A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter and I hope y'all like it!
The group left the town early the next morning after finding someplace safe to spend the night away from all the infected roaming around. They decided to cut through the woods again just in case the fireflies were still on their tail, Ellie taking up the rear while Abby was in the front. Ellie found herself increasingly nervous the closer they got to Pittsburgh. She had no idea if the hunters were still there or if they had moved on elsewhere, but she hoped passing through would be a breeze.
When they exited the woods, Ellie stopped in her tracks. There was a water tower and right in front were two makeshift graves.
"I wonder what happened here." Lev comments, looking at each grave as he stepped closer, Amaria moving to stand alongside him.
"I do," She starts, putting her hands on her stomach to keep the growing nausea at bay as the other three turned to look at her, "their names were Sam and Henry."
"You knew them?" Amaria asks curiously, her blue eyes growing wide.
"Me and Joel had met them in Pittsburgh, and we all escaped together. They were going to join us in Jackson because they were also looking for the fireflies and we had just dealt with hordes of infected and a sniper. When we took refuge in an abandoned house for the night, Sam had been acting moody, but we all thought nothing of it, only to find out he was bitten the next day when he attacked me. Henry killed Sam and then turned the gun on himself." She explains, looking at the two graves as she finally remembered the toy robot, she had stolen for Sam. Ellie knelt in front of the smaller grave and took the robot out of her backpack, setting it against the wooden cross she made from sticks.
"El," Abby starts, only for Ellie to shrug her off.
"Let's just go." She says, getting up and walking in the direction they had been heading.
The other three stared at each other in concern until they followed. Abby could tell that Ellie was bothered by her friend's death, making a note to approach her about it later.
"We should probably find some supplies before continuing on." Abby comments, only earning a shrug in response. She hated when Ellie shut down on her. However, she also couldn't blame her, and she knew Ellie would always see her immunity as something to be guilty of. Ellie picked up the pace, just wanting to get everything over with.
Ellie sighed, trying to push the intrusive thoughts out of her head. Sam was dead because of her and she was supposed to die all those years ago for a cure. Sam's death was in vain. She hated her immunity, and everyone acted as though it was a gift when it was more of a curse.
"We should get to Pittsburgh by late afternoon."
Abby said nothing as they walked across state lines, finally entering the city of Pittsburgh after what seemed like hours.
"Why does it look empty? Where are the hunters?" Lev asks as he and Amaria walked ahead of them.
"Maybe they aren't here anymore. It has been seven years." Amaria says, adjusting her backpack.
Ellie didn't like this one bit. The whole city was too quiet for her liking and she and Abby stayed alert as they walked the abandoned streets. Ellie's head snapped up in attention as she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she saw something in her peripheral vision.
"Get down!" She yelled, grabbing Amaria while Abby grabbed Lev, ducking into a bookstore as a Molotov landed where they had been standing moments before.
"Find them! Now!" A man commanded as four hunters came into view.
Ellie grabbed her revolver while Abby grabbed her hunting pistol and the two got to work dispatching the threat, making sure that Lev and Amaria stayed behind them. One of the hunters threw a smoke bomb, blinding the four of them. Ellie coughed, her green eyes watering as she tried to get her bearings as another hunter tackled her to the ground, wrapping his hands around her throat. Ellie grabbed her switch blade, stabbing the hunter. The man coughed up blood on Ellie before collapsing on top of her, making her groan as she pushed him off when the smoke settled.
"Oh my god, are you okay!?" Abby asked frantically, seeing the blood all over Ellie's shirt.
"Yeah, it's not mine." She says, getting up and rubbing her throat.
"You'd think they wouldn't touch you since you're pregnant." Lev says as they left the bookstore.
"Oh please. They don't care." She says, coughing as she fought to catch her breath, trying to ignore the dizziness.
"Hey, let's find somewhere for you to rest." Abby says, putting an arm around her.
"No where is safe. There's hunters everywhere."
"Well, there's got to be somewhere." She says, catching Abby as she stumbled and picking her up. Ellie just sighed, knowing that resting sounded so good even if it was only a few minutes.
"Lev, go up ahead and see if you can find a building that's clear."
Lev did as he was told, finding a nearby coffee shop with the windows boarded up, tearing one of them away slightly to squeeze through and opening the door when it seemed clear.
"Okay, this one is clear."
Abby brought Ellie in, setting her on the ground, making her groan and set a hand on her stomach.
"You, okay? Do you need anything?"
"I need to not be pregnant anymore. That's what I need."
Abby chuckled, "well you're what? Sixteen weeks? You're almost halfway there."
Ellie nodded, "yeah a little annoyed with this fucker though. My clothes aren't fitting anymore."
Abby chuckled and sat down beside her, "well, once we're out of here, we can see if we can find a clothing store."
Ellie nodded, yawning, and leaning her head against the wall as she slowly drifted off to sleep, the events of the day finally catching up to her.
"Okay, you two watch her. I'm going to see if I can find a way out." Abby says, getting up and grabbing her backpack.
"Be careful." Amaria says, looking up from where she stood by a glass display case.
"I will. I should be back before she wakes up."
Lev and Amaria reluctantly nodded, knowing there was no way of convincing her to stay until Ellie woke up. Abby bid them a quick goodbye as she left the shop, making sure the door was closed behind her.
Ellie awoke over an hour later, now slumped against the wall. Groaning in pain, she stood up, not noticing Abby's absence at first.
"Oh, you're awake." Lev says, trying to hide his panic as he looked at Amaria.
"Yeah, how long was I out?" She asks, rubbing her neck.
"About an hour, maybe two." Amaria says, looking at Lev and then at Ellie.
"Where's Abby?" She asks, looking around as she finally noticed her girlfriend's absence. The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say, "well?"
"She…went out. Trying to find a way out of the city." Lev says reluctantly, leaning against the counter.
"She what!?" She asks, looking between the two to see if this was some prank, her body screaming in protest as she closed the distance. Ellie grabbed her backpack, starting to leave the coffee shop.
"Ellie, no! She wants you to stay here." Amaria says, looking at Lev and then at Ellie.
"I don't care. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into." She says, adjusting her backpack and leaving without another word.
Ellie went left first, wondering where Abby would have gone first. Ellie jogged along the empty streets, taking cover whenever she heard the slightest sound and having to lean against the wall to catch her breath. She didn't know where exactly she was going. All she wanted was to make sure that Abby was safe. Abby didn't have experience with these hunters as much as Ellie did. Abby had always been used to being in the protection of a large group and the closest she's gotten to danger of this level was when she was held hostage by the rattlers.
Ellie's breath hitched in her throat when she heard more talking.
"So, all we have to do is go after those women and those kids?" One hunter asks as they cleared some bodies.
"Yeah, but are you sure we should kill the smaller one? She looks pregnant." One says, he was clearly younger and new to the life since hunters generally didn't care about this stuff.
"So? She's still a tourist."
Ellie rolled her eyes as she waited for the two men to wander off. The last thing she needed was for them to spot her. Ellie was about to step out of the alleyway when a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. Ellie squirmed, feeling pure panic as her heart started beating a mile a minute as she struggled until she recognized the pale hand that was covering her mouth and it was when she calmed down that the person let go.
Turning around, she came face to face with a very ticked off looking Abby.
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review!