Ellie swore and stumbled back, her hands feeling for the door behind her, her eyes refusing to look anywhere but Matt's face. Her lips were dry and her tongue passing feverishly over them did nothing to help. Her vocal chords seemed frozen, and she pawed desperately for the door, finding the latch, and shoving it open just as Matt released a growl of realization and flailed forwards toward her. She slammed the door shut, hearing the dull thud of his body hit the other side, the sluggishness of his body's resistance to the infection taking over his involuntary aggression. Ellie stole a brief moment to catch her breath in the corridor, before the thundering of her heart forced her feet forward and down the stairs, outside into the morning. She broke into a run.
"Joel..." she called, her voice quiet and wavering. "Joel!" It escalated as she ran, and the watch turned, regarding her with shouts of alarm.
"Ellie! What's the matter?" Earl called from the eastern gate, but she ignored him, feet pounding up the steps of the porch, flinging open the screen door and nearly colliding with Tommy, shotgun in his hands.
"Ellie, what's goin' on?"
"Joel – I need Joel," she gasped, her eyes wild.
Tommy gripped her shoulder, searching her face. "What- happened?" he demanded. "Your lip's busted. And where have you been?"
"The heck it matters to you!" she shouted, shoving away and charging through the kitchen. "Joel!" she vociferated.
"Ellie, he ain't here! He went out with early this morning lookin' for you when you didn't come back!"
"I need him! Now!"
"What is going on?" Maria cried, entering the room, her boots half-laced. "Ellie-"
"Matt – he's... I just need Joel," Ellie panted, her throat constricting. "Where is he – just tell me which way he went..."
"Wait – hang on. Matt what?" Maria looked from Tommy to Ellie, then back again.
"Couldn't get a word out of her -"
"Matt's infected." It blurted out before she could stop it. "I don't know how or what or why, but he's like – he's like a runner."
"Runner?" Maria's eyes narrowed.
"What Joel calls them when they've just been – infected." Tears filled her eyes, but she hardly noticed. "I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen, and I wasn't thinking – I just don't get how -"
"Where is he?" Tommy demanded.
"I don't know, you said he went out looking for -"
"Matt, Ellie – where is Matt?"
"I-in his rooms. Where he used to be with his dad – the – uh, offices for the workers or whatever." Her cheeks shone with tears as she pleaded, "Don't go there – please, just lemme go after Joel..."
Maria put a hand on her shoulder and propelled her toward the door. "Take us to Matt."
Tommy was already out the door, raising a hand at the assembled watch and various others. "Go about your business, we're handling it," he said, pushing through, Maria and Ellie on his heels.
"Tell me what he looked like – what he did," Tommy demanded in a low voice once they passed out of earshot, Ellie struggling to keep up with his long stride.
"He just... his eyes. And he didn't talk. And – he was slow – lethargic. And then he jumped for me a little, but I closed the door..."
Tommy exchanged a look with Maria, who nodded. "That's the first stage of infection. Tommy's only ever dealt with clickers out here. Had a bloater once, but that was a long time ago."
"I swear I never meant for this to happen -" Ellie gasped. "I had no idea -"
"What, is this somehow your fault?" Tommy wheeled, and met her eye, his gaze piercing. Ellie took a shaking breath.
"Yeah – how couldn't it be?"
"How can he even get infected here," Maria murmured. "We're safe, we haven't had anyone new in months, how could -"
"I'm immune, but that doesn't mean I don't carry it," Ellie choked. "He – he made me... We were upset with each other, and it was so fast. I was tryin' to help him, so I did what he said, and I -"
"You infected him..." Tommy breathed, shaking his head. "How did I not see this coming."
They had reached the building, and Tommy pulled open the exterior door, mounting the stairs, Maria and Tommy on his heels.
"There are other men that sleep here..." Maria began, but Ellie returned, "I think they've all gotten up already. We... we were really tired and woke up late."
Their footsteps echoed in the passageway as they made their way to the room Ellie indicated and fell into silence, listening for a sound on the other side of the door. Nothing. Ellie lifted a hand and spread her palm against it, pressing an ear there while blowing out a silent breath. Still nothing.
"You sure you left him –" Tommy began, when a noise arrested him mid sentence- the sound of labored breathing, and a slight rattle. Matt stood at the end of the corridor, wandering from the empty office on the end, his head down, a vacant light in his eyes. Ellie clenched her teeth as Maria swore under her breath.
"Make sure there's no one in the building," Tommy said in a low, measured tone. Nodding wordlessly, Ellie turned and made her way quickly back down the stairs, Maria following her, opening each door they passed and seeming satisfied there was no one else within.
At last, Tommy joined them outside, slamming the door and looking around as if searching for something to barricade it shut.
"Is he – did he -" Ellie began.
"He wasn't real aggressive." Tommy met his wife's eyes, then the girl's. "But he is infected."
Ellie let out an anguished sound and buried her face in her hands as Maria pulled her into a fierce hug.
"Ellie, this is not your fault -"
"Of course it's my freakin' fault!" she burst out, gasping for air. "Everything I do turns out wrong, and I knew from the beginning it was all a giant -"
"Ellie!"
Joel's voice sliced through the air as he hurried up, and the girl fled into his arms. "You alright? Tommy-" He met his brother's eyes. "What in the name of -"
"We have a situation," Tommy began, taking a deep breath.
Maria looked away. Joel stood with Ellie still wrapped in his arms and looked from one to the other. "What kind of situation?" he bit out, his voice terse. He shook the girl ever so slightly. "Don't you go runnin' off like that again, you hear me?" His thumb brushed haphazardly at the dried blood streaking her lip. "And where's the boy?"
Tommy looked out of the tops of his eyes. "Joel – they were here. They were both here. And Ellie says that Matt's infected."
His grip relaxed involuntarily, and she looked up at him. "Joel, I had no idea -"
"He's what?" Joel's voice went nearly silent with incredulity.
Maria took a deep breath, putting her hands on her hips, saying in a quiet voice, "Apparently even though Ellie never succumbed to the infection, she carries it."
"Right, we knew that, go on," Joel hissed.
"And she can pass it on. She infected Matt."
"I'm – so sorry..." Ellie stammered, and Joel stepped back from her, meeting her eyes with some unnameable emotion painted there.
"Is this true?"
"This morning he – he just... he's like a runner now," she sniffed. "And I had no idea, I didn't mean -"
"We keep this quiet," Joel uttered, stabbing a finger toward the ground. "Until we can figure out what to do. Where is he?"
Tommy jerked his head toward the building, and Joel's face relaxed ever so slightly. "Is it secure?"
"We're going to have to make it secure."
"We can't just leave him locked up in there – what if... He's gonna turn more, Joel – what're we -" Ellie stopped short as Tommy gave her a warning look.
"Maria – take Ellie back outta here," Joel said in a hard tone.
"No," she whispered. "I wanna hear what you're going to do. I want to do it too."
"Haven't you done enough?" Joel barked. He regretted the words the moment they were out. Pain flashed across Ellie's face like lightning in the summer sky, and she was too shocked to even curse. She struck off back across the compound, and Maria followed wordlessly, after giving an eloquent look to the men that translated to something like, don't make this any worse.