"It wasn't your fault, Ellie." Dina whispered, looking over at Ellie. Ellie had regained the ability to walk, so she visited Dina for the first time since the accident. It'd been six days, but Dina was still recovering in the hospital, since she'd been trapped in the fire for nearly three minutes. The burns on her skin had begun to recede, but there was still a trauma coating both of the girls.
"I know… it's theirs, and I'm going to make them pay." Ellie growled, looking at the floor. Dina frowned, shaking her head and taking Ellie's hand. "They almost killed us."
"Don't give them another reason to hurt you, Ellie. They're crazy, they'll kill you." Ellie sighed, shaking her head and taking Dina's hand. She sat in a chair next to Dina's bed and held Dina's hand, squeezing it. "Is Jesse going to be here soon?"
"He's with Tommy… Jesse wanted to be there when they get their 'sentencing.'" Ellie gritted her teeth when she thought of what the boys had been faced with… when Tommy told her, she nearly screamed at him. She knew it was because of their class. Their families were rich, and respected amongst the community of Jackson, or… the dislikeable part of the community.
"And?" Dina asked, letting out a small cough. Dina rubbed her hand and frowned when she saw Ellie look down, looking up at Dina with fire in her eyes. "Well?"
"They're getting fucking community service." Ellie mumbled, seeing Dina curse under her breath and sit back in her bed. "It's because they're fucking rich, they think they're better than us." Ellie seethed, squeezing her nails into her own wrists in an attempt to punish herself for not dealing with the boys earlier. "If they come after us again, I'm going to fucking kill them."
"No, don't. They might not get banished but you could, you're right. They don't treat them like us." Dina nodded, looking Ellie right in the eyes and leaning on her own arm to sit up. "If they attack you, don't do anything, just run. I don't want you to get kicked out, I'll miss your dorky jokes too much." Ellie cracked a smile and let out a laugh, looking up at Dina with a small smirk.
"I make no promises, but I'll try." Ellie held her three fingers up, and Dina suddenly took her hand, taking something from her pocket. "For me?" Ellie faked a pleased expression, a giddy smile on her face. Dina took Ellie's wrist and wrapped a bracelet around it. It was leather and clung to Ellie's skin comfortably. A large hand charm was on the bracelet and Ellie met Dina's eyes.
"It's a symbol of protection." Dina explained, rubbing the hand symbol with care and then releasing Ellie's hand, letting her look down to the bracelet. "Those assholes come after you, you run, okay? I don't want you getting into trouble." Ellie nodded, seeing Dina's concern. Still, part of her knew that she didn't agree with Dina's words. If those boys were to come for her, she'd crack their skulls in with joy.
"Okay." Ellie whispered, nodding carefully and looking down at the watch that Joel had gifted her. He'd finally agreed to take her on patrols, and they'd gone right before the fire started, the day before, to be exact. Though, the doctors had told Joel and her now that she'd wouldn't be able to go long distances for a little since her lower body was where the majority of the burns were. It was an absolute miracle she hadn't been consumed by the fire when that debris had fallen on her. It was an absolute miracle Joel got to her in time. "I should go, Joel said I can only go out for an hour."
She'd finally been cleared out of the hospital, but she still spent the majority of the time at home. Joel only permitted her to leave an hour at a time if she was going alone since she wasn't even supposed to be walking with the burns that were still healing on her body and legs. "Okay… if you see Jesse, tell him to bring his game thingy, I still have to finish kicking his ass in it." Ellie snickered and nodding, giving Dina's hand one final squeeze before limping out of the room, taking a sigh when the door closed behind her. A shaky breath escaped her lips and she continued on, heading towards the exit of the hospital. She nodded to the nurse who'd first saved her when she was brought in, and the nurse gave her a warm smile in return.
As Ellie escaped the hospital and walked the path back to her house, she noticed something odd. A strange feeling settling down her spine, almost like a sixth sense. She turned around, feeling as if someone was watching, no, stalking her like prey. Nothing immediately wrong met her eyes, but the movement of the leaves of a nearby tree set off her sense, knowing someone could've disrupted it when hiding behind it. Chill out, Ellie. You're just on edge.
Ellie shook her head, turning back around and continuing down the road. She didn't have any weapons on her beside her mother's switchblade, so she simply quickened her pace, just wanting to be back in the safety of the house.
Once again, another loud clang sounded behind her and she spun around, once again seeing nothing. Finally, Ellie simply ran, knowing that there might have not been anyone, but there was also a good chance that the assholes from earlier were going in for the kill. She looked down at Dina's bracelet, knowing she wasn't in the shape to fight three or four boys with only a knife. Just this once. She ran, taking a deep breath when she made it to the porch of Joel's and her house. She looked back, seeing a pair of eyes tracking her from behind a fence. Her eyes widened and she immediately recognized it as the boy who'd tripped her when she first tried school. She glared at the eyes, but they didn't slink away.
Ellie suddenly opened the door, shutting it behind her and leaning against the door, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Ellie, that you?" Joel called from upstairs, and she yelled back a 'yes,' letting her adrenaline settle down. She wiped her hair back, taking a breath and climbing the steps. Pain still drifted through her body in her legs and arms, so her travel up the steps was slow. He saw Joel looked down at her from the railing on the steps and she waved, quickly taking him into a hug.
"Dina feelin' any better?" He asked with a low tone in his voice, caressing Ellie's cheek. She shrugged, hugging Joel back before separating her from him.
"I dunno… the doctor's said she can be released in a couple of more days." Ellie whispered, grateful Ellie had survived. She would've let herself die, but was thankful it didn't have to come to that. "They fucking got off with community service." Ellie snarled, pacing the hallway and looking up to Joel. "What if they try to attack Jesse, or Dina? I can protect myself, but they're useless in a fist-fight. And what if they attack me? I'll get in trouble for defending myself." Joel shook his head, taking Ellie and pausing her pacing. He looked her in the eyes, framing her chin with his hand.
"Hey… they ain't gonna go anywhere near you. You three stick together, and if they come after you, you defend yourself. You ain't gonna get in trouble for defending yourself." Joel swore, knowing that Tommy and Maria would both vouch for her, as well as Jesse's parents and Dina. If she were to do anything to them, she'd be free… hopefully. Joel prayed that nothing would happen if she were to defend herself, but the unfairness of penalty in Jackson was true. "Okay? You know how to protect yourself. I'm proud of you, kiddo."
Ellie took Joel in a hug, squeezing him hard. Suddenly, a flash of pain ran through her arm where her burns lied and she let out a small hitch of pain, holding it close to her. Joel frowned, unlatching himself from Ellie and bending down, rolling up Ellie's sleeves. There were slight scars where Ellie had been maimed by the flames and he sighed, kissing the skin. "Reckon it's time to take those pills the doctor gave you, anyway." Joel took Ellie's hand, leading her down to the kitchen and taking two bottles of pills from the counter. One was meant to help her breath after all of the smoke she'd inhaled, and the other was meant to reduce her pain. Methylin and Ibuprofen. There wasn't much in the bottles, since they weren't allowed to spare much due to the small quantity the 'hospital' had. "Here ya go, this should help you a little, kiddo."
"These things taste gross." Ellie wrinkled her nose, pressing a glass of water to her lips and gulping both of the pills. She made a face, wiping the water from her mouth and looking back up at Joel.
"I know, but it'll ease the pain a bit." Joel looked down at her sorrily as she nodded, limping towards the couch and laying down, her body tired from all of the walking around after nearly a week of just sitting in bed. "Hey, they started rebuilding the ranch. Tommy put me on it, we used to do work like this before everything. You and your friends should have it back in a few days."
"And those douchebags still get to walk free." Ellie murmured, shutting her eyes. She felt Joel laying a blanket over her and she looked up, seeing him bending next to her, wiping a strand of hair behind her ear. She released her hair from its ponytail, preparing to take a nap. She quickly fell asleep, leaving Joel watching over her.
He escaped the house, taking a sigh and heading over to the mess that was the ranch. They'd already cleared out all of the debris and finished building a frame for the new ranch with metal framing this time. Tommy had managed to find metal frames and supports at the dam in a supply room. So, it'd be harder to burn the ranch down once again. Now, they were filling in the frames with wood to create walls. It smelled of fresh -yet, burnt- wood. Black charred grass stood beneath the men's feet as they began to work.
Almost two hours later, it resembled a building, though it was stripped of its characteristics. Paint had begun to be splattered across the now wooden walls and a door was being fastened onto the front. Pens had been constructed inside the building and the horses had begun to be transferred back to the ranch now that it was almost finished. They'd been working on it for more than a week, and since it wasn't such a big building, it was able to be constructed rather quickly. Meanwhile, Ellie awoke from her slumber back at her house.
She awoke from a sound upstairs, a subtle swoosh. It sounded like a window closing. Ellie slowly sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Joel? That you?" She yelled through the house, receiving no response. "Hey, Joel?" She asked again, but once again, was met with silence. She shrugged it off, stripping the blanket from her and slowly standing. Pins and needles traveled across her body as she suddenly stood. Weary tire wore her down and she made her way towards the steps, hearing another bump. It almost sounded like a footstep. "... Joel?" Ellie asked, growing suspicious. She took her mother's knife from her jeans, unsheathing the blade. "Hello?"
Yet another footstep sounded from the upstairs and she looked back down to the door, debating to get Joel or Tommy, or maybe Jesse. Hello? Is someone here? She thought in the back of her mind, there was a possibility the boys who had set the fire had come to finish the job. She wrapped her fingers around her knife, looking up the stairs. "Joel, if that's you, fucking respond!" She yelled up and still, there was silence. A chill ran over her when she heard yet another footstep. Ellie let out a shaky exhale and felt terror run in her. She silently climbed the steps, looking around when she reached the tops. "Okay? You know how to protect yourself. I'm proud of you, kiddo."
I can do this. I can do this. Ellie thought in pure terror, crossing the room towards her room. A warm breeze was blowing through the room, since the month of Summer had begun to take over. Summer was the season Riley died, and she cringed, thinking of how she'd have to live with that lingering over her for the next three months. She was silent, not wanting to give away where she was, but worry and anxiety was climbing in her rapidly. She wanted to go and run, just as Dina had told her to, but if these were the boys that'd started the fire, -nearly killed Dina, Joel and her- she wanted her revenge. As she walked into her room, she closed the window, turning around, and that was when she felt herself being pushed to the floor-boards, a massive thump sounded when she fell against it.