Song of The Chapter- Skinny Love by Birdy.
Last of Us- Ch. 14
I walk to what I remember as the cafeteria, not exactly sure because I only know where things are at from when I was running. As I walk, I feel the tiny droplets of sweat drip down my forehead and onto my lips, despite the cool air. From anticipation. I hold the gun in my right hand, my grip tightening and loosening nervously, afraid of what I may walk into. I finally find the large room with lines with metal tables and stacks of black, plastic trays. The room is scattered with black and orange tables with the uncomfortable chairs attached to them. I cringe at the memory of having to sit on those. But I quickly remember what I came here for. I wander around the pitch black cafeteria, only lit by the sunlight beaming through the windows. I make my way towards one of the back doorways. Going through, it gets darker than it is where the tables are. I close my eyes, squeezing them shut for a few seconds then opening them again, allowing the room to get slightly brighter than it was before. I place my hand on one of the many cold metal racks, with cans of food on them. If they're not here, where are they? "Four?" I call out, not using his really name around people who he doesn't want to know it. As I go to move my hand to the next rack, hands wrap around my arms and shoulder. Looking behind me, all I find is people who're masked with black hooded sweatshirts, hiding their identity. "Fou-" I try to call out again, but one of them covers my mouth. I struggle against their binds, not able to break free. Three presumably men against me, I'm weak. I'm powerless. I continue to struggle as they drag me towards a door at the back of the room.
As they carry me, I'm still for only a moment as I find Will and Four facing a shelf, with their backs turned towards me and a walker. If I don't do something, they'll die. The walker inches closer to them silently and I begin to panic again. I try to break free. One of them opens the door, and I find that it leads to outside of the gates, which is surrounded by them. I find that my arm is broken free from the restraints, enough to reach into my boot to grab the gun fit snuggly between the leather and my skin. I grab it, and pull the trigger, firing at whatever was there, and I find that it hit one of the masked men in the stomach. I fire again, now focused on the walker which almost has reached Four and Will. It drops too, and I find Four and Will turn and look at it. The last two of the masked men get the gun from my hand, tossing it to the side of the room, then throwing me out the door before Will and Four look up to find me. And before the door closes, I catch a glimpse of the one whom I shot, as his hood fell off when he fell to the ground. Al. I shot him. He tried to kill me, and by the looks of it, he's succeeded. I'm outside, surrounded by them, I have no weapon, and no way to safety.
Looking around me, I find that the other two men are running, now just specks in the distance. I stand up from my spot on the dusty ground, pushing the clawing walkers off of me. I beat the blue metal due, tightly latched shut. "Four!" I yell as I continue to beat the door, "Four, please!" I continues, as I feel them continue to claw my back. Tears well up in my eyes, because I'm not ready to die. I've gone through too much to die. "Tris!" I hear his voice on the other side of the door, "the doors stuck, it won't open. Just hold on, we're going to find a way" he says to me, his voice cracking between words. "I love you Tris." And then he's gone. I realize that I have to find something, if I want any chance of living. I run, tearing through the crowds of walkers. As I run, I rake my mind for something to save myself. I look around me, and find that the playground of the elementary school is surrounds by a barbed wire fence. I run faster, towards the fence, gathering a heavy fallen tree branch on the way. The grass, tall and wavy after months with no care, almost reaches my knees, causing my feet to falter. I keep telling myself not to look behind me, that is doesn't matter. And I don't, as my mind focuses on saving myself, I trip over the tall grass. I throw my hands out in front of me to catch myself, and I feel as if I'm being stabbed. I sit up onto my knees to find the sharp pain there also. I hear the growling near me, it comes closer, and I know that I have to run. That I have no time to inspect the warm blood that's dripping down my unhealed fingertips. As I make it to the fence, I reach up pulling down a length of loose barb wire, also weak from the lack of up keeping. The barbs stick my hands and arms, and catches my cheek as I pull it down, the wind blowing it in every which direction. The blood drips down my cheek slowly. Slow enough to ignore it.
The branch, my bloody fingers still wrapped around it, I wrap the barbed wire around it. After it's all wrapped, I pull the thing behind my head and swing. I continue, my arms becoming exhausted as blood drips down me. I feel my forehead, wet with sweat and blood, as heats with exhaustion once again. My face and lips become chapped as the wind whips against my skin roughly, the sky gray and cloudy. My eyes glance up, towards the door where I was once at a few hundred meters away. I find that the door swings open, and Will and Four come out. I pull my eyes back towards what I'm doing as a few of the walkers behind me fall at the fault of a gun. I drop my hand made weapon and run. I run to the door, as Will and Four shoot down a path for me, fumbling back inside the door. As I make it, I tumble inside, slamming the door behind me. Nearly falling as I let the tears slide down my cheeks, I'm enveloped by the two men in front of me. My eyes search the room, to find Al, whose body is brought to lean, slouched against the wall. His lifeless eyes staring back into mine, which only brings another loud sob to course through me. I killed him. It remains silent, the only to be heard are the loud sobs coming from my mouth that sound unhumanly. Four and Will's arms still wrapped around me as the tears now form a waterfall down my cheeks. Falling onto their clothes, or skin, or floor. As Al did when I shot him. "I'll carry her, you go get the bags," I hear Will say, as he picks me up, his arms placed gently underneath my bloody and ragged body. His hand, which is placed underneath my head, is brushing the once again blood covered hair out of my face. I keep my eyes now tightly shut, curled into his chest for warmth because I feel as if I'm frozen solid. Dead.
The rest of the walk back to the room is a blur, as I process what's happened. It all happened so fast. I've almost died for probably the hundredth time by now. Four and Will could've died. I killed Al, then stared it his lifeless eyes and cried as if it wasn't my fault. As he carries me back into the room, I'm placed onto the floor, onto stained white towels. I curl into myself, knees tucked between my encircled arms. I hear the whispers from across the room, but I pay no attention. I only listen to the sound of my discreet sobs, the tears still running down my cheeks soundlessly. I feel a hand placed on my shoulder, soft, and I look at it to find the warm coffee colored skin of Christina. "Let's go get you cleaned up," she whispers me. Without a response, I stand, and head out the door, Christina following closely behind me. Watching me walk, trying to come up with a reason for every move I make. As I walk to the bathroom which I was introduced to yesterday. Passing through the blank doorway, I stare at the peeling blue paint, covered with dirt and filth. "What happened?" She asks me. And I stare at her, my face emotionless.
"I killed Al," I tell her. I pondered lying to her, or maybe just telling her that I don't feel like talking about it. Which I don't. But I'd assumed that everyone would find out that I was a murderer eventually. That it's all my fault that he's dead. She stands there probably shocked. I would've thought that Four or Will had told her, or anyone, but I guess not. Her face in astonishment still, I take the extra pair of clothes from her arms before locking myself inside of the large bathroom stall. Leaning my back against the dirty, white, concrete wall, and allow the tears to once again slip down my face one by one as I hear her footsteps slide out of the bathroom. Even she thinks I'm disgusting, nearly as revolted with me as I am. Because I'm the one who put myself in this situation, I don't dare feel bad for myself. I tear myself from the wall, wiping the tears from my face now angrily. Pulling the knob for the water, and gratefully that there still is some. I place under the water, allowing it to wash all of the cuts and metal and blood off. The water, which was once clear, now is filling the sink full of crimson red blood. Splashing the clear, barely running water onto my face. Metaphorically washing this mask off that I've been wearing. The one that forces myself and everyone else to think I'm okay. The mask that makes it look like I'm okay, and not steadily falling apart. I stare at myself in the broken mirror, and I find this pale, skinny girl. Cut up and bruised to no end, with purple rings around her eyes. And a fresh cut going from the temple of her head, down to her jaw. And the other side of her jaw covered with a black and purple bruise.
I tear my eyes from the horrid sight of myself as I fight against my mind on why anyone would want me. Why Four would want me. Pushing any thought from my mind, I continue to rinse my body of the blood and dirt that covers me. By the time I've finished, there's blood covered water everywhere. In the sink, covering the broken mirror, on the floor. And I step in it almost joyfully as it squishes beneath my feet, like mud. I get dressed into what look like the same night clothes as before, the same shorts with a different black t-shirt. Then washing my feet before sliding them back into my boots before they get dirty once again. I stuff my head into the sink, underneath the faucet after the rest of the water has drained, and squeeze and the dirt and blood out of my hair, causing it to be damp again. After rinsing it, I tie the bunch of hair into a knot on the top of my head with the stretched hair band that lies around my wrist. I quickly gather my clothes, rinsing them out in the sink also before leaving. As I unlock the stall door and go out to the main isle with about a dozen sinks, I take one last thoughtless look in the mirror. As I look further, I find something written. By heart begins to pound, and I look around me to find Christina still gone, to be sure that this isn't some joke.
Reading the mirror as it says: 'You have one week to come to the Erudite headquarters in Chicago to save your sister'. My heart pounds heavier as the curiosity bubbles up inside of me as to what they want with me. But then my thought shift to my sister. They've taken Adrian. I rush back to the room worriedly, hoping that all of this is a joke or just an empty threat. I try to relax myself some before I get back, slowing my pace to just walking so I don't look as crazy as they all think I am. Not crazy, a murderer. I make it back, swinging the door open. I look around to find Adrian lying in her bed reading a book, and a sigh of relief courses through me. She's okay, she's here, and she's safe. "Hey Tris, your back," I hear Shauna's voice, as she smiles toward me. No must've told her yet. "This is Peter and Drew, we found them outside of the gates as we were walking around, almost dead" she introduces to me. And I find Peter holding his hand out to me, and something that almost looks like the Cheshire cat grin. Then I recognize him, and a lump forms in my throat as I'm suddenly unable to breath.
A/n- Wow, I guess a lot has happened in this chapter, hm? So that's my version of Tris getting attacked and stuff. So, I guess I left it at kind of a cliff hanger, but you'll find out soon! Thanks for reading, and 10 reviews for an update please! Bye!