This story will switch between Ellie & Dina's perspectives and there will be diary entrees, hopefully easy enough to follow along!

Enjoy..

Ellie -

Fuck, I just let her go.

I just sat there, in the water, every inch of me on fire. The saltwater soaking into my wounds. I couldn't move, I felt paralyzed. The fight took everything I had left out of me.

I lifted my hand, 2 fingers missing. Blood pouring into the water, pooling around me. Fuck. Abby was in the distance now, she had taken the boat after I let them go and was gone. She wasn't sticking around for me to change my mind and try to fight her again but truth be told I don't think I could do it. I don't think I could fight her again. I wanted this so badly, to kill her and to finally finish this and I couldn't do it. Why?

"Joel" I whispered with a sigh

He was the reason I started this quest for vengeance, I wanted so badly to kill everything in my path. I thought I was bloodthirsty, but no matter how many people I killed or tortured along the way, nothing made me feel any sense of closure. Not until now.

I laugh escapes my lips "Joal you fucking idiot"

He really should have left me in that hospital.

I sighed and thought about what to do now. I could feel the heat burning behind me, the screams and gunshots from the hell I unleashed while trying to get here. It's made a lot of noise and no doubt there will be infected around sooner or later, something I don't have the energy for. I'd not really thought past this point, I thought I'd either die getting here or die fighting her but here I am alive. Well, mostly.

The sky above me was cloudy and dull but I could see the shimmers of stars poking through. Dina loved the night sky. We would sit out on the porch of the farmhouse, cuddled up in a blanket for hours looking up and talking while JJ slept inside. At that moment everything seemed to fade away, thinking of the family I left at home. My little potato and the love of my life. Why did I come out here? I miss Dina so much.

"Well, there's no way back through there" I turn away from the inferno, pick myself up and waded through the water towards the small boat where I left my bag, collecting my switchblade along the way "I'm not leaving you behind". This is going to be a long fucking journey.

The next few hours were hell, I tried to stick to the coast and moor up back near the town. I didn't want to risk this shitty boat capsizing and having to keep myself alive in this current. I fucking hated swimming at the best of times. Luckily I managed to pull up on another beach not too far away, it was quiet. Thank fuck for that. I need to find somewhere to hold up and patch myself up or I won't last long. My mind seemed clear, I knew what I needed to do, I needed to get back home to Jackson, to Dina and JJ.

I've found a beach house.

I didn't even make it far from where I left the boat. My legs couldn't carry me any longer. I practically dragged myself most of the way.

My head hurts, I miss Dina.

I'm still in this fucking beach house, it's been here a day I think…

Hopefully, I will have enough strength to get out of here soon. I can't go back through Vegas, it's overrun. I'll have to go around. GREAT!...

I need to rest.

I shouldn't have left,

Left you standing there,

It was selfish and I'm sorry,

Baby, can you forgive me?

Fuck sake, inches away from dying and I'm still writing song lyrics. Who do I think I am?

Still no better, I need to move but I can't

I wish Dina was here.

The fever is getting worse and I can stand up.

I can't feel my hands anymore and I'm struggling to write. Everything hurts.

I can feel myself fading away, it can't be long till the end.

Maybe someone will find this diary and read the ending to my story?

Whoever finds this…. Please tell Dina I love her.

For me this is goodbye.

I'm sorry…

I've been here too long and I've only gotten worse, I can't stand up and I can barely open my eyes. For the past few days I've been slumped up against the door of this small beach house scribbling away in my diary. I guess the end will be here soon. What a waste, I bet Jole would be ashamed of me, everything he did to protect me and look where I am. Almost beaten to death laying here waiting to die in fucking Santa Barbra.

I look up through the window opposite me, my eyes blurring, I must be hallucinating. I can see a shadowy figure moving around outside. It's not an infected. It looks like a person. My eyes start to spin and I can feel my breathing slowing, I think I'm dying. I think this is it. The figure in the window is looking at me. It can't be real, it's not, there's nobody there, it's just my mind playing tricks on me. I can barely keep my head up and I lose focus on the window. People always say when you're near the end you see the person you most love in this life and maybe that's what this is.

"Dina" I whisper before finally, I black out.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!