Ellie POV

I woke up on my back with a mouth full of water, I rolled over spitting it out and coughing uncontrollably, trying to take deep breaths as I work out where the fuck I was. I was laid face down on a small patch of dirt by the river bank. I must have black out and washed up here after we fell back into the water.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my switch blade cutting my restraints loose around my wrists, wincing in pain as I felt the rore skin that was left. My head was spinning and I felt weak. I'd definitely hit something in the water before washing up here. I got to my feet and looked around me, I couldn't see Abby anywhere. I looked over to the water running ahead of me. It was calmer here and flowed a little slower. I squinted my eyes trying to make out something in the water washed up against one of the rocks. Abby , she was caught, her head bobbing in and out of the water. Her body was lifeless.

Just leave her

"Fuck sake!" I huffed as I waded forward into deep blue water reaching out to grab her. I wrapped my hand around the loop of her backpack and pulled her free from the rock and back out onto the wet mud. I hissed in pain as my shoulder burned from the knife wound. "I best not fucking regret this" I pulled her further out and onto the grass dropping her carelessly onto the ground with a thud

She let out a cry of pain and her eyes shot open

"Hi" I breathed with an awkward wave

She sat up placing her hand on her head "you, you saved me?" her voice was shaky and confused

"Don't make me fucking regret it, and thats twice now"

I looked back up the river, I could see the bridge in the distance. I wasn't sure how long I'd been out but I knew Dina would be hot on our heels and wouldn't stop until she got me back. A sigh escaped my lips and my heart broke at the thought of what I was about to do.

"Come on we need to move before they catch up with us" I said

"Wait, you're coming? Just like that?" She questioned, her eyebrow raised

"Don't make me change my fucking mind" I looked down at my wrist and looked at the bracelet Dina had given me. I never took this thing off apart from when I left the farm all those months ago. Dina said it would bring me luck, something I didn't believe in, but she did. I smiled at the thought of her but I knew what I needed to do. I took out my blade and cut the bracelet loose. I walked over to the closest tree and held it against it, driving my mothers knife through it, attaching it to the bark. I took a deep breath and placed my hand over the bracelet. I could already see Dina, her dark brown eyes filling up as she saw what i've left for her, she would know it was a message from me. A message only she would know. To leave me, to go home back to JJ. A message I know she won't listen to but maybe just maybe she would.

"Dina I'm sorry, please forgive me" a mere whisper escaping my lips. I felt a tear roll down my face and I rested my head against the tree for a second and gathered my thoughts. I pushed myself back, wiped my eyes and started to walk away.

"Come on, we have a cure to make"

We walked in silence for most of our journey, just the hum of the forest keeping us company. Abby took place in front of me and I followed behind her. I no longer hand the restraints around my wrists as she knew I'd finally make the choice to come with her and I wouldn't be a problem. We finally reached Nebraska and were heading toward Iowa. There was still a hell of a walk ahead of us to get to Chicago, not to mention all the detours we would eventually have to take.

Hopefully her plan isn't to walk the fucking entire way there

"Do you think she will stop coming after you?" Abby broke the silence

"Hmmm no, I wouldn't if it was her" I replied

"That's what you do for family"

"I had to try, try and stop her from following us. She will understand the message but knowing her she will keep going"

I took a deep breath, I couldn't stop thinking about Dina and her finding the bracelet and my blade. Her heart will break and she will refuse to stop, she will want to keep going, to move mountains to get me home.

"So" I started trying to think about anything else other than breaking my girlfriend's heart, again . "Your dad, is that why you killed Joel? Not because of the cure?"

She huffed and looked down at the ground "yeah"

It made sense, it's the same thing I would have done, the same thing I did do. Maybe we weren't too different from each other after all.

"Why didn't you kill me? Why did you let me live?" I asked

"I didn't come to kill you. I didn't even know who you were. I came for Joel"

"I'm sorry about your dad and what Joel did" It was a genuine statement, Joel was like a father to me and when he was taken away, it was like something switched inside of me. The rage that filled me was unbearable and I thought the only thing that could cure me was killing everyone who was involved. I guess that's just what Abby did. I know her pain.

We walked along in silence for a little after that. The only sounds were the crunching of branches beneath our feet.

"He was a good dad" Abby whimpered

I stayed quiet not knowing how to reply.

"He was such a caring and loving man. He would have done anything for anyone. Not like Joel" She tightened her hands into fists.

"Hey Joel.." I tried to speak but Abby cut me off

"He didn't want to do the surgery you know" she continued

I felt my stomach flip as I thought of that day in the hospital

"He didn't want to kill you. But it was for the greater good. One life to save the many it just made sense, I told him if it was me I'd want him to do it" she paused and drew in a long breath "He wasn't a monster. But Joel killed him like he was one" I could hear the anger coming though in her voice "He didn't deserve that"

Abby stopped suddenly and I nearly walked into the back of her but stopped just in time. She turned around, towering over me. Looking down at me with her eyes full of rage.

"He deserved what I did to him" she growled

The flash of Joel on the ground, his head split open, blood pooling onto the ground around him. His screams ringing in my ears made me feel dizzy and my knees wobbled. I squeezed my eyelids shut. My blood ran hot from the words Abby just spoke and my angst turned to rage. My eyes bulged open and I felt the anger inside of me wanting to break out and attack the large woman just ahead of me.

"and I'd do it again" She snarled

In an instant something snapped inside me sending my body and arms towards her, the sudden movement took her by surprise, I threw my full body weight at her and we tumbled back through the tall bushes behind us. We both had a hold of each other wrestling as we rolled down the hill, hitting stray branches and rocks as we fell. I thrashed against her grip, landing loose punches that she tried to counter. We finally hit the bottom of the hill and rolled out onto a hard concrete surface, breaking our grip on each other. I scrambled to get to my feet to continue my attack when I felt a hard blow to the side of my leg sending me back to the hard surface

"Fuck" I yelped

I shuffled to get back to my feet but was stopped by a heavy weight on my back

"Don't fucking move" A hoarse voice commended

I looked up and saw Abby pinned to the ground, three men were wrestling to keep her down. She was putting up more of a fight than I was, flailing her arms and landing a few punches.

"Fucking put her out!" The voice from above me shouted

I tried to push the man off me but he placed a cold metal object into the back of my head that felt suspiciously like a rifle

"Don't move"

I looked ahead again and noticed Abby was unconscious with blood running down the side of her face.

"Get them in the truck!"

The group of men we ran into were part of a bigger group of raiders. They bound our hands and loaded us into the back of an armoured van, the back of the van was more or less pitch black apart from the odd streak of light coming through some old bullet holes. I could see Abby in a heap at the far side of the van while I sat with my back against the wall. We drove for what seemed like a lifetime until we reached their compound. We came to an abrupt stop and I fell onto my side, unable to brace myself, my face hitting the cold metal floor. The double doors swung open and the light poured in. The silhouette of the men came into view and hands came forward grabbing onto my shirt and pulling me out into the daylight.

I looked around as my eyes adjusted to the change in light. I could see a tall building that looked run down with six foot metal fences surrounding us. There were crates and vehicles littered around, it looked like quite an organised settlement we had been brought back to. Most of the men were dressed in black, with their faces covered. They moved round what once was a car park for the building ahead of us taking crates from the vans to the main doors.

"Move" The horse voice from before ordered as he grabbed my arm and yanked me forward.

"Watch it" I hissed back as he nearly pulled my already burning shoulder out of its socket.

"Bring the other one in" he ordered to the other men getting out of the van

He walked me through the main door along a darkened corridor that was lowly lit by candles. The corridor seemed to go the full stretch of the building. We came to a stop and he pushed open a door leading to a flight of stairs going downward into more darkness. He flicked on his torch and continued to pull me along, his iron grip on my arm never letting up. As we reached the bottom I could feel the cold damp air hit me in the face. I could smell iron in the air, it was so strong I could almost taste it. I couldn't see much of the room apart from what the small beam of light from his touch illuminated, but something inside me was telling me this wasn't looking good for us. We stopped again and I could hear the rustling of metal and he fumbled around with something in his free hand. He pushed me back and I hit the wall hard, my head colliding with the rough bricks behind me. I heard him grumble as he lifted my hands above my head and secured them in place.

I heard more footsteps coming through the darkness along with the same sound of metal rustling. It was clear the men knew their way well enough in the dark, well enough to suggest they had been in here many times before.

I stayed silent and listened, the room now becoming pitch black as the men's footsteps moved away slowly becoming fainter and fainter until I heard the door at the top of the stairs slam shut. The darkness and the cold wet air made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I shivered in the cold, unable to move when I heard the familiar click, click, click.

A fucking clicker was in here with us

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for another chapter in the next few days.