first time in a while she'd mentioned his name without talking about what happened to him.

A concrete bridge stood ahead of us, crumbled stone and brick rested in a slow moving stream below. My parter led the way, ducking through a small gap and furrowing her brows upon entry. I joined her side, covering my mouth with the back of my hand as I evaluated the scene.

Soldiers lay dead scattered across the dirt, their clothes bloody and stained and their faces in the mud. Ellie crouched beside a dead horse, running her fingers slowly over the top of its leg before turning back to look at me.

"It's Tommy's. Infected did a number on this one..." She winced, "And these guys have all been shot."

"He must've taken off on foot. Let's get out of here. The smell is killing me," I shuddered as we emerged outside the TV station in the distance on the other side of the bridge.

I studied the city for a while, taking a deep breath of fresh air as my eyes traced from building to building. Every tall monument was more withered than the next. The place looked as if it'd been chewed up and spat out, I wasn't surprised that barely anybody was hiding out anywhere.

"How did the city get so wrecked?" I eventually asked as I turned my attention back to Ellie, "I mean, Boston wasn't like this, right?"

"Boston didn't have a full-blown civil war,"

"We never put up this kind of resistance," I sighed, playing with my pendant before tucking it back under my shirt.

We continued in silence for a little while, aside from the loud explosions that came after Ellie through a brick, bottle or bullet at the carefully placed explosives on the ground. One wrong step and it'd all be over. I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me slightly nervous.

"Feel her love," Ellie spoke from ahead of me causing me to furrow my brows in confusion.

I joined her side, following her eye-line to a large mural painted on the back of a closed van. Turning my head to the side, I folded my arms over my chest to observe the chalk drawing of a dark-haired woman with the cryptic message beneath her. The more I looked at it, the more unsettling it became.

"She doesn't seem related to the Wolves. She's too... peace and love," I frowned.

"It's fucking weird whatever it is," Ellie shrugged, tearing her eyes away to continue on.

The TV station was desolate. Boxes, wires and other filming equipment still scattered untouched around the building. I recalled on a conversation Ellie and I had once before about whether people were still making movies. I felt a little bit of hope spark within me when I spotted the old cameras on the desk in the corner.  

As we entered the main lobby, my jaw dropped at the scene. People hung from the ceiling, their intensities dangling from gaping wounds in their abdomen. I winced with disgust, taking a few steps back as I covered my mouth with my palm.

"Who the fuck did this?" I finally managed to choke out but Ellie didn't seem as phased as I was.

"Definitely not Tommy. It's a message, for sure," She mumbled, placing her hand on my shoulder to direct me towards the stairs, "Stop looking. Let's just find Leah."