Hello all! Here is chapter four of the updated version of my little fanfic! ^^ I'll have you know that there is no change to this chapter from the original version, however I'd recommend rereading it for the sake of remembrance and understanding!

ALSO, I know that with these chapter's being updated people still have recent reviews on them from how they were before. If you
are interested in reposting a review (as they do not delete with the updates) please, please feel free to post them on chapters
that you haven't posted on yet and simply let me know that you are referring to a different chapter
(not exactly best option but there are more!) or you can send me a PM and let me know what you think along with what chapter you
are speaking about. I would truly appreciate all of the feedback on the updates of the chapters very much so, honestly.
It helps me lots to improve and to inspire me to keep writing more! Thanks as well for hanging in there with me for this revamp.
I am much happier with this story now as I hope you all are as well :)

P.S. Also feel free to email me at aamaterashu (my gmail) with any suggestions, questions, reviews or if you'd simply like to chat!
Thanks lots, keep on reading!


Another blistering hot day in Georgia- not like those were rare. Another one of those days where if you looked into the distance the horizon wavered and practically was identical to that of a barbecue grill top with the fire set to the highest bar. Another one of those days where you had to wince and peel your thighs from plastic and leather seats after sitting for only minutes at a time. Another one of those days where you couldn't even go out into the pool 'cause the sun had almost damn boiled it. Another one of those blistering days that seemed just like any other. Oh, but it was far from another one of those usual blistering days. So far that the day seemed as if it was almost taking place on another god damn planet...

"Ellie!"

The girl's entire body jolted as she sat in the front seat of a dark SUV, startled, as rain slowly began to come down and cover the windshield in tiny droplets all the while the sky began to fade into a dark gray. She had been dozing off when she'd heard his uptight growl from outside, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. Sighing sleepily, she sat up straight and looked around warily, observing the empty leather upholstery that lined the large vehicle and she began to wonder where everyone had went. When she had closed her eyes the seats were packed with military men, all hard-faced and dressed to their best in their naval uniforms, freshly pressed with each of their badges pinned neatly to their chests. She'd only been resting for what couldn't have been more than 20 minutes or so...Where could they have all gone off to so quickly?

Shifting her body so that her legs tucked underneath of her, she rolled down the thick tinted window at her side and stuck her head out to meet the stern gaze of her father; muscles taut and his jaw clenched. He was dressed in his uniform as well; hat, badges, cuffs, everything. He wasn't missing a single piece. Smiling at the stony expression among his face sweetly, pushed her head out further so that her long, blonde hair fell from the SUV and and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "You look nice." She told him softly, voice sincere.

She watched as he faltered for a moment; his eyes softening at the sound of her voice, shoulder's beginning to slouch, a small smile etching the margins of his cheeks. Though, he wouldn't let the sternness leave the atmosphere. Without replying, he came forward and opened the large door, causing her to tuck her small body back into the air-conditioned vehicle to prevent herself from toppling out. "So serious." She whispered in a pouty voice as he held the door open for her to get out, his statue-like stare straightforward and unwavering. He wouldn't even look at her, let alone catch her eye.

Frowning to herself, she began to slide out of the seat, having to dangle her bare feet for a moment or so mid-air due to her petite stature before feeling her toes hit the cooling asphalt. Smoothing out her rumpled white sheer and lace sundress her mother had chosen for her this morning, she planted her flat feet onto the damp ground to help regain her balance.

"Where are your shoes?" Her father asked, austerity practically drowning out the sound of his voice and almost causing her to wince at the sharpness. She looked back over her pale shoulder and searched the SUV's floor with a calm gaze to where she thought they had been before she fell asleep. "They were there when I dozed off..." She said, her voice low and her father exasperatedly ran his hand along his jaw. "I told you to be ready, El. We don't have a lot of time." He growled and leaned into the car to rake his gaze over the inside of the dark vehicle when the walkie talkie hooked to his belt began call out.

"Admiral, we've got a problem." The walkie spoke, the voice on the other end shaky and frightened. She watched from the side as her father's eyes widened to moons, his mandible clenching even tighter than before. She wondered how that was even possible. It already looked as if it was about to pop off if he grew any more rigid than he already was. With wide eyes she watched as her father quickly pulled himself out of the vehicle and just about slammed the door closed, snatching her hand a split second later and then quickly bringing his radio to his face.

"How many infected?" Her father asked as he began to pull her along behind him, practically dragging her. "The entire aerial unit has been locked down. None allowed in or out, no available aircrafts from what I've last heard." The voice responded with the faint sound of panicked screams in the background amidst the speaker's own frantic state. "Our only chance is 'round back the main building- I wouldn't take the chance of going through it." He continued, the sound of a door shutting and locking behind him sounding and the screams became more muffled. "And why is that?" Her father growled and pulled her closer, his grip tightening around the radio in his right fist.

Ellie stopped beside her father as he quickly pulled her behind another stalled car while they made their way through the parking lot. Stumbling slightly as he tucked her behind him and slid out his handgun, she saw what his precautions were for. A man- covered in blood staggering by them, moaning slightly with a severe limp. His eyes were hollow, dark and red around the rims, looking almost as if they were bloodshot. His uniform was torn drastically to the point where only a few badges remained upon his chest and he was missing a shoe. His skin- deathly pale. His mouth- covered in blood. His entire demeanor- completely dead. Gone. Lost.

She knew what he was within an instant and plastered herself closer to her father as he crouched low to the ground, pulling her down with him roughly.

"And why is that?!" Her father hissed into the radio, this time a bit louder, causing both of them to freeze as the battered pale man growled and looked in their direction. He shuffled slightly closer, letting out a frustrated murmur while his dark eyes searched the desolate parking lot for his meal. However, after what felt like hours but could've only been seconds passed he growled and continued to limp further up the puddling asphalt for a different kill, unable to detect where they had gone.

"B-Because..." The panicked voice began, stopping mid-sentence to let out a long, uneven breath into the mic, "We have lost all contact with main base, s-sir." The man finished, just about sobbing the sentence. However, when she looked to her father she did not see him falter one bit. He still had his jaw locked, eyes hard and muscles clenched as if the situation countering them was nothing- even though they both knew it was quite the opposite. Main base and/or the main building held the protection, security and manpower that they needed to get to the CDC unharmed. And without being able to access the infinite armories, vehicles and soldiers inside their chances were quite slim in getting there. In one living piece- that is.

"Alright then. Change of plans." Her father declared, clicking the safety off of his handgun as he stood up and scanned the horizon cautiously before signaling for her to stand up with him, "Send me three others. Tell them to meet me by the back entrance to main base and to come loaded. We're going to push our way through to one of the humvee's parked by the southern watch tower and exit through the gates."

"Sir, the gates are locked and the barricades are set to keep anyone out by now. I don't think you'll be able to leave through the south wing." The man spoke, his voice growing more desperate as he went on. Nonetheless her father's expression remained the same as he pulled her through the parking lot and to the front entrance of the main building where they could now both see had all of the entrances and exits blockaded. He tucked her behind him and cocked his gun, aiming at a dark figure limping in their direction that must have spotted them as they crossed to their current location. "And tell them to bring one of the bottle's of whiskey from the rec room." Her father added, this time a small grin forming across his straight lips once he fired the weapon and the dangerous figure fell to the ground. "Sir? Is this really the time for drinking? I think we'd have a better chance of getting out of here alive with you sober and coherent." The man, this time confused, asked over the walkie, his words thick with confusion.

"That ain't for drinking, Mathers." Her father snickered, "That's for killin' undead bastards." He finished, hanging up his radio and then sliding it back into the holster along his belt.

Ellie eyed her father as he continuously scanned their surroundings for more oncoming danger, even finding herself questioning his ways now. She knew he was a strange man, sometimes unethical, tended to be reckless on the occasion and hell, even sometimes he could be quite arrogant and indignant; always wanting to be the authority and in charge. But if she definitely knew one thing about him it's that he wouldn't be putting the lives of his only child and his own men in danger, especially if he knew the plan was bogus. With this thought she knew she could trust him- knew she could trust his action point and expect to get out of here like she was supposed to: alive.

Letting out a long, steady breath she eyed her father as he turned to face her with his jaw locked again, his eyes reclaiming the stone hard look they had adorned only moments ago. "You stay behind me." He told her, his stern, overbearing gaze locked with hers, "You don't let go of my hand, baby. No matter what happens you don't let go until we get somewhere safe. If something gets too close you yell, you let me know and I'll get it. I won't let nothin' touch you. You got that?" He practically demanded as he fastened her tiny hand into his, keeping his other one tight around the gun's grip. She nodded fiercely in response, her long, dampening blonde waves moving with her head as the rain began to come down harder- just about pouring now.

He nodded back to her before turning his gaze to the front, stealthily maneuvering their bodies to the left corner of the main building. He peered his head around slowly, scanning the wild landscape for any dangers before sliding himself and his daughter around the edge all the while keeping their hands locked so tightly together she was sure he was going to snap her wrist. She knew why he was holding on so tight though. Something she thought was impossible her entire life- something she thought that even in her dreams would never be reality- be the truth. But on this blistering hot day in Georgia, as the rain fell hard on their heads and soaked them all the way through to the skin, she knew it was finally happening. What she was told all her life was unfeasible, impractical, nonviable, unimaginable. Something that she thought wouldn't come true even after pigs started flying and dead people came back to life...

Her father was afraid.

In fact he was mortified- petrified. But who could blame him? He was drowning in this hell with the last thing he probably had left in the world: her. It was the two of them now. All the other had, all they probably would ever have anymore in this lifetime. They didn't know who was alive anymore. They didn't know who wasn't an undead monster trying to eat any living thing that crossed its path anymore. They simply didn't know. The only thing they did know anymore was that they had each other, and that was enough. You only need one person- one person is more than enough.

She stumbled slightly as her father pulled her harder and their pace quickened along the side of the building, her tiny bare feet splashing puddles in the ground when they practically began sprinting towards their desired location where they knew back-up would be awaiting them. Where they knew they wouldn't be alone anymore. Where they could meet salvation almost hand-in-hand. Things would be-

"Daddy!" She shrieked suddenly, plastering herself against the moisture-laden wall of the main base as a growling figure lunged at her from the blinding rain with outstretched arms, more than eager to tear her to shreds. Heart racing and stomach dropping, her eyes widened to moons just in time to watch herself bring up her right leg without even thinking as the reaking creature came at her. She dug her little foot into its gut as it charged for her, holding it at barely arms-length while it desperately tried to make deathly contact with her. She met the crazed, hunger-filled glare of a blood-covered soldier with mortified large brown eyes as it clawed at her, gnawing and thrashing about it as it tried endlessly to get at her, as if nothing in this world would be more satisfying as to sink it's rotting teeth into her flesh and tear her limb from limb and make her a satisfying supper. As if a bullet to the head was nothing as long as he got the smallest taste of her pale flesh. As if nothing mattered but her dying and becoming his. As if her death is all he could have possibly wanted within his entire existence. Her death. The end of her. The end of everything she once was. Everything she ever would be. The savior.

No. Not here. Not today.

Mustering up every bit of strength she could within her tiny body, she thrust it backwards into a growing puddle with a powerful kick and watched as it stumbled slightly, only to quickly recover from the shove and start at her again with an irritated moan. With its arms outstretched, teeth baring, she braced herself for its next attack by clenching her free fist and her jaw much like her father had always done, feeling her muscles tighten with adrenaline when suddenly a gunshot deafeningly ripped through the air and she saw the undead soldier crumple to the ground in a heaping mass. No longer coming for her. No longer able to touch her- to hurt her. He was gone now. His suffering was over.

While the entire world's has just begun.

She looked over to her father, his eyes narrowed to barely-visible slits as he held the gun straight, unwavering after he shot the thing dead- again that is. Unexpectedly, though, he simply asked her if she was alright before continuing to drag her through the pouring rain, not speaking another word while tightening his grip on her hand.

Too close. They both knew. Far too close.

Despite their close run in with the hungry dead moments ago she felt relieved. She was lucky, she knew. Having people so eager to keep her alive- people so loyal. Some people were alone right now as this hell broke loose worldwide. Shaking, trembling, crying, dying...alone. They had no one to hold them or tell them that things would be okay as they bled out or put gun to their heads. No one to look them in eyes and tell them they loved them before the end. No one. Just them and the pain and if they were that unlucky a walker or two. Lord knows walkers make the "best" company...Therefore she was lucky. The luckiest damn person that had ever walked this entire god forsaken earth.

She realized this especially, though, when she and her father reached the back entrance of the main building to find three soldiers standing alert. Each decked out in full-blown green and beige flecked army combat uniforms, all stocked with guns and canvas backpacks filled to the brim with supplies strapped to their backs. They each shot up straight as boards when her father appeared with her, right hand's raised to their eyebrows in salutations.

"As you were." Her father ordered quickly, bringing his daughter to stand in front of him, facing all three of the soldiers who had now settled from their military greetings. "You all see this girl?" He bellowed and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, clenching them tightly while they all nodded and replied with a series of "yes'sirs.", "She is your lifeline from here on out. She is the world's lifeline from here on out. Every breath you take, every step you take, every bullet you fire is for the benefit of her. Her life is your life now. She is the cure." He told them sternly, voice so hard and cold she thought she could practically feel it in his palms against her shoulders, "I know this isn't the first time you all heard of this. I know you were at the briefing yesterday and you know what's going on now and how things are going to turn out. I know that you know all that she is the last one reported still alive on this entire earth. You know this, but I am still required to ask you all: do you understand me, soldiers?"

Her father sounded different. Far different from whenever she had heard him speak to his men before. He'd always been so grueling, so grave, so intense. But in the moments that he spoke his brief speech to the three troops in front of him he sounded worrisome- afraid. As if the words he'd spoke he could barely believe himself and although he meant them, he doubted them. It wasn't the potential of his daughter's ability to save them all from this plague that he doubted, but it was the sheer ability to get her where she needed to be that he doubted. He didn't doubt that his men were disloyal, he just doubted that they'd be able to keep alive all the way to Atlanta due to extremity now of the situation. He doubted himself, he doubted his men, he doubted the the willpower left in this world. And it practically killed him.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Each of the soldiers declared in unison with strong, devoted breaths. But she could see it in them too. She could see it in their eyes through the pouring rain that they are just as irresolute as her father. They were worried, however headstrong. They were hesitant, but sure as hell weren't going to giving in. And this, she knew, would ultimately be each of their downfall. What would truly cause them all to reach their demise.

Showing up to the fight is only half of it, but having faith in yourself and your men is more powerful than any weapon you could bring to the field. Believing you will all live, that you all will surive...that is what assures victory. Because a war where there is doubt is a war where there is loss. Because if you don't believe you can do it you can't.

You will fail. You will fall. You will die.

However, that was the difference between herself and the four men and women of service standing around her. They wanted to live and were willing to fight for it, however they doubted that they could do it. But her? She wanted to live. She was willing to fight for it. She did not doubt that she could do it. And as selfish and arrogant as it sounded, she could do it without them or the help of anyone else if she played her cards right. Her belief and self confidence didn't derive from her strength like theirs did. Nor did it derive from previous experience in the field of ass-kickery. It derived from the fact that she was immune- practically invincible. That all she had to do was not get torn to pieces, even though that may seem like a long stretch in the world they were now living in, she knew it was easier for her while the rest of them had to worry about every little nibble, scratch and drip that they received on their bodies.

However they were all doing this for the same reason as one another: for the sake of humanity.

"100 Yards." She heard one of the men say, his voice oddly enough cheerful, "Easy." Following his gaze through the blinding rain, Ellie was able to make out the faint outline of a large, tank-like truck in the distance beside the watch tower that controlled the gates of the southern exit. It didn't look hard- easy enough especially with a group as competent and able-bodied as her own. However...

"They're starting to group." She observed, her eyes raking along the growing crowds of undead beasts that were beginning to surround them from what seemed like every direction. "They heard the gunshot. They're attracted to sound, especially. 'Least that's the way it seems." The one female soldier put in, her eyes glancing wildly from side to side. She watched as her father nodded silently, his jaw clenched of course, while he gazed at the nearing threats through the pelting storm.

"'Right, then." He began before sliding his hands from his daughter's shoulders, "You have my whiskey I called for?" All four of the others turned to gaze at him with befuddled expressions before finally the large, towering dark-skinned soldier let out a long sigh, "Is that an order, suh?" Her father gave him a smirk before finally taking off his hat, tossing it aside, and he nodded. "Jus' 'cause the world's gone to shit, private, don't mean that my authority still don't stand." The young man gave him a hesitant look before reaching into the female soldier's backpack, thus pulling out a tall glass bottle that read Fireball across it in bold red print.

Her father let out a smug chuckle as the bottle was tossed to him, making an amused face as he read the label. "Ironic." He remarked before turning back to his men and ordering them to hand over one of the bottles of kerosene stocked in the cheerful soldier's pack. She watched as her father suddenly tore part of his poly-cotton sleeve from his right arm before drowning it in the entire bottle of Fireball in his opposite grasp.

"Sir?" The female soldier questioned, eyeing him with a bewildered look on her face. Ellie found herself smiling with admiration as her father poured the kerosene into the now-empty glass bottle with the Fireball-drenched fabric fastened between his teeth. She found it funny that none of the troops figured what her father was doing at the moment. Obviously they should have known the technique- especially when a shy teenage girl certainly did herself- being the battle-hardened men and women they were.

"Molotov." She observed simply, earning an even bigger smirk in her direction from her father. They all gazed at him with wide eyes as he finally tucked the alcohol-soaked cloth into the filled bottled and looked to them, "Anyone have'a light?" He asked, biting at his bottom lip. Ellie watched with amusement as each of the soldier's had paused for a moment, not even registering what her father had asked before they all finally startled a second or two later and began to scramble through one another's packs for some sort of flame to please the admiral.

"Matches, suh." The dark-skinned trooper spoke, tossing her father a small white box. "Thank you kindly." He mumbled and quickly snatched one from the box before turning to them all, "I want all three of you to gather around her, form a blockade with your bodies and hold the formation all the way to the humvee. You go through there guns blazing- fuck the noise. I'm not comfortable leaving my daughter's fate along with the entire world's within the hands of the Swiss, you got that? You don't stop for nothing. You load her into that vehicle and you get to the CDC. Do you all understand me?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Her father's plan was smart- clever. This she had to admit. While they all doubted his ways with his odd quirks and strange maneuvers they knew they could trust him- even if they didn't much so trust themselves. They all believed in this man. This well-decorated naval officer who was simply trying to save the only thing he had left, plus maybe the entire world but what's that compared to a man's only daughter? His plan though, it had a flaw. A large one.

"What about you?" Ellie asked, feeling her heart beginning to sink as her father looked down to her with sorrow-filled eyes. She always found herself meeting those eyes throughout her entire life whenever her father had to go away. She always found herself meeting those eyes when he was going away somewhere- anywhere, at that. She recognized them and knew what they meant: good-bye.

He was always bad at hiding those.

She looked to the ground now at her soaking bare feet, fighting back tears that pushed on the back of her eyes. Feeling the salty sting in them she quickly began to try and fight back the urge to fall to his feet and beg him to stay, to not leave again. Because every time he left he took a part of her with him. Not just now, but always. He'd always been going and coming back, returning her part to her once they were reunited after such forlorn separation. He'd always came back to her. He promised he always would. But on this day she knew that she was discovering yet another long-lived, well-hidden lie about her father that she never thought would come true: he wasn't coming back.

"I'm going to light this," He began, trying to ignore the crestfallen figure of his only child as she fought back tears at his side, "toss it over and distract them with the noise of the explosion along with the flames. I need you all to do your part, I will be right behind you once they're all distracted, I'll get into the watchtower and lift the gates along with the barricades. You don't wait for me, you got that? You go as soon as you see the gates begin to open. You wait for no one once she is in that humvee. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir."

And so the havoc begun with the throwing of a flaming Fireball bottle. It made ear-splitting contact with a pile of oil drums only about 20 yards from where they were at the time, causing the ground-shaking explosion to nearly tackle her to the asphalt as the soldier's formed their way around her in a tightly-locked triangle, guns blazing. They were shouting orders and warnings at other another, ears-ringing, surrounded by fire, rain and blood splattering them all. It was like some kind of Bruce Willis movie- besides all of the reanimated corpses trying to devour them, that is. They had numerous close calls and run-ins with the undead on their 100 yard trek through the military base to their designated location, though. Each soldier practically stepped on her numerous times, almost playing pinball with her petite body between the three of them. The corpses came at them from all directions, trying desperately to get what they could from any of the ones with hearts still beating. From attempting to tear the hard canvas gear from their bodies to gnawing at the helmets upon their heads, they were relentless. Luckily, those still breathing were as well.

Nonetheless, they reached the Humvee in what felt like ground-breaking time strangely, putting aside their tiring adventure across the yard. For the first time this entire day something felt well-paced, the way it should be.

She listened intently for orders as the troops called out fierce orders to one another while the dark-skinned soldier stood with her and loaded the Humvee, covered by the other two. Once the final bag had been tossed into the large back area of the tank-like truck the soldier jumped in and held out his hand to the tiny, soaking girl. "C'mon baby, gotta go." He told her reassuringly, eyes full of fear. However, she found herself unable to take his hand. She knew she should have- no, she knew she had to. But at that moment her father was the only thing on her mind- and quite frankly was nowhere in sight as well. "My dad." She whispered, feeling her heart throb as the female soldier turned to look back at her. "He's in the watchtower." She said, eyes hard, "I saw him go in already."

Liar.

Not only could Ellie read the dishonesty in the trooper's voice, she knew that she would have positively seen him enter the tower. Her eyes had been plastered to the door of the lifeless, dull structure since they'd arrived beside the Humvee. Waiting, pleading for him to burst from the rain-veiled shadows and run to them with a relieved smirk on his face. But for some reason she could feel that he wasn't going to be. She knew that he had fallen with the crowd of walkers now only 20 yards from them. She knew he was gone. She could feel it. But she also knew that he had done his job, and now it was time for Ellie to do hers.

She turned back to the soldier's extended hand and placed her right one into his and he began to pull her up until she felt a sharp pain in her free wrist. It was as if someone had stuck a thousand knives into her and kept repeatedly pulling them out, only to stab them in deeper each time and grind them against her bones. She'd never felt anything like it. So painful, so ravaging, so excruciatingly torturous. That is until she saw what and/or who was causing this pain and she begun to feel a whole new type of agony fill her veins. Letting out a high-pitched shriek, she looked down to see a familiar, however now disfigured, face grappling her arm with ferocious hunger as it buried its teeth into her.

"No!" She cried, so loud that she felt her own voice burning her throat as a bullet met the skull of her attacker. She watched as it crumpled to the ground with an inaudible sound, releasing her arm as it met its final demise. No more life. No more hope. No more him.

But now, there was no physical pain. There were no words either. Sometimes feelings don't translate to words. Sometimes they can only manage to translate to silence. Maybe at times they could change themselves into actions once you broke, but never words. Words couldn't describe the feelings of loss now. Not anymore. Only sweaty palms, and a pounding head, all topped off with a half-filled and half-barren wasteland mindset could truly define who you were once they were gone. Never thinking straight, always lost, maybe once in a while you are somewhat indulged in society, but overall you know that you are squandering amongst an abandoned shell of what you used to be from when they were around. When you no longer have your own personality because they were that personality. When you no longer have control of your emotions and thoughts because they were that control. When you no longer feel or have that pulsating urge that keeps you moving through every single day because they were that pulsating urge. Every single sleepless night that you will now spend crying out in utter silence just hoping that somehow- some way- they would come back and find you and somehow manage to put back together your shattered pieces that'd been scattered since they left. But no- nothing ever turns out so fairy tale, so perfect, so complete. Because while you are begging for them to come back and find you they have already drifted off into their dreams; their sweet, sweet dreams, that not even the darkest and most vile demons could drag them out of. Because they are safe. So safe, so sound, so free now. They wouldn't know how to fix you anyway after the things that you went through after losing them. Because they have never been so low as you. Because they weren't the ones that lost but they were the ones that were lost. They have never fallen so far that there really is no point of return because of the emptiness, but only the sempiternal and savage illumination of your own mind is where you somehow truly feel safe because that is the only place they exist now. Nowhere else feels real besides the places that you imagine in your head because they are always in those places. They are still always there, but not actually here. So then you finally do manage to fall asleep once your exhaustion kicks in. And you drift so silently, oh so softly and sweetly, with such innocence it is toxic, into your own deep world of unconscious nightmares that you wish that you could never wake up from because that is where they roam. Your mind, your head, your dreams- they are the only places they exist now. But deplorably you always do open your eyes. And you are faced with another day of emptiness- the place that they used to fill.

Because this time they weren't coming back.