This story is set when Ellie is about 18-19 years old.
Enjoy!
Each quick, ferocious pound down with the machete brought only more blood to her face. Each grunt as her arms came swinging down, and sweat dripping from her forehead without any help from the fire burning near.
She can taste the burnt ash in her mouth and smell the coldness of snow through her cut up nose.
That's strange..
Usually by now, Joel would come running in, scoop her up and tell her it'll be okay..
That's usually what happens in this dream. This dream that she's had far too many times throughout her life.
Her arms growing feeble, the slashes slow to a stop until the machete stays put in what used to be this mans skull.
She remains atop him, quaking with adrenalin, inhaling deep puffs of hot air into her trembling lungs.
She stops for a moment and looks to her left.
Where is he?
She slides off the lifeless body lazily and sits by his side. She idles for a moment, wondering if this nightmare will ever actually end.
He's dead now.. Who cares?
Sparks fly as a part of the roof crumbles right beside her. She doesn't care. Whether this is a dream, or real life, she couldn't care less if she died right now.
As the inferno sparks, she catches something reflecting nearby. She inches closer to the corpse to see a watch.
A broken watch.
She glances upon what used to be his skull, and though it's covered in now drying blood, she knows it's definitely not David's. It's Joel's.
What happens next is beyond her comprehension; she doesn't shed a single tear, doesn't scream with remorse. She shakily got up.
And left.
No emotion within her.
Not a care in the world.
If anything; she thinks she has done herself a favour.
She awoke as vivacious as ever.
No tears or heavy breathing. She was fine with what just happened.
That's what scared her the most.
She walked out onto her creaky porch as her squalid army boots scraped across, them still distraught on why she was feeling so emotionless and cold-blooded.
She found Joel, as always, sitting in the bench strumming away at his guitar.
The nippy Autumn air bringing shivers to her arms sending her hands into her jacket pockets, closing the front door behind her.
"Mornin'.", Joel mumbles, concentrating on remembering the chords to some ridiculous song he learnt years ago.
"Morning..", Ellie replied with a deep hearted yawn, steam escaping her lips, bringing her shoulders closer up to her neck so the softness of her scarf will bring some sort of warmth to her.
"Gettin' cold, huh?" Joel tried so hard these days to strike a conversation with Ellie, but her hatred had only grown as each year had passed on in this god forsaken dam.
"Winter's a'comin." He adds, tuning his guitar, further.
"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock."
Who ever Sherlock was..
She swept a finger under her nose as she sniffed and took a seat beside Joel, but with enough distance for her to be in her own mind.
Oh, how she loved just wondering off into her own world. It's the only sane thing that makes her pass the time happily, since she never had time to do that before coming here..
"Sleep well?" he asks.
"Yeah. Fine." She watches the foggy breaths leave her mouth with every exhale.
"Hey guys! Did you hear the news?" Ryan called, puffing. He slowed down from his run and rested himself of the porch fence
Ryan and Ellie became friends since she first started living here. 5 years of growing up together. And since they were the same age, they enjoyed irritating each other in any way possible, and making each other laugh until their stomachs ached. While there were phases with romantic feelings toward each other, they were never "an item", but they always looked out for each other, and Ryan cared about Ellie more than she even knew. He was undeniably sweet.. And let's put it out there; he was incredibly attractive.
"No? What's going on?" asked Joel, lowering the string instrument to his side.
"Tommy and the crew came back from their hunting trip!"
Ellie head lifted, a smile itching at her face.
"He is?" At this point, she was more excited than Joel.
"Well c'mon, old man!" Ellie called now beside Ryan.
Tommy had become like a real uncle to Ellie. Along with Maria, she felt like she could tell all her secrets and feelings to them, and they could keep it, and even give her advice.
As they began walking to the back entrance fence, Ryan put an arm around Ellie. And Joel walking behind, keeping a close eye on him.
"So buddy, oh buddy, oh pal! Why were you lookin' so glum before I came running?" He asks, I giant smirk on his face.
"Oh, I cheered up when you came along.." Ellie responded sarcastically.
"Oh, har har.." He remarked, removing his arm from her, but keeping a weary eye on her.
"But seriously.. What's the matter?"
"Just had a.. weird dream."
"Wanna talk abou-"
"Nope." She cut off, and started power walking to the fence.
The town had started to gather to greet the men and women who had finally come back from their trip.
"Uncle Tommy!" Ellie called, jogging up to Tommy with rifle slung across his shoulder who had just reunited with Maria.
"Hey there, sweetheart." He called, pulling Ellie in for a hug.
"Gone for three weeks with no contact. Thought you were dead." She muffled into his shoulder.
"What? I actually scared Ellie Belly?"
She pulled out from the hug and shoved him away.
"Asshole.." She joked, smiling.
While everyone was sharing their stories on what each other had missed, a sudden scream had screeched from the towns centre. Ellie whipped her head, and of course, was the first running.
"Stop crying!"
Ellie had pushed her way to the front of the crowd to see the towns stablesman, Bailey, pointing a gun to a group of kids who are crying and screaming for their parents.
"Ellie, don't do anything stupid.." Warned Ryan, had finally caught up with her; but nontheless, Ellie did something stupid.
She ran up behind Bailey and grabbed the gun which was still firmly gripped in his arms.
Manoeuvring her way in front of the kids, she wrestled the gun so it was pointing to the clouding up sky.
BANG
The kids went away running and screaming to their parents when Bailey had accidentally pulled the trigger.
Unfortunately, Bailey was quiet a large man, especially compared to Ellie, and wrestling with him was useless.
With a grunt, he shoved her down onto the dirt, still pointing the gun to her. His balding head dripping with sweat and an angry expression can't mean anything good.
In her periphery, she can see Joel and Ryan watching in shock.
Ellie raised a hand, using her other to bring herself to her feet.
"Bailey.. Calm down... What's this all about?" Ellie stood, raising both her hands towards Bailey.
"Fuck you, kid! We all know your story!" Everyone became silent, remembering the time when Joel and Tommy had announced Ellie's "condition" to the town, just as a warning to anyone who saw her bite mark; which to be honest was getting uglier and uglier.
"It's your fault!" He belts, his finger dangerously close to the trigger.
"W-what are you talking about?"
With heavy breaths, Bailey lifts his sleeve to reveal a bite mark.
Ellie's face dropped, already feeling the tears welling up. She hadn't seen someone bit in so long, she forgot the overwhelming guilt.
"If you had just done your job, this wouldn't have happened! I snuck out at night and got bit, but you could have helped me!" He screamed.
Ellie felt the tears about to sting her cheeks from his harsh words.
"Don't listen to him, Ellie!" Joel yells, feeling helpless.
"It's all your fault!" And for some reason, she heard it in Henry's voice.
Time seemed to slow down from when Bailey began to lift the gun to his chin..
"No!" She screamed, in an attempt to save him, even though there's no hope for him.
BANG
Ellie recoiled in shock as his body hit the ground.
And in that moment..
She wondered
why this scared her
more than her dream..