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

twenty nine

"So anything worthwhile come from the radio?" Asked Ellie, leaning back into the chair and placing her arms behind her head.

Her muscular biceps tensed as they stretched behind her. I shook my head and pulled myself to my feet, pointing to the map that I'd managed to pin to the wall with a little box of thumb tacks I'd found in the desk drawer.

"That girl - Nora - her units been assigned to the hospital here. They were collecting supplies or something," I explained, "If we wait for Jesse to wake up, we can all go."

"There's no time for that," She said as she stood up, "She could be gone by then."

"Ellie... there's a lot of people at this hospital. We'd have better chances waiting for Jesse." I frowned, folding my arms over my chest, "Let's not lose our heads."

"I'm going now, Charlotte. Are you coming with me or not?" She asked sternly.

I stared at her for a few seconds, examining her hardened expression. Her eyebrows were drawn low above her eyes, that familiar dark glaze coating them as her shoulders tensed. I nodded my head slowly, turning to collect my guns from the table. I shoved my weapons into their holsters, slinging my backpack over my shoulder to follow Ellie to the doors.

I gently woke up Jesse, explaining to him where we were going and asking him to lock the doors. He protested, said he'd come along. I told him that he needed to rest and Ellie had already made her mind up. I figured I'd let them fight it out amongst themselves when we got back.

"We need to follow Route 5," I panted as I caught up to Ellie who had already gained on me during my short farewell to Jesse.

The rain poured mercilessly. I'd never been in a place that was constantly so wet. The cool droplets trickled down my cheeks as I walked, the wind blowing cold air through my damp hair causing me to shudder.

"I'm starting to think it just never stops raining here," I groaned as Ellie boosted me onto a van.

"Sorta makes me miss the snow," She grunted as I pulled her up beside me.

We spent a few minutes looting an apartment complex. I wondered what it'd have been like had Ellie and I met before outbreak day. What would we be doing now? Would we be slow dancing in a shitty apartment in Boston, forgetting that we left pasta in a now boiled over pot, only remembering as the fire alarm rings throughout the tall building? Would she play her guitar, perched on the end of the bed in the candlelight, her long fingers lazily strumming the strings as she sings a song I've never heard of?

"Where did you go?" Ellie asked, interrupting my string of thoughts and snapping me back to reality.

"I was just thinking," I smiled softly.

"About what?"

"Nothing..." I giggled.

"Your face is telling me otherwise," She smirked, "You're not very good at hiding what you're thinking about, Char."

"That's not true," I protested, "What am I thinking about right now?"

She studied me for a few minutes, her fingers stroking her chin as she squinted her eyes in concentration.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches at the bar when we get back?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Is that what I'm thinking about or what you're thinking about?" I challenged.

"You got me," She chuckled lowly, "I'm just gonna mod my guns. There's a table back there. Try not to die."

"I'll do my best," I snorted with an eye roll as she disappeared off into the room across the hall.

I continued to search the little apartment she'd left me in. As I paced the living room, I ran my fingers tips across the fireplace collecting a thin layer of grey dust on my warm skin. I rubbed my pointed finger against my thumb, scattering the dust back onto the floor as my eyes reached a photo frame.

I plucked it from it's perch, studying the two girls in the photograph. They were extremely close, holding each other in their arms with ear to ear grins plastered on their glowing faces. I smiled softly, placing the photo upright again before continuing my search.

My attention was rapidly drawn to the stairwell as a loud gunshot rang through the building. I pulled my gun from its holster and sprinted towards the room where Ellie was. I kicked the door open, running for the man pointing his gun to Ellie and knocking him to the floor. I straddled his waist, knocking him out with a hard punch on the side of the head before finding cover.

"We won't go back!" A woman screeched from the bathroom, "Isaac can go to hell!"

I snuck to the bathroom, grabbing the woman by the back of the neck before driving her head into the wall with a sharp crack. Once I was sure the place was clear, I called out for Ellie who emerged from behind the kitchen countertops.

"Who the fuck were those guys?" I asked, holding Ellie's shoulders before hugging her gently.

"I don't fuckin' know. Some crazy rogue wolves or something. Let's get out of here," She panted, leading me back out to the street.

The journey was anything but easy. Seattle was home to more infected than I even knew existed. They blocked every path we took. We bulldozed through every group, eventually reaching the large gates of a nearby park.

"We can cut through here," Ellie nodded, "Might be safer than those fuckin' buildings."

"Probably, let's go." I agreed.

The park was overgrown and dense. The sun hung low in the sky, the entire place suddenly fell dark. I stayed close behind Ellie, my gun still held loosely by my side just in case.

A high pitched whistle echoed throughout the trees, an arrow flying from the shrubbery and landing right in Ellie's shoulder. She groaned in pain, collapsing to the ground as I ran to find cover.

"These must be the fuckin' Scars," I whispered, "I'll take care of them. Get that arrow out."

I stayed low in the bushes, pulling my bow from my back to begin silently taking out our attackers. They patrolled the park with caution, torches held out in front of them which actually did more harm than good. There was no hiding.

Once I'd taken them all out, I rushed to Ellie's side and helped her into a nearby building before barricading the door with a cluttered desk.

"Are you okay?" I asked, pulling on her shirt to examine her shoulder, "Let me see."

"I'm fine," She panted, "Come on."

"Ellie, you're hurt..." I whimpered, "Please just let me take a look before we go."

She sighed in defeat, leaning against the desk and pulling her shirt off from her shoulders. She lifted her top over her head, revealing her wounded shoulder. I slammed my pack to the ground and searched for my med supplies. Dousing a sterile pad in alcohol, I stood close to Ellie and looked up at her briefly.

"This might sting," I muttered before wiping her gash.

"Fuck," She hissed through gritted teeth, her head falling back to avoid staring at the injury.

"It's okay... it'll be over in a minute," I reassured her, applying pressure until the bleeding stopped.

I patched her up quickly, loading my stuff back into my bag as she put her clothes back on.

"Charlotte?" She began, causing me to turn and face her, "Thank you."

I nodded with a small smile, slinging my backpack over my shoulder once more.

"Now, let's go get her."