Rage

Ellie stretched and let loose a short yawn before clambering out of her bed and changing into her clothes. It'd been a few days since Joel had found her. For some reason, despite that little snippet of her memory, she trusted Joel. It was Tommy she was wary of. She'd let Joel come to her, but she didn't remember much else of the conversation besides some shouting. They'd make it back to the house in one piece though.

She fixed and tightened her ponytail, then loped off down the stairs. It wasn't long before she heard Joel and Tommy arguing for the umpteenth time.

Sidling into the kitchen, ignoring the older men having the same argument they had the day before, she got a piece of bread and a can of peaches before grabbing a bowl and sitting down.

Pouring the peaches into said bowl, she listened to Joel and Tommy.

"She told me she'd bitten someone before, and nothing happened to him. Granted the guy was crazy to begin with, but I doubt she can infect people. She's immune, Tommy," Joel said, the agitation seeping into his every word.

"How do you know for certain, Joel? Think about it. Maybe instead of being immune, she's just not affected by it. Her bite infected another guy," Tommy drawled with an agitated sigh. He sounded tired.

"There's one way to find out. They still got the body?" Joel asked, a scraping sound indicating that he'd stood up roughly from his seat. "Then let's go find out if it really was my baby girl that infected him."

Ellie moved a little so that she could peer into the other room and was surprised to see Joel coming her way.

"I want you to stay here while I go check on something with Tommy. We'll definitely be back by lunch. Maria brought some books over that you might like to read. Keep yourself occupied till I get back, okay?"

Ellie nodded and started eating her peaches again. Didn't he trust her?

-

Joel walked with Tommy in silence, a plethora of thoughts fights for his attention. What is Ellie's immunity was going along with her memory? She had taken a pretty good hit to the head when she'd been rammed into that rock at the river. What would they do? Would Tommy make them leave? He knew one thing for certain. He wasn't leaving Ellie alone. He'd grown quite attached to the spunky, auburn haired teen.

"It's nothin' against either of you, Joel. I've just got a family and a town to think about. As far as I know, Jackson is one-of-a-kind. I wanna build a community here. A life where people don't have to wonder if this night or this meal will be their last. A safe haven from the world outside our walls. If Ellie can pass on the infection, I don't know what we'll do. I don't want to kick you both outta town, but I might have to," Tommy said, his eyes downcast.

"I understand, Tommy," Joel said gruffly, ending the conversation. He wasn't in the mood. Ellie had gotten pissed off when he'd found her, so much so that they'd argued all the way home and hadn't spoken to each other the rest of the evening. The next day, she was her normal self and had been ever since.

Stopping himself from worrying about her recent behavior, he let his mind wonder to Isaac. The guy that had ended up infected. He'd been told that Isaac was one of those fellows that thought he was invincible. Sneaking out of town to mess with Infected was apparently a favorite pass time of the young man. Obviously, Tommy was none the wiser about that little detail. If he was, maybe he wouldn't have been so quick to accuse Ellie.

Nearing the hospital, Joel saw a few people he'd always spotted around town with Isaac. Two burly men, one blond the other with ebony hair, and a young woman with brunette tresses. He knew that Tommy checked a body for bite marks then released it for burial to family, friends, or loved ones. Today must be when Isaac would be released. The three pounced on Tommy as he neared, but Joel ignored them and waited inside the doors for Tommy.

Once they were both inside, Tommy brought them to the hospital's morgue. He had the person in charge of the area pull Isaac's body out. The two were left alone while the guy in charge stepped into the hall.

"Maria said that he had grabbed onto Ellie to try and subdue her, because she ran off. I guess she got freaked out and bit him due to lack of any other kind of weapon. Bit him on the arm, I think. So that's where we'll start," Tommy told him, rolling up the guy's sleeves.

Silence filled the room as both men started looking over every inch of the man's body in the places it was likely to get bitten in. He had two.

"Compare 'em," Joel said, flipping the guy over on his left side and putting his arm nearer his shoulder so both were in Tommy line of sight.

"The one on his shoulder looks worse, but the one there on his arm looks more progressed than Ellie's bite. So I dunno. I'm not sure what caused him to turn, but we need to keep her from biting people. If she infected him, she could do it again."

Joel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that he could sit down with Ellie and talk to her, but he wasn't sure how she'd take the news that Tommy thought she could infect people, and he was going along with it. He felt a headache coming on...

"C'mon. Let's get back to town," Tommy said, getting Isaac ready for the waiting group outside.

Joel headed outside and waited a short way away till he saw his younger brother come out. He's a good leader here. Joel thought to himself.

-

Ellie felt her anger and confusion bubbling over, and she'd tried everything to stop it. Even pacing, cursing, and punching things wasn't helping at all. Focusing on a volume of Savage Starlight hadn't helped, much to her dismay. It was as if there was something prodding and poking her, waiting in the sidelines for her fury to become unbearable.

She was starting to calm down when the door creaked open and Joel and Tommy stepped in.

"Ellie, somethin' wrong?" Joel asked gently, worrying playing across his face.

Ellie didn't hear his question, because her attention was focused solely on Tommy. He believed something impossible. He wanted to throw them out. It wasn't about anything with her at all. He just wanted them out, because he wouldn't have to deal with his older brother anymore. That had to be it. That had to be why he was making excuses and fabricating things. There was no other rational explanation.

She kept her eyes on Tommy, ignoring everything Joel was saying. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as her vision blurred. She could feel herself becoming stronger as the monster inside of her reared its ugly head. It was futile to fight. Now that it had seen its target, it wasn't going to back down and let him get away with everything he was trying to do to them. Her muscles strengthened as the adrenaline tore through them. Her hearing had improved considerably as she could hear people chatting away outside. It was then that she lunged for Tommy, letting loose a feral scream. He had to go. Seconds later, the world went black.

A/N: Shorter than what I'd like it to be, but I'm hoping it'll start picking up here within the next few chapters. Next time we'll see what's up with Ellie. Any kind of review is welcome whether it be criticism, compliments, etc. I'd love to hear you guys' ideas and thoughts on each chapter. Thanks for reading!

~MoonlitxAngel