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

thirty four

"Hold it firmly. Focus down the scope, shoot intuitively. We're not trying to kill the whole of Seattle," He began, "If they're in my way, shoot them."

"What if I can't?" I whimpered.

"You can," He nodded confidently, "I know you can."

"You should just let me go..." I began, "I can get him back."

"No," He replied bluntly, "I'm not letting you go back out there. If anything goes south, you go to the aquarium and you take Ellie home. No matter what it takes, okay?"

I nodded my head sheepishly.

"Okay," He sighed, "Remember what I said."

I positioned myself below the window, checking my magazine before taking a deep breath. I quickly leant my elbows on the window ledge, focusing down the scope of the rifle like I'd been told before finding Tommy. He turned to me and gave a little thumbs up causing a smile to creep up my face. Then he began to move.

I watched his path, taking out anybody in his way like he told me to. It's not like I was new to using a sniper rifle, it was actually my weapon of choice. But when it was two people that I cared about who had their lives on the line and it was up to me to keep them safe, I wasn't filled with buckets of confidence.

My heart sank as a man grabbed Tommy from behind. I couldn't get a clear shot. I held my breath as I watched them struggle, waiting until the man was straddling Tommy's waist and pushing his gun down to his neck. I took the shot causing his attacker to collapse on top of him, Tommy pushed him off and continued to move towards Jesse.

He hooked his arm over his shoulder and began to make his way back to the building. Jesse looked injured, gripping his side as he limped along beside Tommy. I continued to shoot at people in their path, my eyes only coming away from them both to protect them.

Once they reached the building again, I ran down the stairs and sighed in relief when I saw Jesse smiling wearily. Tommy lowered him to the ground, still gripping his side as he sat on the floor.

"What did they do to you?" I asked, rushing towards him and leaning down beside him.

"Nothing, I'm just a little banged up..."

"Move your hand then," I said, pulling his clutched fingers from his torso and falling back with shock.

I covered my mouth as I looked to Tommy. He avoided eye contact, diverting his gaze back to the door and folding his arms awkwardly.

"You were shot," I muttered, "When did this happen?"

"It doesn't matter," He panted, "I'm okay."

"You're not okay. You need a doctor, you—"

"We need to move," Tommy remarked, peering through a gap in the boarded door.

"He can't move!" I yelled.

"Well he's gonna have to!" He responded.

"You need to take him back to the theatre," I began, "We have some medical supplies that Ellie took from the hospital."

"No. I just got you back," He refused, "You're not chasing after Ellie again, Charlotte. That's enough."

"I will always chase after Ellie!" I shouted before lowering my tone, "That's why I'm here, Tommy. You have to understand..."

He nodded bitterly and took a few steps back.

"Okay," He muttered, "You get her back to the theatre tonight. We're leaving tomorrow morning, all of us. Am I understood?"

"Yes," I replied, "I'll bring her back."

The sky darkened as dusk approached. The rain still hadn't stopped. I'd become so used to being drenched that I couldn't remember what it felt like to be dry. Still, I continued to press through the city, covering as much ground as possible without having to swim down the streets. No wonder the place was so flooded.

As I approached the large white wheel, I surveyed the area for the aquarium. I knew I was close, I could remember seeing it on the map. The wheel was huge, I couldn't understand how people used to ride them for fun. I thought about how the city must look from so high up, how small it all must look. I imagined when it was all lit up, it probably looked quite magical.

The large sign for the aquarium was soon within sight. However, the place looked abandoned and uninhabited. There were no lights on, no indication that anybody had been anywhere near it anytime recently. The building itself was hardly Fort Knox. I used an old cable to scale the building, dropping through a smashed window and grunting as I hit the ground with a thud.

I pulled my gun from its holster, holding it in front of me as I began to scour the building. The inside was no more indicative of any presence aside from my own. Still, I continued to move. As I searched through a few more rooms, I began to see a couple more signs that somebody had been around recently. A sleeping bag, a map and a lantern. I knew I was getting close.

My ears pricked up as I heard a gunshot nearby. I began to run through the building, crashing through a set of double doors and gasping once I saw what was in front of me. A couple in a pool of their own blood, a knife still hanging from the neck of the woman as she laid lifeless on the floor.

Ellie was knelt by her side, muttering shakily under her breath as she cried. Then I realised, the woman was pregnant. I clasped my hands over my mouth, my heart sank so low that it was in my stomach. I felt as though I couldn't breathe, my ears rang so loudly that I didn't notice Tommy behind me until he placed his hand on my shoulder.

He raced towards Ellie and grabbed her, leading her out of the room whilst muttering quiet reassurances under his breath, telling her that it'd all be okay, that we were going home now.

I inched towards the woman, examining his lifeless body with wide eyes. I pulled Ellie's knife from her throat, tearing my eyes away from her to rejoin Tommy and Ellie on route back to the theatre.