Chapter 3: Burial

Ellie walked out of her room, a new shirt on and the purple one under her arm. She half closed, half slammed the door shut and walked down the hall. The teenager didn't bother waving hello to anyone, and the people who waved to her dismissed her attitude. Everyone here got angry once in a while, because everyone had something to be angry about. Ellie opened up the main doors and stepped back out into the courtyard, passing the horse stable and moving to the main gate.

Everyone at dinner had clapped her on the back for catching such a good deer. Ellie couldn't disagree more. The taste of the venison felt like bile in her mouth, and she was wiping a piece of it off of her jeans as she approached the gate.

"Hey Jim" Ellie addressed the man at the gate. "Open it up." She commanded and gestured toward the large steel door.

"Sorry Ellie" Jim said as he shouldered his rifle. "Way too late, it's too dark to go out right now"

"Will you just do this for me?" Ellie pleaded "I'm only stepping right outside."

Jim stepped back and thought "Should I get Joel to come over here?" he asked the man next to him, Jack.

NO! Ellie's mind screamed as she said "Don't fuck with me Jim, I'm just digging a hole and burning some useless shit."

"Why don't you just put it in the bonfire?" Jack questioned.

Because Joel might be over there "It's private, really, it'll only take a second, kay?"

"Alright" Jim said as he and Jack walked over to the gates. They took out the steel bar and swung the doors open. The metal creaked and shuttered as they opened, leaving the gate open to the outside world. "ONE GOING OUT" Jim yelled as Ellie walked through the walls. "For a second" He added

"Thanks" She nodded at Jim as the gates closed back up.

Ellie walked a short distance, making sure that the man in the watchtower could still see her. She set the purple shirt down on the dirt and started digging. The teen pushed her hands into the soft mud and pulled it out, making a small pile. Her hands were caked by the time she was halfway done. She pulled the shirt up and thought. I never thought Joel would freak out so badly. I would have never worn this. Maybe it's better off that I get rid of it. Ellie took out her emergency book of matches and tore one out. She peeled off the wax coating on the match. They had been dipped in the wax to be waterproof. Ellie struck the box and the match ignited, sending small bits of smoke into the air. She brought the tip of the flame to the shirt's collar and watched as the cotton went up in flames fast.

Ellie threw the blouse into the small hole. She watched as the flames ate the memories away. Fire cleanses she chuckled to herself as a tear escaped her eye. The fire trailed up the shirt, making it bend over itself and burn to ashes. We never did get to bury Tess Ellie thought as she pushed the dirt pile back into the hole, putting out the fire and leaving nothing. Maybe I should mark the grave. No, there's no point in leaving a gravestone for a shirt. I didn't know Tess nearly as long as Joel did. But she was a friend right? She liked me, right? She was willing to sacrifice herself for me. But was that just because she had already been bitten or because she really cared? Ellie was often unsure about what people thought of her. Joel had once told her to not care about what others thought about you, and that if they can't like you for who you are, then there's no point in trying to make them like you.

She started to get up when she heard a scream from the watchtower.

"ELLIE!" The rifleman yelled. The teenager was about to turn around when a hand caught her. "FUCK!" Ellie shouted as the hand continued to grab. Ellie threw her hands behind her, hitting flesh. The telltale moans and screams coming from her attacker told her that it wasn't a bandit. Thankfully, there wasn't any clicking coming from the assaulter either. It was a runner. A runner had its infected hands on her.

Ellie couldn't be infected, but that didn't mean she couldn't be devoured or eaten alive. She could die from blood loss too. Ellie tried to reach for her gun when the infected body snatched her by the hair. She felt bits and strands of hair being ripped out of her head as the runner pulled and pulled, all the while trying to sink its jaws into Ellie's neck.

"JACK" Ellie heard Jim yell "SHOOT YOU IDIOT!"

"I CAN'T, I MIGHT HIT HER!" Jack screamed back as his flashlight focused on Ellie. The young woman struggled to move out of the way, her brown locks being ripped from her scalp. She reached around for something, anything. Ellie found the runner's shoulder and pushed hard. She could feel the soft, rotten, almost dead flesh as she tried to move. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME" She yelled as if it could help. Ellie finally managed to face the runner, getting its hands off of her hair. The used-to-be human snapped its yellow teeth and saliva hit Ellie's face. The disgusting creature's eyeballs seemed to be coming out of its sockets.

Ellie, using her left hand to move the monster back, pulled the closest thing out of her pocket, her knife. With the ordinary and routine flourish, she opened the blade. Its steel reflected off of Jack's flashlight as Ellie plunged the knife into the runner's gut. The runner doubled over and let out what sounded like a scream as Ellie took two paces away. The teen reached for her 9mm, fumbling and trying to take steps on the uneven earth. The runner was coming back! Its claw like hands reached for her again. Ellie tried to run, tried to put one foot in front of the other. An unseen tree root caused her to fall to the ground, she moaned in pain after landing on a jagged rock. The gun flew from her hand and landed about five feet away from her hands. The runner made a dive once more, and Ellie found herself scrambling for her gun. She crawled through the dirt quickly as the runner jumped. Ellie grabbed her gun and pulled the trigger with fear in her heart.

Click

Nothing, no gunshot. "WHAT THE FUCK!" She yelled as she closed her eyes. Is this it? She questioned her survival as the runner leapt atop her and had her by the shirt. The beast's hand grabbed her shoulder and reached down, ready to eat, to feast, and to bite her. To rip her throat open and let the blood and guts pour out of her. Ellie screamed and pouted "NO" she yelled and punched, squirming, begging for another few minutes of life.


Short chapter with a major cliffhanger (Just what Ellie hates)

Just in case your wondering about any of these things:

The year is 2035

Joel is 48

Ellie is almost 16

Tommy is about 42

Maria is around the same age as Tommy maybe a little younger

Much of this story will be emotional story based stuff, but you will see plenty of blood by the time I'm done. By the time I'm done, I don't know yet, this story could be ten to fifty chapters long. If anyone has any suggestions for my story please don't hesitate to private message me. Please review and let me know what you think.

The next chapter should be up either tonight (6/19) or tomorrow.