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TWO KNOCKS TO THE DOOR WERE HEARD and Ellie didn't have to look up to acknowledge who it was. Her hand tugged a threaded needle through irritated flesh to close an opened wound she got from her journey to Hillcrest.
Rue slowly strode into the room while picking at her clothes with her bottom lip pinched between her teeth, waiting to be addressed. Much to her disappointment, it never happened. It was left to her to spark the conversation.
"Need a hand with that?"
Ellie eyed the other woman's messed up sneakers before offering the needle to her, still having yet to say anything.
She flinched when Rue's hands caressed the battered skin on her muscular upper arm. When stitching, she tried her best not to hurt the woman even though she was stoic. She tied a knot and hesitantly reached to break the thread with her teeth, her lips gently brushed her freckled skin then pulled the sleeve of her jean jacket down. And when she tried not to, Ellie couldn't stop studying her face the whole time.
She noticed the bruise on her cheekbone and the cut on her lip. The way her eyes looked sunken like she hadn't slept in years. All the damage on her skin from living in the woods and killing every enemy for the past month. And when she saw how warm Rue's eyes were after cutting the thread, she finally became vocal.
"Why did you come here?" The auburn-haired words came out firmer than intended.
Rue's mouth opened but her words got caught in her throat. Dina walked into the room just in time, and that's when Ellie quickly spun the chair around and turned to the table behind her.
"You, uh, find anything worthwhile?"
Dina sauntered to the table with a radio pushed to the side, five Polaroid pictures of random people, and two blue and red markers that marked areas and places on the Seattle map that hung above it.
"Uh..." Dina cleared her throat after making eye contact with Rue for a split second. "Actually, yeah."
"Abby?"
"No." Dina's tone sounded unfortunate. "This girl," she pointed to one of the Polaroids that had a man named Nick and a woman on it, both giving a thumbs up. "Nora. Her unit was assigned to this hospital. They were collecting supplies or something."
Ellie collected the polaroid in one hand, studying the looks of the dark-skinned woman. She pointed her gaze to the map, finding the Medical Center with all kinds of doodles and words around it— one in red ink labeled NORA.
"This hospital?" Ellie pointed to it.
"Yeah."
She sat the photo down and twisted around without any more explanation, collecting and packing away items for her next quest in her bag.
