Don't Go|Ellie x Reader

4|The Way It Was

It's been about a week since Ellie lost her memories. She's got them back now though; it took about 2 days for it to all come back so she's been back to normal for 4 days now. It happened in the weirdest way. She scared the shit out of me when it did come back, it was like nothing had happened since she drowned...

'I was laid on my mattress on the floor staring out of the window at the stars in the night sky. The springs inside of it was stabbing my back but I didn't care. It was peaceful that night, very quiet outside. It was so quiet you could hear the crickets chirping in the bushes. Just as my eyes started to grow heavy and sleep was about to take over, I heard rustling coming from where Ellie was sleeping. I glanced over but noticed nothing unusual, so I continued dozing off to sleep. Suddenly, she sat upright and yelled out whilst doing so, as if she'd woken from a nightmare. She was crying and her yells just came out as chokes. I hurried over to her on my knees and sat in front of her. I placed both my hands on her shoulders and got her to look at me.

"Ellie! Ellie! It's okay, it's okay! You're safe, you're okay," I told her. She began to sob and leaned forwards to put her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her and embraced her to help calm her down. She kept whispering things and I caught only some of what she said.

"I thought I was gonna die... I was drowning... I blacked out..."

I lifted her head slightly and gave her a warm smile and a hug before reassuring her, "You're okay. You didn't drown, we saved you and when you woke up you lost your memory. Is it all back now?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so. Me and Joel came here after the let down with the Fireflies. We went with you and Tommy to clear the river and I fell in trying to pass you the axe..." She mumbled. I was so glad that she remembered what happened. But did she remember what she did 2 days ago?

"Do you remember anything from the 2 days where you had amnesia? Anything at all?" I had to be sure if she did or didn't remember kissing me. It was burning inside me to know.

"N-No, I don't think so..." She looked down, disappointed. I told her not to be, despite me feeling a little disappointed myself. We sat there for a few minutes in silence. She laid back down and asked me to lie with her. I complied and laid behind her, draping my arm over her side to keep her close and safe...'

Today is the supply run day. The day when 3 or 4 lucky people get to leave the camp to go on a run somewhere to gather some supplies and scavenge an area. Normally it's for food, meds, or just general items we need to build or make things. One of our main priorities is fuel for some of our supply run cars and bikes, depending on how much we've used recently. Today is a meds run. I love these kinds of runs the most because they're fairly straight forward and I know what I'm looking for now after spending some time with our camp doctor, Leo. He's taught me almost everything he knows about medicines, types of injuries and how to treat them, what medicine is needed for what, etc. Which means that this makes me the perfect candidate for this run. Tommy stood in the main meeting room and eyed all of us that have volunteered to participate in this run. There was me, Allison, Robert, Jackson, Mitchell, Daniel, Joel, and Ellie all stood in a line waiting to see who Tommy would choose for the run, Maria was with him too.

"Right. We've made our decision on who should go on this run for meds. The location is about 10 miles South and there's a gas station halfway. You can stop off there if you so wish. We hope that it won't take you more than a day, give or take depending on whether you encounter any infected or hunters," Tommy informed us.

"Just remember to stay quiet and be quiet when taking out both types of hostiles. The quieter you are, the more likely you are to not have a shoot up and be split up," Maria told us.

"We've decided that Daniel will lead the team which will include Jackson, F/N and Ellie."

"Bring back those meds safely and we'll finally be able to help some of our wounded back onto their feet. Here's a list of the important stuff we need and some of the stuff that would be nice to have more of but they're not necessities for this run," Maria said as she handed a sheet of paper to Daniel who scanned it quickly before folding it and putting it in his pocket. The others who weren't chosen left; Joel stayed a few extra minutes to talk to Ellie before he left. She seemed nervous and he seemed a little worried, but he didn't show it too much. I gave Ellie a small smile and the 4 of us huddled up. Daniel was the first to speak.

"We leave in 10 minutes. Gear up. Silencers on guns, crossbows and bows are also very welcomed, make sure you've got some small amounts of food and water to last you the trip there and back. Meet at the gate once you're ready," He told us. We all nodded at him and left to prepare. Me and Ellie headed back to the shared house and began to pack our stuff. I packed 2 water bottles and 4 packets of MRE's as well as stocking the makeshift quiver attached to the side of my backpack with 10 arrows I'd recently made.

"So why do you think he chose us for this meds run F/N?" Ellie questioned.

"I have experience with medicine, and I know what is what and how to treat basic wounds. I suppose he chose me to help gather the correct things from the list. I don't know his reason for choosing you. Suppose you and Joel have gotta earn your keep now like all of the rest of us," I shrugged. I was sort of happy she was coming on this run but at the same time I was nervous and worried that she may be a distraction to me. I can't help but look at her and worry about her and want to protect her. I don't know what this is that I feel for her, but it makes her a weakness for me, especially when outside of the walls of camp.

Once Ellie had finished packing her stuff, we made our way down to the main gate to meet the others. Jackson was the last to show up. We got a second briefing from Daniel before we exited out of the gate and started heading South on foot. If the location was more than 20 miles then Tommy would've sent us on horses, bikes or even in cars if there was more of us. A 10-mile walk will take us about 3 hours, give or take. We would add extra time for resting to eat and when we get there we could be there a while, so we'll probably be gone on this run for about 6-8 hours give or take due to any possible complications. If it gets dark we would set up a small camp to rest at and take turns being on watch and then move again in the morning. Hopefully, that isn't the case for this run.

Not long after we left, Ellie decided to start some conversation with me and Jackson, she obviously doesn't know much about him at this point. He's a little older than us, maybe about 19 if I could guess. Most people don't really go by ages anymore, you're either infected or alive.

"So, Jackson, do you read comics?" She asked.

"I used to, before all this. I ain't got much time anymore," He sighed, "I wish I could go back to the way it was and sit and endlessly read all my comics. I had so many," He smiled a little.

"Those sound-like good days my friend," I chuckled, "I wish I could've read as many as you once had." He laughed back in response. Ellie seemed happy at the conversation.

"What were they like back then? I've found a few issues of Savage Starlight on my travels with Joel, you ever read them?" She asked, intrigued by the boy.

"I did. I only read like 5 issues before shit hit the fan. They were promising. Wish I could've read them all. I had superhero comics, comics about space, etc. I had it all..." He looked up at the sky and hummed in contentment. I glanced at Ellie who was fangirling massively. At that moment, I felt something new. I felt like I had been betrayed almost because of Ellie's newfound wonder over Jackson. 'Is this what jealousy feels like? No, why would I be jealous of Ellie liking Jackson? It's not like she loves him or anything... Does she?'