Season One Episode 5 Part One
Southern Illinois
After travelling for little while longer they came to a town that seemed quite deserted, There were limited z's and the houses looked intact. Driving down one street they came across a house that had a electric metal fence going around the whole property and it looked secure and after checking it and finding no z's and food in the cupboards they decided to take shelter. They had been there for a few days now and aside from a few wandering zombies everything had been quiet.
It was nice to be in a house again, to be able to relax and not have to worry about someone or something trying to kill you all the time. The house was beautiful and they were like one big happy family but Ellie knew it couldn't last long they'd either run out of food and water or people or zombies would come across them eventually, but it was still nice to have a break.
Addy and Mack were messing around in the garden, Cassandra was asleep on the sofa with 10k in a chair next to her reading a magazine. Warren and Garnett were in the kitchen drinking coffee and Warren was teasing Garnett by calling him honey, as soft music was playing in the background. Doc and Murphy were playing cards at the table with Ellie reading a book at the other end of the table. It made her think about her life before the apocalypse about her mum and dad, her little sister and older brother she didn't even know if they were alive. She was out of town when they outbreak took place.
"I will see your Vicodin" Doc said knocking Ellie out of her train of thought making her look up from her book which she hadn't turned a page for a few minutes to see Doc put a pill in the middle of the table. now they didn't need money or have any they were using drugs to play with. "And raise you one tetracycline".
"Call" Murphy said
"Three of a kind" Doc said putting his cards down to reveal three kings
"Full house" Murphy said smiling and putting his cards down Ellie could see he had two 9's and three ace's. "Aces high"
"Man" Doc sighed "That's five hands in a row. If you're gonna continue to use my deck you need to quit pulling cards out of your ass"
"Oh boo hoo" Murphy said making Ellie smile and Doc scoff
"Hey. Shh" Garnett said from the kitchen interrupting them. "Hold on, he's back on". Looking towards Garnett Ellie could hear citizen Z's voice coming from the radio.
"Friends, I'm talking about mean weather coming in fast. Some reports of tornadoes, Find shelter and take cover, It's dangerous out there. More so than usual. Now back to the soothing sounds of the apocalypse'" He finished before calming music started to play again.
"You know after he was so wrong about that chopper" Murphy said shuffling the cards "Weather man's a pretty good job for that geek" He said making them all chuckle
"Well technically he wasn't wrong" Ellie said still smiling "The chopper was there just no where near operational".
"Yeah and we had a wasted journey" Murphy grumbled. Ellie was about to say something back to Murphy but she was distracted by the sound of the front door opening and closing and looking towards that direction Ellie saw Mack and Addy.
"You're up" Mack said to Garnett smiling
"All good?" He asked Mack referring to the night watch they had just done
"Peaceful night" Addy said
"You're stalker said there' s a storm front coming in" Warren said teasing Addy "How is it out there?"
"Cloudy with a chance of zombie" Addy joked back and Warren smiled
"Ok, you two get some rest" Garnett said
"You got it" Addy said while turning to leave the room with Mack following. Once they left Warren and Garnett left the kitchen and went towards the front door, probably to keep watch so Ellie went back to her book while Doc and Murphy carried on with their card game. Ellie had got through one chapter before she saw movement in the corner of her eye and looking up she could see that 10k had put his magazine down and was heading towards Cassandra. Realizing what he was about to do Ellie smirked a little as she knew how jumpy Cassandra was the school was evident of that when Mack tried and sure enough 10k leaned down for the blanket which had fallen down and started to pull it up to cover Cassandra and she reacted by pulling out a knife and stabbing the blanket making 10k freeze.
"The... Blanket" Ellie heard 10k stammer "I was just... Sorry" And Cassandra's just stared at him before pulling the knife free and lying her head back on the pillow as 10k backed off and sat back down in his chair.
"Scared of that one" Ellie heard Murphy mutter
"Best not to mess" Doc said agreeing with Murphy
"Well you can't blame her for being jumpy" Ellie said turning to look back at the men. "After everything she went through".
"You know If we breed those two" Murhpy said leaning towards Doc to whisper but Ellie could still hear every word. "They could be as good as Ellie and it'd be all over for the zombies". And Both him and Doc started laughing even Ellie smiled a little.
"Why Murphy was that a compliment I heard" Ellie said teasingly
"Yeah yeah, Don't get used to it. It was a moment of weakness" Murphy grumbled but he had a small smile on his face so she knew he wasn't too serious.
"Of course it was" Ellie said standing up from her chair. "You can deny it all you want Murphy but you care about us even if its a little bit and this emotionless exterior you show us isn't fooling anyone. Showing you care about someone isn't a weakness you don't need to hide yourself from us. We've all done things we regret, no ones gonna judge you" Ellie finished smiling softly before she picked up her book and walked to the other armchair to get some shut eye leaving Murphy and Doc to their game.
Grabbing the blanket from the back of the chair Ellie draped it over her shoulders and closed her eyes and it didn't take her long to fall asleep to the relaxing music.
'She was startled out of her sleep by a loud scream and jumping up she saw that 10k and Cassandra were no longer opposite her. She looked up at the table and saw that Doc and Murphy were also gone. Walking into the kitchen to find Warren she found it empty her and Garnett were also gone and the music was no longer playing.
"Where are you guys?" she mumbled to herself before she jumped when she heard a loud bang from above her. Talking out her gun Ellie slowly made her way to the stairs and began to walk up them she checked the bathroom and the bedrooms closest to her and found nothing. So she slowly made her way to the last bedroom right at the back of the house. Getting to the door she slowly turned the handle and opened the door and raising her gun she stepped inside, but she was greeted by an empty room. Walking to the window she looked outside but all she saw was an abandoned street, when she suddenly jumped again when she heard a bang behind her and quickly turning around she gasped out in shock.
"Addy you scared me!" Standing in front of her was Addy but she wasn't moving and she looked like she was in a daze. "Addy are you - Addy!?" She suddenly charged at Ellie snarling, knocking her into the wall she snapped at her neck. Pushing against her Ellie leaned as far back as she could to get away from her mouth, when she was finally able to get a good grasp and push Addy away and she fell to the ground. Ellie took that opportunity to run out of the room and looking back she saw Addy slowly pulling herself up when she suddenly ran into something solid and it knocked her to the ground. Looking up she saw a zombiefied Garnett standing in front of her.
"No!" She sobbed pulling herself up and running into one of the other bedrooms and closing the door. Turning around her eyes widened in fright lying on the floor was a dead Mack and Cassandra with a zombiefied Warren and 10k munching on their bodies and they had just noticed her presence and started to edge towards her. Backing away Ellie made her way to the closed Bathroom door and with her back to it she open the door but her heart froze when she heard snarling coming from behind her. Turning around she saw a zombiefied Doc and Murphy and she quickly backed away from them and went to the window but it wouldn't budge. She was trapped in a room full of her newly turned friends. Turning around she saw that Garnett and Addy and got the door open and Mack and Cassandra were also up and they were all heading towards her, she raised her gun but she couldn't bring herself to fire knowing she was truly alone now. Throwing her gun to the floor she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen, she could smell their rotting flesh and hear their snarls as they got closer until she suddenly felt excruciating pain as they all took a bite out of her and she scream out in agony'
Ellie jumped awake with a start and looking around in panic she was relieved to see that her and everyone else was ok.
"Are you ok?" She heard 10k ask and looking towards him Ellie could see he was looking at her with concern going across his face.
"Im ok" She reassured him "Just a bad dream" She said sitting back as she tried to calm her racing heart.
"I get them too" 10k said quietly "It might help if you talk about it. if you wanted".
"Thanks 10k and I might take you up on that offer just not right now but thank you" she said smiling at him and 10k returned the smile but they were both interrupted by a gunshot sounding out from the garden.
"Puppies and Kittens! Time to go!" Warren shouted as she ran into the room followed closely by Garnett "Everybody out the back!".
Doc and Murphy jumped up from the table and Murphy shoved everything that was on the table into Doc's bag, Ellie grabbed her book as she got up from the chair followed by Cassandra who climbed off the sofa and then 10k who slipped his ammo belt over his head and across his chest and then grabbed his rifle before they all legged it out of the patio doors.
They drove for a little while through the country side until they came to an abandoned car on the side of the road so Warren decided to stop to see if the car had any gas they could have and luckily enough it did. So Doc and Garnett were filling up a gas can while Warren, 10K and Cassandra were keeping watch. Murphy was sat in the drivers seat looking bored and Ellie was sat next to him in the passenger seat while Mack and Addy were sat in the back seat.
"I'm issuing a get your butt in a bunker warning" They heard Citizen Z 's voice across the radio warning them about an oncoming tornado. "Hey, I hope you guys are getting this. Addy and friends. You guys got to seek shelter immediately because this is bad. And... when you seek shelter immediately and after you do that , you need to contact me and tell me where you are. And I'll update you with further instructions ok?. All right, well this is Citizen Z and I'm signing off".
"Well someone sounded like they had one to many" Murphy said turning to look at Ellie a smirk on his face and she let out a chuckle
"I don't blame him.. I mean have you seen the sky" She said pointing to the window at the flashes of lightning and the weird colors. "It wouldn't surprise me if it started raining zombies or something".
"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've seen" Murphy said agreeing with her before he turned to look back at Warren and Garnett who were arguing about whether they should try to outrun the storm or take shelter when he decided he should voice his opinion.
"Okay hang on" He said getting out of the car. " Am I missing something? You did not drag my arse this far so that mankind's hope could get shucked up by a tornado, did you?" And then he just mumbled when he didn't get a response.
"Hey, Addy" Mack said bringing Ellie's attention back in the car and she looked through the rear view mirror to see them. "You know you've been quiet. Just wanted to make sure your're ok"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Addy said not looking Mack in the eye and it didn't sound very convincing "Just... you know... zombies" she said looking back out the window to see Doc walking past towards the bed of the truck to put the gas can in and before anyone could say anything else Doc was back and opening the door before climbing in. At the same time Ellie's door was opened and there stood Garnett so she got out and he climbed in and she went into the bed of the truck and climbed in with 10k and Cassandra and Murphy got in the back with Addy, Mack and Doc so Warren could get into the drivers seat.
Once Ellie was settled and the truck was moving her thoughts went back to Addy and how quiet she had been and she realised that her mood had changed when the storm had got worst so maybe she didn't like thunder. But then why didn't she just say so, why blow it off like it was nothing?. Ellie knew there was more too it and when she could she would try to speak to Addy about it, she hated to see her sad and would do what she could to help.
"Are you ok?" A voice suddenly asked her knocking her out of her thoughts and looking to her left she saw it was Cassandra who had asked her with a look of concern on her face.
"Yeah I'm fine" she assured her with a smile on her face "Just deep in thought, with Murphy around you can never get a word in, never mind some peace to think. The quiet is nice"
"He does like the sound of his voice a bit too much doesn't he" Cassandra said laughing
"He definitely does" Ellie said also laughing and looking towards 10k she could see he also had a smile on his face. It was nice to have a laugh and a joke every now and then it gave them a break from the tragic real life and it made her realize how much you miss something when it's gone and these little moments are something she would never take advantage of.
Garnett's Pov
They drove for a little longer until they came to a stop in front of a sign with two different directions one leading to st Louis and the other castle point.
"Castle point. That's your hometown right?" Garnett said to Warren as he turned to look at her and she just nodded with a conflicted look on her face before she started the car again and turned right towards St Louis, but as they turned they could see the storm getting worst right in front of them and if they kept going they would drive right into its path.
"Woah, look at that storm coming in" Addy said voicing what they were all thinking as Warren pulled the car to a stop again
"Okay, fine you win" Warren said and she didn't sound very happy about it. But she put the truck in reverse and they drove in the opposite direction towards castle point and away from the storm.
They soon game up to a sign saying welcome to Castle point and as she was driving Warren was looking around anxiously, she wasn't happy about being in her home town. She could also feel Garnett's eyes on her and it was getting annoying but when she looked back at him he quickly turned his head trying to pretend that he watching just watching her.
"Welcome home Roberta" He said to her
"So you know this town?" Mack asked her from the back seat as they pulled up in front of a house
"Born and raised here" She replied and then she got out of the car and walked down to a billiton board while Garnett, Mack, Addy and Doc got out of the vehicle to stretch their legs and keep watch. 10K climbed to the top of the truck to also keep watch his rifle ready and Ellie jumped out of the bed of the truck leaving Cassandra behind and she walked down to Warren, with Garnett quickly followed behind.
Once they both reached Warren they could see her looking at the pictures on the notice board and if she was from here then she was probably looking for someone she knew.
"We need to take cover" Garnett said to her "Is there someplace safe nearby?"
"Yeah, there's a storm cellar in my house" she replied still looking at the photos
"How close by is your house?"
"It's not far... I knew these people. My neighbor, my boss, my..." she trailed at looking at an African american man before she pulled it off the board
"Is that him?" Garnett asked her and she nodded smiling softly.
"Is that who?" Murphy said coming up behind them "oh no, no. We are not here searching for a dead hubby , are we? OW!?"
"Seriously Murphy" Ellie said to him after whacking him in the arm while glaring at him. "Have some sensitivity why don't you" and Murphy just looked at her like he was wondering what he had done while rubbing his arm.
"Let's go". Warren said walking back towards the truck but not before knocking in Murphy's shoulder harshly as she passed, making him fall backwards into the notice board. '"Shelter's this way".
"Come on. Get going" Garnett said to him harshly grabbing him around the scruff of the neck to push him forward also annoyed with what he said "Get going" he repeated and they all made their way back to the truck.
Ellie's Pov
"It's so green" Ellie heard Cassandra say as they got back to the truck and started moving again "I never seen a sky look like that. I've only seen tornadoes on TV"
"I don't like tornadoes" Doc said now sat in the bed of the truck, "I'm pretty sure they don't like me either'
"Yeah pretty sure they don't work that way Doc" Ellie joked back "Tornadoes don't have personal vendetta's that would be people"
"Still don't like them though" Doc mumbled as they pulled outside what Ellie guessed was Warren's house, they all got out of the truck and ran to the house looking around as they went for any z's but there were none the bad weather must of drew them away. Once they got to the door Mack started trying to kick the door open but with little success until Warren came along and grabbed a key from it's hiding place and grabbed Mack to stop him before showing him the key and he looked a bit embarrassed before moving to let Warren at the door
"If he's in there and he's..." Garnett said to her
"I will not hesitate" Warren said to him before unlocking the door and Ellie realised they must be talking about her husband.
Once the door was open they all rushed inside Mack and Addy went upstairs to make sure it was all clear, and the rest of them went into the living room. Warren walked over to a trinket box in the corner of the room and Ellie could see she was getting teary and while she was doing that she saw Murphy sit down in one of the arm chairs making himself comfortable.
"Home sweet zombie" He said looking around the living room until suddenly Warren charged over to him and got right in his face
"Get out of that chair!" she snarled at him "Go on and get out of there! That's my husbands favorite chair" She said before she grabbed him and pulled him out.
"All right!" Murphy said moving away from the angry Warren. No one spoke for a few minutes after that no one knew what to say and Ellie was grateful for the appearance of Mack and Addy who had just come back down from upstairs
"Uh, upstairs is all good" Addy said noticing the tension in the room. Then they heard a quiet cough coming from the kitchen so Warren pulled out her gun and so did Garnett and Ellie and all three of them went into the kitchen.
Once they were in the kitchen they found a young woman leaning over a man lying on the floor and he looked injured. The woman turned around quickly when she heard them approach and let out a gasp when she saw guns aimed at her. "Please don't shoot us" the woman pleaded "My husband is hurt"
"What are you doing in my house?" Warren asked her
"The fireman said we'd be safe here" The woman responded and when it looked like Warren was gonna ask another question Ellie interrupted.
"Warren you can ask her later but if we leave it any longer that man is gonna bleed out" she said putting her gun back in the holder. "Help me get him to the couch" Not waiting for a response Ellie walked over and knelt down next to the guys head and after a few seconds Warren and Garnett joined her. Garnett knelt by his stomach while Warren went by his feet and then all three of them manged to lift him up and carry him into the living room where they placed him on the couch.
"You're going to be ok" The woman said to the man as she knelt down by his head "He's a Doctor" she said referring to Doc
"Uh, well they sorta just call me Doc"
"No, No doctor" The wounded man suddenly said " I just... need a nap"
"Oh that, no that wouldn't be good, dude. Do not nap" Doc said "Do not let him fall asleep. He's got a bad concussion at least".
"Rick, Rick?" The woman said to the man as he started to fall asleep but she had no response "Help him" She shouted at Doc but was interrupted when the basement door opened and Mack and Addy walked in.
"Basement's clear" Mack informed them
"Is he going to be ok?" The woman asked Doc ignoring Mack but instead of getting a response of him Warren walked over to her with a piece of paper in her hands.
"Is this the fireman?" Warren asked her showing her the paper with a picture of a man on it
"What?" She asked confused before going back to looking at her husband.
"Is this the fireman that brought you here?" Warren asked again pulling at the woman's shoulders to get her to look at her as she knelt down
"I don't know" The woman said shaking her head. "Maybe. He was wearing a helmet... Maybe it's him, I think it is"
As she said this Warren's face broke out in a smile and nodding she said "Thank you" Before she stood up and went to walk towards Garnett
"Warren?" Ellie said to get her attention as she got close to her and when Warren looked her way she continued "I hope it's him I really do, but try not to get your hopes up to much yeah? I'd just hate to see you hurt"
"I know and I love you for it" Warren said with a smile on her face "But I have a gut feeling that it's him, everything is gonna be fine" she reassured Ellie putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Warren then let go of her shoulder and walked over to Garnett, Ellie sent her a small smile as she passed.
"We need to get out of here before the storm hits" Murphy said looking out of the window where the trees were fiercely blowing back and for.
"And go where, huh?" Garnett asked him as he walked over to the window
"What are we suppose to do, just sit here and hope it misses us?" Murphy snapped
"Being at each other's throats is not gonna help anyone" Ellie said
"The basement's secure" Warren said "We can ride it out down there, lets just gather some supplies before it hits"
"Kitchen was pretty well stocked up" 10k said coming out from the kitchen with Cassandra behind him
"There's water and canned food" Cassandra added "No medical supplies, no batteries though"
"We need to get our communications up" Garnett said turning to face 10K and Cassandra "You two, go out in the neighborhood. See what you can find. But don't go far. Be sure to get back before the storm hits"
"Janey, what are all these people doing here?" The man on the couch asked as 10k and Cassandra left the house. "My parents will be home for dinner any minute"
"Is he gonna make it?" Garnett asked Doc in a quiet voice and Ellie only manged to hear him as she was standing next to Murphy
"Is that a serious question?" Doc asked also in a quiet voice "I don't know. He got cracked on the dome".
"Ok, I for one do not want to be trapped in a basement with this guy when he starts craving brains" Murphy shouted loudly make the girl stand up and glare at him.
"Murphy seriously?!" Ellie said shoving him slightly "Do you ever think before you speak or are you incapable of that?!"
"Don't mind him" Warren said trying to calm her down "His momma didn't raise him right"
"Well if I had the proper meds or a first aid kit..." Doc said trailing off but he didn't sound so sure
"You know the fire station may still have first aid supplies" Warren informed them and Garnett nodded before calling Mack over from where he was standing by the basement door with Addy
"Hey, lock down the basement" Garnett instructed them "If that kid turns, I want you to be right on that"
"Yeah, of course" Mack said nodding
"Keep an eye on Murphy" He said looking to Mack, Addy and Ellie who all nodded while Murphy looked like he want to disagree but Garnett didn't give him a chance "We'll be back before the party starts"
Once the others had left Ellie, Mack and Addy made their way to the kitchen to grab the supplies while Murphy plonked himself on the sofa and made himself comfortable not remotely interested in helping them. Mack and Addy grabbed a handful of food that was already placed on the table and then went towards the basement while Ellie went to the cupboards to get the rest of the food out to make it easier for everyone else to grab. That is until a loud clap of thunder made her jump out of her skin resulting in her dropping a big tin of beans which happened to land on her foot.
"Dammit" She exclaimed while grabbing her foot "I hate thu -"
"ADDY!" Mack's voice suddenly sounded out making Ellie's head whip sideways to look towards the door and ignoring the pain in her foot she legged it out of the kitchen and towards the basement door and on her way past she noticed Murphy was no longer on the sofa. Once she reached the basement door she saw Addy leaning against the wall on top of the stairs with Mack right in front of her.
"What happened?" She asked them and Mack just looked at her confused while Addy just shrugged
"Nothing" She mumbled pushing past Mack and walking down the stairs leaving Mack even more confused
"What was all that about?" She asked Mack
"I dunno... she just froze and I kept calling her and I couldn't get a response"
"Do you think maybe it's the storm?... Maybe it brought back some memories, she has been off since the storm started"
"I dunno... maybe... but she scared me... she looked terrified" Mack said looking at Ellie and he genuinely looked scared
"She'll be ok Mack" Ellie said trying to reassure him "She has you, and just be patient and let her know that your there and she'll tell you when she's ready.. ok?... so go on, go make sure shes ok"
"Thanks Ellie" Mack said smiling at her which she returned
"Anytime, now i'm gonna go see what the 'savior of the human race' is up to" she said gesturing behind her and Mack nodded before turning around and walking down the basement stairs.