Chapter 3
~Dylan's POV~
I hear the infected tearing into the house me and Mom and Dad had been staying in as I run through the woods. I wanted to stay behind and help them, but Mom wouldn't let me. She said that I had to run, and so I am.
"Keep running... Keep running..." I say to myself, trying to hear my mom saying it to me like she did a few minutes ago. I think I'm far enough away from the house now, and I stop. When I look back, I see nothing but woods.
"I think I lost 'em!" I say to myself, smiling triumphantly. I don't normally talk to myself, but it's hard not to when you're all by yourself. Suddenly, I hear the groaning and shrieking of Runners getting closer to me.
"Oh, sh-" I stop myself from swearing. Mom would always tell me not to swear like Dad. The Runners are getting closer. I have to run. Now. I take off running as fast as I can. Should I call for help? Or would it just make things worse? Is there anyone here in these woods besides the infected? It's worth a shot.
"Help! Someone, help me!" I yell. I feel my eyes tearing up in fear, but I don't care right now. I have to get away from these things, and they're getting closer. I have to get away, and I need help.
~Ellie's POV~
"Help! Someone, help me!" I hear a voice yell in the distance. For the past few minutes, I've felt no emotion but anger and sadness, but now I feel that adrenaline rush again. It's a mix of excitement and fear. Who is that? Who needs help? I jump to my feet and run in the direction I heard the scream. By the time I arrive, I see a young boy running from three Runners. He appears to be around 8 or 9, and he has straw-colored hair and brown eyes, and wearing a brown coat and dark green pants and work boots. The Runners are catching up with him. I load my gun. I'm not letting this kid get bitten.
"Look out, kid!" I shout, and my finger squeezes the trigger as I aim at the first Runner's head, and I kill it. It dies with a terrifying shriek, but I've grown used to the noise. I shoot the next Runner, first in the chest, which makes it nearly fall over from the impact of the bullet, and then in the head, which kills it. The last Runner grabs the boy, trying to bite him.
"Get off of him, you piece of fucking shit!" I yell in rage, carefully aiming and shooting the Runner in the head. The Runner dies, and the boy looks over at me, his eyes wide. I'm breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath as I calm down. Who is this kid? And why is he out here by himself? Did his parents die?
~Dylan's POV~
I stare at the girl with reddish-brown hair. She looks older than I am, but not too much older.
"Th-th-thank you..." I say. I didn't mean to stutter, but I couldn't help it. I was still scared. The girl sighs.
"No problem." she says, "Hey, I couldn't just let 'em kill you, could I?"
I smile lightly.
"I guess not." I say, "Anyway, what's your name?"
She raises a brow. I'm guessing she's a little annoyed with me.
"Ellie." she says, finally, "And you are?"
"I'm Dylan." I say, trying to sound as happy as I can to try and lighten the mood. I see the corner of Ellie's mouth twitch a little. Was she about to smile?
"Well, nice meetin' you." she says, "I've uh... Gotta keep movin'."
I frown.
"Wait!" I say, "Please don't go without me!"
She had turned around to walk away, and now she's facing me again. She sighs.
"Look, kid-" she starts to say.
"Please! I don't know where Mom and Dad are, or if they're even alive." I say, my voice choking up a little bit. The thought of Mom and Dad being dead horrifies me. I don't want them to be dead, but Dad always told me that there was no telling what could happen in a world like this.
~Ellie's POV~
Should I let the kid come with me? He is on his own after all, and his parents are most likely dead, so I can't just leave him out here alone. Hell, he doesn't even have a gun!
"Well..." I say, giving it one last thought, "Okay. You can come with me."
Dylan grins and runs over to me. Before I can back out of the way, he hugs me tightly. He's smaller than me, of course, so he can only hug my waist. I have my arms raised out of the way at first from being surprised. After a minute, I return the embrace and smile a little. The thought of Joel dying is in the back of my mind, and it hurts worse than a gunshot when I think about it. But I have to try not to think about it. I have to move on, and help this kid move on, too. But I don't know if I can handle being a parent to this kid. How the hell did Joel do it? He was pretty amazing.
