Author's Note: See that? That's much better. That's a chapter length I can be proud to update this story with. Damian's part with Dustin is a little eh, but I included it anyway because it kind of needed to be there, frustrating to say the least. I feel like I could do better, but I actually spent a couple hours just staring at those four paragraphs, nothing came to me. I'm interested to see what you guys think of the characters development after this chapter, so please feel free to leave a review or shoot me a PM, love to hear from you, even if you absolutely despise it! Where do you think they are going? Do you like how they are going? Let me know! Thank you to those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed, you guys are my freaking heroes! Enjoy the read! -Foxinstrazt
Chapter 11
-Fragility-
Casper, Wyoming
January, 2035
It was becoming far too familiar to Ellie, waking up with a head that felt like it was splitting apart. Unlike the last time, however, this feeling was concentrated on her forehead, as if a wild animal was attempting to crack open her skull to get at the soft bits inside. As her mind processed the damage she had received to her body in the last couple of days, more aches and pains came to the forefront. The first was her back, the muscles protesting as she was dragged back against a wall, left in a sitting position.
Next came her leg, the stab wound left by Ian that throbbed, but something else as well. There was a tugging sensation around her thigh, and a tightening that came a moment later. Something was pulled against the skin where the knife had entered, and the wound flared in response, shocking her dull senses to awareness as she screamed. Her lazy eyelids finally slid open, the first image coming to her being a shock of blonde hair, the girl it belonged to turning swiftly as she was startled.
"Sorry, sorry!" Kayce finished tying off the ends of the bandage, a makeshift dressing made from the bandana Ellie had found for her just after learning of their shared immunity. Her friend's effort to stanch the flow from the hole was successful, but it seemed as if it came later than it should of, as she felt drained and weak from the loss of blood. The girl moved her hands, bloodied as they were from the work, to Ellie's cheeks, meeting her gaze with a worried expression. "I thought you wouldn't ever wake up.. I-I was crying out your name for hours on the way here, then they took you away.."
Smiling against the warm hands, she weakly raised her hands to grasp at her friend, pulling her into a hug, despite the torn muscles that cried out in response. "..Kayce." As the other girl pulled away from the embrace, she caught sight of fresh scrapes along one side of the blonde's face, from above the light brown eyebrow to the line of her jaw, it looked as if a hundred little knifes had cut into the skin. "What happened?"
"You were out a long time, and we've walked for miles.." Her friend chuckled softly, shrugging her shoulders with a resigned sigh. "I sort of pissed off Ian by yelling at you, and he smacked me around when I wouldn't stop trying to wake you up."
"Smacked you around?" Raising a hand, Ellie brushed back the bangs that framed the left side of her friend's face, revealing that it had bloodied the girl quite a bit more than she let on. The cuts were fresh, too, and her movements left a trail of crimson across the raw cheek. "Into what, a tree?" Her hand dropped, trailing down to rest against the bite on Kayce's neck, which was no longer covered by the bandana.
"Kinda, yeah."
As the blue eyes met her's with a defiant expression, Ellie let the issue drop with one final statement. "God, that guy's a fucking asshole."
Kayce smirked for a moment, even letting out a breathy chuckle before her features grew somber. "This is my fault." Her friend leaned back to sit down next to the leg she had been working on, causing Ellie's hand to drop as she examined the guilt etched into the other girl's face.
"What do you mean?
"The only reason we were taken is because I couldn't pull the trigger. Ian was right there, and I.." Kayce wouldn't meet her eyes as she spoke, pretending to study the ceiling of the room they were in instead. "And don't tell me its okay, or that it isn't my fault. Because it isn't okay, and now we're probably gonna die here."
Her friend's breaths were quickening in their pace, as the girl's chest rose and fell at a higher frequency. Ellie leaned forward, ignoring the fire that ignited along her spine as she gripped the collar of Kayce's black shirt with one hand, and brought the other into her uninjured cheek with as much force as she could muster in her weakened state. The slap brought the other girl's attention to her immediately as a hand flew to hold the side she had hit.
Falling back, she pulled the blonde forward as she began to speak, her tone filled with anger at the girl's display of hysteria. "Do you really want to just wait around for Ian to kill us, or do you want to find a way out?" The blow seemed to have done the job she had intended it to do, but she wasn't finished as she pulled the girl in even closer, her voice dropping to a growl. "I'm pretty much useless right now, so you have to do something, got it?"
Giving a nod filled with uncertainty, Kayce blinked a few times before finally lowering her hand. "What do I do?"
"First, where are we?" Ellie released the girl, who nearly collapsed into her before she caught herself, leaning back.
"Some back room of a cabin. They tossed you in while Ian hit me, but we only just barely got to this town. They might move us."
"Okay, are there any guards?" Her friend seemed to keep up with the questions, becoming more formidable as her mind was drawn away from the failure to fire her gun.
"Two men are in the house, last I saw. The rest are clearing the area of Infected."
"Good, this is good." A surge of energy rose up inside Ellie as hope began to manifest. We need to move quick, though. "Look for anything that we could use." She began to examine the room for the first time since she woke up, finding that it was a personal library, the walls lined with shelves that held books of all kinds. A single window was their source of light, the moon outside shining a curtain of pale illumination over a small table seated next to a large, comfortable looking chair.
Kayce rose to check the shelves first, moving between the books at her eye level and tossing some to the ground behind her. "It's just books, there isn't anything here!"
Pointing towards the table, she called to her friend, feeling the pressure of time as her movements cracked the dried blood that adorned her face, courtesy of Ian's pistol whip. "Kayce.. Kayce! Look where I'm pointing, check there."
The blonde girl did as she was told, picking something up off of the surface before she moved back over to Ellie. Held out for her to see, was a wallet, it's cracked leather an old, faded brown. "This, and books. That's what we've got." Her friend dropped down to a sitting position again. "We're screwed."
Taking the wallet from the other girl, she flipped it open, grinning at what she saw inside. "This is all we need." She took the credit card that was tucked away behind an old picture, depicting a man and woman next to one another in the scenic background of a forest. "Do you know how to open a door with one of these?"
"..You can do that?" Kayce's blue eyes widened as she looked between the card and the door.
"A friend taught me how, a long time ago." Reaching out her arm, she beckoned to her friend. "Help me up." Her request was met almost instantly, and she was pulled to her feet but held on one side by the other girl. Despite the support, she felt the blood rush down her right leg, centering on the wound. It felt like someone was smashing a pipe against her with every step, causing her to grit her teeth to prevent another scream from surfacing.
The walk to the door felt like it took hours as she waded through the pain, glaring at the silvery handle as they neared. Swinging her arm from around Kayce's neck, she placed one hand on the doorknob and placed the card in the space between the door and the wall. It took a minute of adjusting the position, but finally the door slid open, a loud click announcing that the lock had given way. Ellie froze, expecting Hunters to come charging down the hallway in front of her at any moment, but none came.
Her friend let out a similar breath of relief to her own as she leaned on the girl once again, the pair beginning to make their way down the hall. The door that led outside was past an opening, where a fire's gleam flickered through to light the corridor they stood in. As they neared, gruff voices reached Ellie's ears. "-saying, Ian shoulda told us the whole plan. I saw Dylan get cut almost in half while we were leaving. We lost a lot of guys for his distraction to get that girl."
"Hey, it worked, didn't it? So shut up about it, if he hears you.. You saw what he did to Gardner when she said we shouldn't go." Placing each foot carefully and biting down on her cheek to silence any whimper from the agony that her leg was putting her through, Ellie moved with the other girl across the opening. Luckily, the Hunters were turned away from them, sitting on a moldy couch in front of the fireplace they had lit.
"Fuck, man, that's what he did to someone he has known for twenty years. Imagine what he is gonna do to that blonde girl." Tossing a glance at her friend, Ellie could see the way her face went white, and not from the strain of taking on most of her weight.
Turning the knob for the door at the end of hall, Kayce opened it slowly, both of the girls cringing as they expected it to make some sound and reveal their position. No sound came, and they stepped into the cold night, with the blonde girl leading the way based on her knowledge of where they were. She steered them toward the treeline that lay some distance away from the cabin they had been held in, their progress quicker than it had been inside as Ellie felt the adrenaline take over, pushing away the pain for a moment and allowing her to move easier.
Just when it seemed like they had made a clean getaway, yells rose up from the building they had been in, crying out as their absence was discovered. Fear returned to obliterate the hope that Ellie had dared to hold for a second, driving her forward with the other girl's help as they stumbled into the dark of the forest. Minutes dragged on where the only sound was her ragged breaths and the yells of the men who pursued them, each injury seeming amplified as her body sought to keep itself from shutting down against the struggle.
She was near passing out when Kayce faltered, the other girl falling to her knees and pulling her down as well. Hitting the ground with a groan, she twisted over onto her back so she could see her friend on all fours next to her, panting for breath. Taking in gulps of air, it was a few moments before she could speak. "Just.. Run."
The girl looked over, her eyes wide in surprise, and her voice pitched higher than usual in fear. "What?"
Summoning what strength she could, Ellie pushed her friend's shoulder in a futile effort to get her moving. "Go, you need to run."
"No! We can still.. We can make it."
"You need to go, now!" Ellie knew that if exhaustion didn't grip her as firmly as it did now, she would be crying. "Tell Joel that.. Just tell him I'm sorry." Without acknowledging the words, Kayce moved to grab her arm and began to pull her up, only to be met with opposition as she fought against her friend's attempts, yelling out into the night air. "God dammit, why won't you just leave?!"
The struggle made both of them fall back, the other girl barely catching herself from falling on top of her, leaving their faces mere inches apart. The warm voice, that had been something Ellie had looked forward to in the past months, came out choked and ragged, sitting on the border of breaking. "You.. You slapped me."
The absurdity of the words made her chuckle, or at least attempt to, as she let a smile touch her lips. "You had it coming." Reaching up, her fingers grazed the light tan of the other girl's uninjured cheek, and this time her voice came out softer than it had in a long time. "Run.. I can't let you die for me."
Blinking down at her, Kayce shook her head again before leaning back and pulling Ellie up with a newfound strength, hauling her to her feet before she could even protest. "I'm not gonna die here, and I'm not going to fucking leave you." The defiance evident in the girl's tone kept her upright as they began to stumble forward once again, her friend's speech broken by a groan. "And I'm not telling Joel a damn thing!"
Hopping to keep her bad leg from stepping often, Ellie kept her eyes forward as she replied. "All because I, ow.. I slapped you?"
"If that keeps you going." They were starting to move even faster than before when the sound of a rifle being cocked reached them, stopping both of them in their tracks.
"Hold it." Ellie slowly turned with the other girl, facing down the barrel held by one of the Hunters who had been guarding the cabin, only a dozen feet away. He wore a grin as he looked away to yell into the woods. "I-!"
A huge shape came flying out from between the trees to the side of them, taking the Hunter down. It wasn't hard to identify the shadow as Damian, the sheer size of the man a defining characteristic from anyone else Ellie had come across. The Hunter was knocked to his knees, and given no time to recover as the large man took a hold of the back of his head, slamming it into the nearby tree to bring a resounding crack to the forest.
With the attacker going limp, Damian turned his attention on them, none of the expected relief showing in his features as he approached them. His dark eyes appraised them, finally settling on her leg, and the bandana that was tied around it. The thought that popped into her head brought a quick glance in Kayce's direction, finding that the girl had turned toward her, attempting to hide the mark from the man. "What happened to your leg? Can you run?"
There was no real concern in his voice, just a rough edge, and in her silence, the blonde girl supporting her answered. "Ian stabbed her."
"Ian?" For the first time since Ellie had laid eyes upon the man, Damian's expression showed something other than anger, his eyes widening in shock.
"Some guy who leads the Scavengers. We have to run, he's fucking crazy!" Kayce moved to turn them back the way they had originally been moving, but they were stopped by a hand that clamped down on her friend's shoulder.
"Where is he?" Anger had returned to the man's features, but this time it was different. To Ellie, Damian had always seemed off, but now she could see he was broken. Where Morgan moved like she was stalking prey, he moved like he knew right where that prey was, and when he caught it, he was going to slaughter it in the most painful way possible. It was a severity in the steps the large man took, how every footfall was taken with savage, violent purpose.
"We need to-"
"Where is he?!" Damian was visibly shaking with rage, screaming at both of the girls, who could do little more than shake their heads. With no answer forthcoming, he turned away from them to move toward the town they had just escaped from. Even as he took the first step, shouts of their discovery rose up, and gunfire began taking chunks from the trees that surrounded them. Ellie watched as the large man stopped, turning with an expression that told her his actions were not what he truly wanted, and moved toward them.
He didn't wait for her approval to sweep her up off of the ground with both hands, bringing a cry of pain as the muscle in her thigh was torn again in the movement. "Fuck! Ow!"
Zac pushed his way off another tree, jumping the small pit between two of the large trunks to retain his speed, moving faster the more shots he heard ring out ahead of them. He could hear the others keeping pace with him, with Joel being the closest behind, following him into the dark of the forest's canopy. Minutes seemed to pass more quickly as the shots stopped, his mind toying with thoughts of a worst case scenario.
Suddenly, the trees parted way to reveal a clearing, and Zac stumbled to a stop before raising his hands, staring down the barrel of a rifle held by Damian. To the side of his friend stood two girls, both looking battered. Kayce was supporting the other girl, the left side of her face a mess of shallow scrapes that looked similar to road rash. Ellie was in worse shape, a heavily bleeding head wound visible just above one of her eyes, and she was favoring her left leg, holding onto his daughter desperately. But, they were alive, which caused him to let out a sigh of relief as the weapon aimed at him lowered, the man holding it walking forward. Wherever you are, Lexi, thank you.
"Zac.. Zac, you aren't going to believe it. These Scavengers, they're led by-" Damian's words were cut off as he looked past him, to the others who had caught up, coming out of the treeline to enter the clearing. The disbelief that registered on the man's face was enough for him to sidestep as Dustin moved forward, standing toe to toe with his father now.
The scene brought a smile to his lips as he moved to care for his own child, walking with Joel to the girls. Ellie was taken off his daughter's hands by her guardian, hoisted up into the man's arms without so much as a word between them, but both looked relieved to see the other. Kayce just met his eyes with a nod as he bent to pull her jacket's collar up around her neck, concealing the bite mark from anyone who might accidentally catch a glimpse of it. "We need to keep running, the Scavengers will still be coming after us." Her tone was hard as she spoke to him, bringing him about to face the others of their group.
"We tied our horses off a couple miles or so back, where the trees were less dense. Let's get a move on, put some distance between us and them." As if to support his point, a rifle shot shattered the quiet of the night, and the bark of a tree near them exploded into splinters from the round. "Move!"
Each step emanated a new wave of agony through Ellie's leg as she bounced in Joel's arms. Gritting her teeth and growling against the pain, she found her eyes closing against her will, as if that would alleviate the hurt. In every glimpse she got of the man holding her, he seemed distant, his eyes tight and focused, the way he usually behaved when a memory had his thoughts in it's grasp. She wasn't left to dwell on it, however, cursing under her breath as the wound tore into her once again.
It wasn't long before it became clear they couldn't continue this pace for much longer, everyone exhausted from their own sprint to meet up in the clearing. Zac stopped them once they had ran down a small hill and into a riverbank, placing his hands on his knees as he panted, tossing a glance at his daughter, who looked ready to drop. Joel was struggling as well, setting her down on a fallen log before he joined her, sitting with a cough as he started to catch his breath.
Stretching out her wounded leg, it seemed to halt it's assault on her after a few moments, fading into a throbbing ache. She experimented with putting some weight on it, hissing as pain shot through her again. Fucking iffy, but I can run if I have to. Ellie looked up as Kayce stumbled over, sliding down next to her and laying back against the log, leaning against her good leg as her chest rose and fell with a heavy effort. It wasn't hard to feel relief at the fact they had gotten away, but her mind silently wondered what the other girl had thought about being told to leave her behind.
Looking up to scan over the rest of the group, she saw Damian, and the man he had warmly embraced back in the clearing, move off together across the river, away from the group and into the trees. "It's his son."
Joel's explanation caused her to nod, even smile for a second at the thought of the two being reunited. The man slid from their seat, pulling the pack from his shoulders and opening it, taking out a roll of cloth that smelled strongly of alcohol. He looked at the bandage already in place, glancing over at the girl on the ground next to her. "Anyone see it?"
Kayce shook her head wearily, tugging the collar of her jacket instead of answering verbally. Nodding, Joel slowly untied the cloth and pulled it away from Ellie's leg, handing the bloodied bandana to the other girl. The cold air touching the wound brought a sharp inhale from her as she felt fresh blood run down the inside of her pants, adding a runny sensation the sticky feeling of what had already dried. The man slowly extended her leg at the knee, studying the stained area on her jeans, the blue fabric now a deep black in the center, and crimson down the side all the way to her shoe. There was a tearing sound as he ripped the pants open, and the flare of agony quickly whipped her into a temper in an instant. "God-fucking-dammit, Joel! Stop messing with it!"
Her yell brought the eyes of the other girl, who had moved from beside her and was now dunking the soiled black cloth of her bandana in the river's waters. Despite her protests, Joel began rolling the cloth he had taken from his pack around the now exposed wound, sighing as he did. "We gotta get you back to Judy, I can't take care of somethin' like this out here with what I got."
Biting her lip, she did her best to remain quiet as he continued wrapping her leg. Her silence must have expressed something to him, because he paused as he neared the end of the roll, looking up at her. Ellie had been able to hold all her thoughts at bay until she met the irises of dark brown, feeling tears well up as she was compelled to tell him why all of this had happened. Why it's my fault. "They were after me for what I did to David." Saying his name brought the feeling of bile creeping up from her stomach, unsettling her in more than a physical sense.
The anger she had expected him to display wasn't there, only concern as he took her hands in his, dropping his work. "Oh baby girl.." Joel looked away after a moment, tearing the cloth around her leg from the rest of the roll and tying it off. Rising, he placed a rough hand against her cheek, and she felt like she could have melted into the familiar callouses and warmth. "You're safe now, I gotcha."
Clutching his hand with one of her own, Ellie leaned into it, savoring the moment before she caught the sound of Zac's voice near the stream's edge. "Hold up, I'll get it for you." She saw the man pull the bandana from Kayce's hands, wringing it out before draping it over the girl's neck and binding it again, even going so far as to adjust it along her neck. The awkward way both of them interacted with each other was strange to her, knowing first hand how warm the girl could be when she opened up, but both parent and child shared a smile. I guess if it works.
The moment of warmth was over quickly, as Morgan slid down the hill and onto the rocks that covered the riverbank, her voice low but urgent. "Scavengers are still on us. They're coming up on both sides of the creek, headed this way."
Zac straightened as she spoke, looking to the man near Ellie with a raised eyebrow. "Fight them off?"
"I'm tired of runnin'." Joel looked at the woman who had just returned from scouting, as she gingerly touched the cut along her cheek that had just begun to heal.
Morgan met the man's gaze, grinning like a wolf as the option was opened. "I'm all for killing these bastards. I'll warn Damian." The woman was gone before she had even finished speaking, sprinting in the direction the two men had gone off in.
Kayce was the one who asked the question that was on Ellie's mind, moving over to the log. "What about us?"
The girl's father seemed to consider what alternatives they had, before he settled on an answer. "You take her and go to the other side, get to the trees and follow the river. Find a place to hide, we'll find you when it's done."
"Bullshit, we can fight." Ellie found herself wishing she had a weapon, her point poorly delivered while sitting on log, injured and unarmed.
Joel shook his head. "Ellie, you can barely stand."
"They're right." Kayce's words brought her eyes to the other girl in surprise, expecting her friend to have her back on this. "You're in no shape to fight."
"Just because you can't, doesn't mean.." Trailing off, she regretted the words as soon as she said them, looking away from the hurt in the sky blue eyes. She resigned herself to her role in this fight, sighing before looking up at the two men who exchanged glances. "I got it, hide." Despite what she had said, the girl next to pulled her to her feet, taking on her weight once again as they moved into the stream to cross it. Awesome fucking job, Ellie.
Joel weaved between the trees as quickly as he could without generating a lot of noise, keeping a tight grip on his hunting rifle. He and Zac had split up as soon as Morgan had returned, spreading out into the forest to ambush the Hunters who approached. The enemy made no effort to conceal their advance, yelling out to their fellows, mostly jokes of how they were going to kill the girls when they found them. The anger that rose up was easily calmed as he took a breath, leaning back against a tree as footsteps neared, returning the rifle to his shoulder as he prepared.
The Hunter that came around the trunk wasn't paying attention, shouting back to one of his friends. "Maybe Ian'll even let you have a turn with the blonde one, huh?" The scrawny, unaware man was no match for his speed or strength as he lunged out from his cover, wrapping an arm around his victim's neck the second the last syllable left his mouth.
With his prey fighting against the grip, Joel only tightened the hold on the neck, cutting off all airflow as he dragged the man back behind the tree he had been hiding by. The legs that kicked futilely into the air slowed before coming to a stop completely, the body going limp as he dropped it onto the forest's floor. Snatching up the bow the man had discarded in the struggle, he took the three arrows left in the quiver as well, sticking two into the open flap of his backpack, and notching the third.
His next target, the man his last victim had been talking too, was laughing as he replied. "Hopefully! 'Pparently the girl's dad killed Lance, and I liked Lance! Would love to get me some revenge for that guy." Stepping between the trees, the Hunter let out a few more snickers for his own joke before turning with a raised eyebrow when he did not hear anyone else laughing along with him. Joel gave him no time to think about it, drawing the arrow back to his ear before letting it fly. It drove itself through the man's chest, throwing him to the ground with an audible thud. The body twitched for a few seconds before lying still, giving one last gurgling sound.
Shots began to echo over the countryside as the fighting began between him and the river, his group engaging the Hunters at last. Joel picked up his pace, sprinting through the trees until he could see Morgan, who fired three shots from her autorevolver into one of the two men charging her. The unscathed one reached her before she could adjust, shoving her back into a tree to disrupt her aim. She ducked under the following punch, sidestepping her assailant while pulling a knife from her thigh. With a reverse grip on the blade, she slammed it into the man's back, hard enough to force the Hunter's body into the tree she had hit.
Joel had just notched another arrow, to cover her while she collected herself, when a wooden two-by-four smashed into his arm. Stumbling from the attack, he turned and deflected the next blow with the wooden shaft of his bow, using his free hand to punch the man in the jaw. His hit had not been anticipated, and the Hunter fell forward. Swinging the bow in his hands like it was a blunt weapon, he brought it down across the man's back, breaking it in two from the force he applied to it.
Still, it did not kill the man. Joel tossed the remnants of the weapon away and picked up a large rock, just as the Hunter was getting to his knees. Smashing it into the side of his attacker's face, he felt the bone shatter beneath the blow, the power behind it splitting open the skin and dropping the man for good. Dropping his improvised weapon, he took a moment to catch his breath, only turning when he heard the sound of thundering footsteps behind him. The full weight of someone slammed into him, bowling him over down the slight incline of the hill. "Come on motherfucker, on your feet and fight!" The gruff voice brought him back around to his senses, rising to his hands and feet to look up at his attacker. The large man before him advanced with a grin, holding an ax in his hands, it's edge gleaming in moonlight.
Joel struggled to recover quickly enough, only to his knees when he saw the weapon raise to deliver it's blow. Zac came sprinting out from the trees to the side of the Hunter, a fist flying right into the man's jaw as the newcomer planted his feet and pivoted, slashing a machete across the attacker's knees to bring him down before driving the blade through the exposed chest. Ripping it out, he then moved to pull Joel up. "You good?"
He shook the arm that had taken the brunt of the attacks, feeling the deep bruises in his muscles. "I'll live. ..Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Zac sheathed his blade across his back with a nod towards the river. "Damian and Dustin need our help, let's go."
Damian smashed his rifle into the Scavenger with enough force that he felt the skull shatter beneath the skin, pounding away with the butt of his weapon until the man stopped resisting. Drawing the revolver he had tucked in his belt, he fired at the next man who was rushing him from the side, emptying all four rounds into his chest to create a sanguine fountain before he tossed the empty pistol away.
His machete was all he had left as he crouched behind the tree he was using as cover, the sound of guns firing dying down to just one, who was peeking his head out from behind a tree across the copse from him and his son. Dustin checked the magazine of a rifle as he watched, slamming it back in before leaning out, taking careful aim before firing, bringing another scream as he hit the man, taking him down. The screeching grew quiet after a minute of waiting, bringing a grin to Damian's face as he straightened out.
Dustin cried out as he fell, tackled from the side by a Scavenger. Even as he moved to react, Damian saw the man drive a short blade into his son's chest, twisting it before tearing it out. "No!" The man looked up to meet his charge, but was not prepared for the ferocity he brought to bear. He didn't duck away from the slash, instead taking the deep cut along his arm as he deflected it, running the other man through with his machete and pushing him back. Together, they slammed into a tree, the disbelief in the Scavenger's face bringing him a sense of satisfaction as he tore downward with his blade, severing sinew until it ripped free.
Dropping the weapon with a clatter as his opponent fell to the ground, Damian turned and ran to his son's side, attempting to stem the flow of the wound, his mind attempting to reach back to his basic medical training. The lung that had been punctured was already filling with blood, as Dustin coughed out red, his mouth moving as if he was trying to say something. Ragged breaths came from the younger man as his efforts brought about no help, and a hand grabbed his, pulling it away from the wound's entrance. His son met his eyes with a fire behind them, his voice coming out weak and quiet. "There's.. There is something that y-you need to.. Know."
Ellie's breath came out in pained gasps as she hopped with each step, keeping herself from stepping with her wounded leg. The effort made their movements all the harder on Kayce, who bore the brunt of the activity as she tried to get them as far from the fighting as possible. What she had said at the river ensured that they moved in silence, with the other girl not even glancing in her direction once. They were moving along the top of the hill that led down into the riverbank, on the opposite side of where they had parted with Zac and Joel.
The going was relatively easy, and they were making good progress until someone slammed into them, sending them tumbling down to the creek below. Separated from the other girl, Ellie found herself rolling before she hit the water, her surprise at the freezing liquid causing her to swallow a mouthful before she realized what was happening. Pushing herself up above the surface to cough out what she could, her leg felt like it had been set on fire, despite the temperature dropping throughout her entire body.
Twisting onto her hands and knees, she crawled out of the small stream, still coughing. It was then she became aware of what had collided with them, looking up to see Kayce struggling against an attacker. The blonde girl was being dragged to her feet by her hair by a Hunter with his back turned to Ellie, but she knew who he was the moment she saw the switchblade in his free hand, even before he began spitting words out in anger. "Your father is going to experience your death, the same seat I got to my brother's." Leaning back as he grabbed the girl's throat, Ian called out to the surrounding area. "You hear me Zac? You're gonna fuckin' understand it now!"
Ellie rose to her feet shakily, gripping a rock the size of her fist she had taken from the riverbed. "Hey, fuckface!" Even in her current state, aiming was merely second nature as she threw the projectile at the man holding her friend, falling forward to her knees as she did, her leg refusing to support her. The rock smashed into the back of Ian's head, pitching him forward and causing him to drop the contents of both his hands. Free from her captor, Kayce used her position to punch him as he went down.
The switchblade landed only a few feet away from the scuffle, clattering to the rocks as her friend was pushed back from the Hunter, receiving a savage hit to the stomach for her efforts. Scrambling forward, Ellie shoved all the pain aside to make it to the weapon in time, managing to get to her feet and grab it just as Ian's hand swiped by, missing it by an inch. She didn't waste any time, landing one hand on the man's wrist, and stabbing down into the forearm.
She twisted the blade as much as she could before ripping it out, the man's free hand connecting with her head to force her back. Ian was on her in a moment, a hand around her throat. Dazed from the strike, Ellie brought her hands to grasp at the grip, dropping the knife to the rocks below. The Hunter growled as he dragged her to the creek's edge, using both hands to shove her head beneath the water. The liquid rushed into her nose and mouth, cutting off any chance of getting a breath as she struggled to free herself, her entire body screaming from the toll the fight was taking upon it.
The pressure was suddenly gone, and she shot up from the water, sucking in as much air as she could muster as she looked up to see Kayce on the man's back, her hand on the switchblade buried into his torso. Ian fought to get her off of him, hands tearing at her arms as she ripped the knife out and stabbed again, bringing a howl of agony from his lips as they struggled. The girl repeated the motion, this time bringing the Hunter to his knees before she pushed him down to the ground, not letting up with piercing the body until the last twitch came from it.
A horrified expression replaced the determination in the girl's features as she fell back from what she had done, leaving the blade embedded near the base of his skull, gore covering her hands and clothing as she crawled away. Ellie coughed up the last of the water from her lungs as she watched Kayce begin to wipe her hands on her jeans in a desperate attempt to clean them of the blood. Crawling over, her body protested each movement with a new tearing sensation.
The blue eyes, wide with terror, flicked between the corpse and the crimson smears that were covering her hands. Ellie took those hands, gently cradling them. Her touch brought the other girl's attention onto her, where she saw how the kill was already beginning to haunt the thoughts of her friend. Kayce collapsed into her, with the girl burying her face into her shoulder, shaking as tears began to flow.
She raised a hand to stroke the others back slowly, hardening herself against the pain in her chest that came from the pressure of the embrace. Pressing her lips close to the sobbing girl's ear, Ellie kept her voice to a whisper, repeating the words that had once been said to her. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"
The trek back to the Jackson took a half a day longer than it had to get to Casper, the added weight on the horses slowing them down, in addition the injuries that everyone had sustained. For Zac, the atmosphere had been bittersweet. Kayce rode on his horse, her arms wrapped around his waist to keep her on the back of the animal, saved from a horrible fate at the hands of a man he had personally wronged. But, Dustin's death hung over the group heavily, as Damian had not spoken a single word since they had buried his son, a grave marked only with a large rock, in the middle of a dense forest surrounded by the rotting bodies of the Scavengers they had fought against.
The sounds of hooves colliding with the pavement filled the air as they neared the southern gate of their small town, but he could barely bring himself to continue on, the last of his friend's family ripped from him in a way that would have destroyed Zac on the spot. Somehow, Damian had found a way to carry on, to return with them. It was a strength far greater than he believed anyone could possess.
A man in one of the watch towers above called out to them as they approached, his words lost on Zac as he disappeared from view. Just as they pulled their horses to a stop in front of the gate, it started to slide open, revealing the town within. Home, now, I guess. Kicking his heels into the flank of his mount, it was spurred onward, trailing behind the animal carrying Joel and Ellie, the girl having had a rough couple of days as her injuries could not be tended for properly.
Sliding down from their horses once they were inside, Zac turned to help Kayce down, only to find her already on her feet and walking towards the other girl as Joel helped her down. The man carried Ellie towards Judy's, nodding in greeting to the townspeople who had come to see them return. Morgan met his eye and nodded as her horse was taken from her, moving to follow after his daughter in his stead as he turned to address his grieving friend. "Damian, I-"
The man paid him no heed, even going so far as to push by him when he moved to block his way, and Zac was left watching him walk away. Closing his eyes, he rolled his shoulders to take a tiny sliver of the tension away, his age catching up in more ways than one as his heart ached in a manner long since familiar to him. "Zac." Tommy's voice reached him, but he chose to ignore it, wanting only to find some mundane activity to take his mind from the previous week's events.
"Zac, goddammit, hold up." That stopped him in his tracks as he turned, meeting the man's eyes with a tilted head. "We got a problem."
About the same height as him, with much longer hair, Tommy looked like he had lived through a week almost as hellish as Zac's had been. "What?" His question came out like a barked command, not the tone he had wanted to use with the man who had been kind enough to take him and his people in when they needed it most.
It didn't slow the man though, as he continued with the issue he had brought to him. "Look, we let in the Fireflies after they went and helped us, yeah?"
"Yeah.." Shaking his head, Zac blinked a few times as he sought the point. "What's wrong? Have they been giving you trouble or something?"
"It ain't exactly that.. Their leader, Madison, she told people that she is huntin' an immune girl, and that they are still tryin' to make a cure." The revelation brought him out of his somber state, straight into an angered one. A primal instinct filled his chest, and each breath came more and more forced as he fought for control of his rage. "Now she ain't named you or your girl, but some people have got questions about it all."
Gritting his teeth as he looked past the man, he caught sight of the woman, walking through the park that sat in the middle of the town, causing Zac to growl out his next words. "I'll handle it."
"You ain't gonna kill her, that's not how we do things here. We even took their weapons."
"Not planning to, Tommy. But I'm not serving up my daughter on a silver platter, we need to get to the nurse's house." Stepping past the other man, he began his way toward Madison, each step a rising fight against the anger that sought to control him. After all they had gone through to secure the two girl's safety, she had come along to upset the balance, to draw their survival back into question. He thought back to what Joel had told him, how the surgery needed for a chance at a vaccine would end up killing the girl who underwent it. Not her, not my daughter.
It became clear that the Firefly was heading for the makeshift hospital, flanked by two of her men as she moved onto the sidewalk. He cut across the street to cut her off, slamming his hand against the wall in front of Judy's door, glaring at the smaller woman. Madison wore a smile that was borderline smug, acting as if she was pleasantly surprised to see him. "Zac, heard you got back. Was just about to come see you." Looking past him to the door he was blocking, her eyes narrowed. "You aren't inside with your daughter, I heard she was hurt."
"Stay away from Kayce. Do you hear me?" His words, low and filled with the warning of what would come should she fail to heed them, bought only cautious looks from the other two Fireflies.
Madison, to her credit, did not fold under his gaze, only tilting her head so that her black hair was pulled from the shoulder it rested on, the semi-smug smile still plastered on her face. "What do you mean?"
Pushing himself off of the building he had blocked her entrance to, Zac moved closer to her. This time, her guards moved up as well, and he was sure that if they still had their weapons, he would either be dead or incapacitated now. "I know what the vaccine research involves."
The smile was wiped away in an instant, replaced with surprise at his knowledge, she even took a step back, knowing what the argument could head for if she pressed the issue. That's right, I know. "It doesn't change the fact I need her, Zac. Kayce is the only immune girl we could find. There's another, but she's long gone, we don't even have a name. So your girl, is all humanity's got."
Ellie being safe was a good revelation, the first in days, but it was short lived as he shook his head. "No matter what, you aren't taking my daughter."
"Maybe the people of this town should decide if they get their world back, hmm?" Madison moved away from him, her fellow Fireflies following. A few steps away, she turned back, shrugging as if she really did not care one way or the other. "Maybe I should tell Jackson about her, see if they take our side?"
Zac let her take the last word, anything to get her away from the girls inside the house, watching her leave with a hand resting on the grip of the Colt strapped to his thigh. "Maria and I ain't gonna let your girl be sacrificed." Tommy's voice brought a small comfort to him, and a nod.
The door to Judy's home opened, and Joel stepped out, Morgan only a few steps behind him. The man ran a hand through his hair as he looked between Zac and his younger brother. "..What?"
Kayce held onto the hand tightly, watching as the old nurse administered her medical skills to the severe wounds that afflicted her friend. Ellie lay on the bed they used to treat patients, and it looked like the last week had been particularly busy, the frame showing blood spatters that had run down the old wood, not cleaned up in the time since the attack on Jackson. The prone girl's blood soaked jeans had already been cut away, exposing the stab wound, and the caked on gore that had flowed, then dried, again and again as they had traveled. It showed the contrast between the dark red substance and the pale skin of the leg beneath it as it was cleaned away with a wet towel.
The jeans, now in tatters, were a testament to how much had leaked from the wound in the days since, the once-blue material now almost completely red down the right leg. Joel's rudimentary first aid skills had kept infection at bay, but the wound had refused to show even the slightest signs of healing, causing the girl great pain with almost every movement she had taken. Her back, which Kayce had only caught glimpses of since it had been smashed against a building, was a nightmare of bruises that made the ones she had received months ago seem like nothing. Still, Ellie had saved her life, and had fought to get her away from the Scavenger's, despite her body's own desperate situation.
"I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" The words comforted her, as the girl pulled her towards the water's edge, using the liquid to scrub Ian's blood from her hands. There was so much of it, as her own savage fury had left nothing but a mess of the man's body. She could only watch the ripples on the surface of the creek that slowly turned red as it was cleaned from her, shaking as tears begged to be released. Eventually, her eyes found the girl who was helping her, and she found herself lost with the bright green orbs that met her gaze. It was the only comfort she could draw from the situation, that her actions had saved her friend.
"I can sew it up, but we're going to have to check up on it regularly to make sure there isn't any discharge coming from within." Judy's kind voice was soothing enough that Ellie's hand seemed to relax in her own, the scar across the palm scratching lightly against her softer skin. "But you're gonna have a rough go of it, even without an infection. The muscle itself will take a long time to recover." The nod from the girl on the bed was enough to confirm that she had heard everything, and the old nurse pulled up a familiar brown bottle. "Now, this is going to hurt. Will you hold her leg for me?"
Kayce glanced between the woman and her friend before giving an apologetic smile and moving to hold down the injured leg, her hands pressing on the thigh and just above the knee. Judy waited until she was in place to pour the liquid onto the cut. Immediately it began to bubble inside and around the cut, and Ellie kicked against it, pounding her hands down into the mattress as she cried out. "Son of a fucking bitch!"
It was loud enough that Kayce was sure people outside of the makeshift hospital had heard it, bringing a grimace to her face as the nurse moved to fetch the needle and thread. "Colorful vocabulary. Move your hands away now, dear." She did as she was told, returning to the pale hand that was waiting to take her's, gripping it in a firm grasp. In spite of her age, the woman sewed quickly, a dexterity that was impressive. It was over in just a few moments, only three stitches to close the length of where the knife had pierced. A fresh bandage was placed over the cleaned wound, with medical tape along the edges to hold it down.
Judy moved away from the bed for moment, returning with a clean rag and a bowl of water as she began to dab at the gash that lay above Ellie's right eyebrow, clearing away the scab that had formed in the last few days. With a hand against her brow, the old nurse ran more of the liquid from the brown bottle over the cut. The reaction from the girl was much less violent this time, only a squeezing of her fingers around Kayce's hand that left her knuckles white before it was over. Taking up the needle again, the old woman worked to close the gash, stitching closer together than she had with the leg. The first brought a groan from the patient, and her grip tightened again.
"Hey, at least it's only a few stitches. I got tons last time, remember?" Her weak joke brought a small smile to Ellie's lips as the nurse worked, tugging the skin together on the girl's forehead with the thread.
As she worked, even the nurse gave a quiet chuckle. "You might be needing some for your face as well."
Blinking a few times, Kayce shook her head. "I'm fine, they barely even hurt." The lie was obvious, as she could feel the skin past her left eye was grazed and raw enough that even a light breeze made it flare up. But, her arm had taken enough stitches, she was prepared to never receive them again if she could avoid it.
"Hmph, I'm sure." Each knot was tied off quickly, adding up to a total of nine across the entire cut, and with the last one, Judy gave a weary sigh. "That's all I can do. Stay here the night to rest your leg, and get some sleep." The old woman stopped gathering up her supplies to look at each of the girls with a stern gaze. "And I don't want to see either of you in here again. You are both far too young to be this battered."
Ellie outright laughed, grinning the same playful smile she had given Kayce back in the forest, disbelieving that the slap was what held her to the spot. "You should see the other guys."
The levity of the moment was stolen from Kayce, as the thought threw her into her memories. She could still feel the blade plunging into the flesh of the man beneath her, each movement throwing more gore into the air. Her stomach felt like it was hurling it's contents up as fast as it could, causing her to drop the hand she was holding and run out of the room, grabbing the wall to turn down the hall and head for the bathroom. Shoving through the door and bracing herself upon the toilet seat, her body attempted to rid itself of contents that did not exist, resulting in several dry heaves that left her gasping for breath.
The spell ended, leaving the muscles of her midsection feeling like they had been ripped in a million different places. She moved to turn away before the sensation returned, and this time her attempts to position herself over the toilet paid off. Pure bile was thrown up out of her stomach, burning her throat after it's passage as she leaned on the porcelain seat and the metal handle, flushing away the remnants of the episode. Spitting and wiping at her mouth, she turned to wash her hands, starting at the sight of a woman in the doorway.
It was Maria, her left arm in a sling, a bandage wrapped around the arm just above the elbow. "You alright?"
Turning the faucet in order to run her hands under the water, she gave a short nod. "It's passing.. Are you supposed to be up and about?" Shutting off the spout and shaking herself dry, Kayce nodded toward the wounded arm.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine, just came to have Judy redress this." The woman tilted her head as she watched her, before speaking in tone that could only be described as motherly. "If you have a problem, you can talk to me, alright?"
Nodding, Kayce pushed past the other, escaping into the hallway with a half mumbled confirmation. "'Kay." Returning to the room she had run out of, she saw that Judy had gone, leaving only Ellie, who was now propped up on the pillows with the covers pulled up over her bare legs. The girl was holding her ruined jeans, idly running a hand around the ragged hole that had been left by the knife and Joel's efforts, frowning at it.
Her green eyes flitted up when she noticed her enter, filled with concern as she tossed the pants aside. "You okay?" As Kayce went to nod, her head didn't move in the direction she wanted, instead shaking quickly from side to side. Her secret out, she sat on the bed next to her friend, staring at the ground. "Hey now, cheer up. We're alive, right?" The upbeat tone coming from the injured girl made her want to laugh, but all she managed was a grudging half-smile that quickly sunk into a frown.
"You wouldn't be hurt if I had just pulled the trigger." The girl opened her mouth to cut her off, but Kayce wouldn't allow it. "Damian's son would still be alive, and I wouldn't have.. I wouldn't.." She trailed off, unable to even speak the words about what she had done to Ian.
Instead of interrupting her, fingers lightly touched the back of her hand, coaxing her into taking it gently. "Hey, I understand, alright? And I'm sorry for what I said at the river.. It was, well, fucked up." That brought her eyes to meet Ellie's, a raised eyebrow causing the scrapes on her face to twinge for a moment. "It's hard to take a life, even when you have to."
"You don't ever have trouble with it. You just do it. I.. I can't." She looked away again, but was drawn right back to the green orbs.
"I do, every single time. I just push it down, with all the fear that comes with it." Ellie laughed then, one corner of her lips pulling up into a soft smile. "It shouldn't be as easy as it is with me, and I'm kind of impressed that you still have trouble with it, after what you've been through."
Kayce shook her head. You don't understand, Ellie. I hesitate, and bad things happen. I couldn't pull the trigger right away, and I was bitten. I felt sick after killing the Scavengers, and their buddies almost killed me. I couldn't kill Ian, and what he was going to do to you.. "You should get some sleep." She pushed off of the bed, her hand slipping from the other girl's grasp.
Ellie wasn't so easily put off though, scoffing at her attitude. "Psh, I'm barely tired." Looking back with an incredulous expression, she felt her mouth fall open in surprise at the mocking grin on her friend's face. "Go get some cards, and I can teach you a thing or two about how bad you suck at poker."