Redemption

by Vanessa Team Abby Anderson

Ten years after the events of The Last Of Us Part II, Ellie must deal with the past and the present in the midst of a discovery about an unexpected evolution related to the infection caused by Cordyceps; She also needs to understand who her true allies are and who she should stop trusting.

6. Chapter 6 - Decisions

Chapter 6 – Decisions

Abby

The last few hours had been tense. As much as I had mastered the training tasks I was subjecting the residents of the community I was now in, the fact that I was regarded with such hatred by only one person was what really mattered to me, even though I knew the relevance of the mission. I had to save residents of a community, survivors who were trying their best to stay alive, but the circumstance that I could not make up for the past even by coming to their aid made me frustrated.

I found myself in a dilemma regarding Ellie's figure, although I still felt that she deserved credit and needed help. It was not for me to judge whether she was a good person or not, but I assumed that if she had let me live to take care of Lev in Santa Barbara when we fought, maybe there was something worth salvaging in her.

And this was even more evident to me because, although we had another physical confrontation before she desperately left her own home to get away, as I chose to follow her tracks at a safe distance, I was able to witness what I had feared: she had anxiety or panic attacks.

I had been completely honest when I said that I was sorry for having done her such harm as was done to me, because I had unknowingly ended up murdering years ago the man who was undeniably someone important in her life. I didn't need to be gifted with much intelligence to understand that this had left deep scars in her psychology, because a similar process had happened to me with regard to my father's death.

I wasn't sure if Ellie would want any help, but I would be there to offer it anyway, so I went after her, and fortunately she preferred the help, although I could see that she was confused by the fact that I was the one helping her.

In fact, I intended to make pretexts to stay as close to her as possible in order to get to know and understand her better, because I knew it was the final process of the self-forgiveness I was about to grant myself after so long of reluctance. At first I didn't really believe that I could forgive myself for not only having done her so much harm-I had done countless things that I needed redemption for.

But years earlier Megan had told me that this would only be possible if I really wanted it. Since it was something I sought in order to be at peace with my conscience, I knew I needed to help the immune girl achieve the same, no matter what the cost. It was the least I could do, especially after having caused her irreparable trauma.

Once I had helped her with her panic crisis that seemed to have subsided considerably, I chose to respect her space since she asked me to be alone. Before leaving her, however, I looked into her green eyes for a few seconds, as well as her sad face, and experienced a sudden urge to do something that could wipe away the helplessness she emanated. Since there was nothing I could do at the moment, I returned her knife and got up to return to her house in a slow manner, while thinking about the friends I had left behind in Newport. I wondered how they were doing, if they had already made up their minds to remove the community led by Emily from the city or if they insisted on continuing on the spot?

In any case I would not get the answers to my questions, because I had proposed to contribute to the locality led by the Campbell's and would remain with them until the tasks were over, or until Ellie decided whether to kill me or not.

As I made my way through the silent community and approached Dina's residence, I noticed two young men older than JJ treating him aggressively. One of them even pushed him to grab a thermos made of sturdy material that he was holding tightly, to which the younger boy simply replied that it was his, and the two older boys debauchedly retorted that he would be no match if he faced them in a fight.

"I don't want to fight… But I'm not giving you my thermos!" Grumbled the son of Dina. "Alexia found it in a round for me… Look for another one if you want."

"Oh yes you will…" One of the teenagers laughed. "Objects like that are getting rarer and rarer."

"Hey you two," I spoke, choosing to intervene, as it wasn't right to take something that didn't belong to them. "Leave the boy alone."

"Who's that, Richard?" Questioned one of them, as he looked at his accomplice.

"I don't know… She must be the woman Ellie hates."

"The one who is strong like a man?" One of them spoke as he stared at me.

"Yeah."

I remained impassive in front of that statement, although I was surprised because I didn't imagine that the whole town would come to know about our conflict. But it didn't make any difference. Those people could hate me or not, they could be grateful or not. I had a mission to complete, and I would not stop until it was finished, until everyone was safe.

"If you two consider yourselves bullies enough to take on a boy smaller than you in such a cowardly manner in a fight, I think you can handle me." I spoke, posturing myself in front of JJ as if to protect him.

However, the two boys just walked away a bit while grumbling, which made me follow Dina's son to the residence where he lived. Initially JJ kept quiet while looking at me not knowing whether to thank me or not.

"Thanks." He said at last.

"Hey kid, don't even sweat it." I replied, squeezing his shoulder lightly in response, under the watchful eye of Gregory Campbell. "Come on, I want to tell your mom what happened."

"Hey! I can defend myself." He protested. "When it's boys my age... Sure." He completed his sentence softly and laughed shyly.

I laughed too. "Naturally. That's exactly why I think it's important that your mother knows."

"Soldier Abigail Anderson is right, JJ."

I immediately turned around as I heard Mr. Gregory's voice, while the boy nodded quietly. I suddenly felt that perhaps someone might come to have a different opinion of me over there. With this in mind, I followed the boy to the house and knocked on the door, which was soon opened by Alexia.

"JJ, you shouldn't…" She interrupted her own sentence when she noticed me following. "What are you doing with him? Where's the Ellie who's not watching you?"

"Sorry to bother you," I began, ignoring the questioning. "There were some boys pestering JJ, so I thought I'd help out and warn you, too." I spoke, especially when I realized that, upon hearing my voice, Dina had come running, probably fearful that I had hurt her son.

I then glanced back as I felt a presence near me, only to verify that it was Alexia's father. He spoke after me, affirming that I was telling the truth, after all he had also witnessed what had happened.

The two women thanked me for my help and wished me goodnight with smiles that were still suspicious, but a little more receptive. JJ bid me a warm farewell and gave me a smile, before I turned to the gray-haired gentleman watching me as soon as the door was closed.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"If it weren't for you, sir, I don't think they would believe me."

"Well, I say I've seen enough to take your word for it."

"Ellie must have said it was me who murdered Joel Miller." I commented, as I walked away from the residence where Dina's family lived.

"Yeah, not only her. We learned about this story through Tommy, then from his wife, Maria, who even resides in the community." The man replied, "But that's not relevant to me. What matters now is that you are here trying to save us from a horde of infected that is stronger than we could have anticipated and, furthermore, you cared about the boy. I don't think that the person who was able to kill someone is capable of such sincere acts, unless it is someone essentially human, as you seem to be."

"I don't understand…"

"When I noticed that you would help JJ, soldier Abigail Anderson, I feared that you actually wanted to harm him. But then I could tell that you are not the type who would hurt a child." The man explained to me.

"I really am not. I've survived in war situations where I've had to defend children…" I spoke, as I remembered Lev, but especially Yara with visible emotion.

"And that is what makes you someone human in the extreme." He commented in response, before walking away. "Do you want to come with me to Johny's bar?"

"No, I need to go over the training plans, but thanks for the invitation."

"Okay then. Have a good night, soldier Abigail Anderson." He sketched a smile.

"Good night, sir."

I too smiled and stood there for a few moments in order to assimilate what had just happened. The fact that I had gained the sympathy of the Campbell's father could count in my favor, although I knew that the person who would decide whether to kill me or not still hated me.

Maybe I could make her see that all we knew of each other was the worst we had to offer, in the most difficult time of our lives. At least I would have about ten days to try to make her believe me, maybe that would be enough.

With this thought in mind I went to Ellie's residence - I had managed to find a copy of the keys - and entered it. I went straight to the bedroom and sat down on the bed that I occupied, a mattress on the floor that I had improvised myself. It was better than sleeping on the cold floor, so I didn't complain about having something more comfortable at my disposal, because I certainly wouldn't get nothing, at least not while they continued to distrust my intentions.

I then opened my backpack and pulled out two expired protein bars from inside. I was not willing to leave the community to go hunting and needed something to quench my hunger, so I resorted to what I liked so much.

As soon as I had eaten, I turned off the lamp, removed my boots and lay down so I could rest. I had considered going over the training plans as I had told Mr. Campbell, but decided to leave the task for the next day, since the instructions for the next morning's activity were already organized.

The next morning I woke up early, did my morning hygiene and when I left the bathroom I didn't find the girl in the living room or in the kitchen. However, when I opened the door to the street I saw her. She was putting her backpack on her back and, after greeting me briefly, told me that she was going to the refectory. Since I also had my backpack, I just followed her to get breakfast.
I couldn't tell what her mood was because we didn't even talk, but the fact that she treated me in a more measured way, without being aggressive, made me hope that we could have some kind of truce, as long as I didn't bring up subjects that would irritate her.
During the meal I dialogued with the children - especially with Serena and JJ, who asked me with genuine curiosity about how long it had taken me to get so strong, what exercises I had practiced, and what I liked to do in my spare time. Alexia and Dina did not look at me with such suspicion as I answered their questions, perhaps because Mr. Gregory Campbell had been in the right place at the right time yesterday when I helped the boy get rid of the bullies who teased him. In any case, although people greeted me without really wanting to, they talked to me little or not at all, apart from the children.
As soon as I finished eating, I got up and took the dishes to be washed by the people who took care of them. Then I went outside to wait for the individuals who were part of the team I had trained to show up, which they soon did.
Since it would be some time before we reached the center of town, we would all be in a position to practice the exercises selected by me. Because training the local residents meant preparing them to annihilate stronger infected, but also helping them to have breath in order for them to walk difficult routes. Since there were many destroyed buildings in the center, I was able to instruct them on the importance of working as a team.
Everyone seemed to respect my determinations, especially because since the first training Alexia had said that she did not want my commands to be disobeyed by anyone, because
I mentally thanked her for having an undeniably present leadership posture, since I knew that those people couldn't stand me; they lived with me only so that they could be properly instructed to deal with these new infected, otherwise they would have killed me without hesitation, on account of an old hatred that, in truth, belonged to none of them.

During the first few hours we did the pre-established physical resistance exercises, and then moved on to the practical activity, which consisted in going to where I probably assumed the infected to be. We were always silent, the few dialogues were between the Campbells; not even Ellie spoke, and somehow I had noticed that she had been strangely quiet since the beginning of the morning, although I didn't know exactly why.

When we were on a street lined with stores, we were partially ambushed by a small horde, who surrounded us in a very organized manner. I had found a good position, crouching down next to Christian and Alexia - the two people in the group who dialogued with me the most - when the rifle shots began to ring out. As much as I feared that such noise would attract more enemies, I needed to be sure that these people would be able to defend themselves, because they would have to survive with some difficulty until they reached Newport.

As the offensive against the infected continued, with the group of thirty people working in accordance with what Megan had asked me to guide any community I decided to train, I was distracted by the thought of Ellie, so much so that I looked for her amidst the commotion and, worried that I hadn't found her, chose to sneak away.

However I was followed closely by Alexia, who watched me quickly. "I can't find Ellie anywhere!"

"Yes, I know that. Let's go into that bookstore." I suggested.

"But she doesn't really like to read…"

"Okay, except that's the first place in front of us!" I exclaimed, slightly exasperated. It was as if something told me that we would locate her there. Lev would call it intuition, but whatever it was, I preferred to follow it and ignore it.

The girl did not answer me, and after asking Christian to lead the group until we returned, she decided to follow me inside the establishment. As soon as we entered, she was surprised to see that the immune girl was completely cornered by an infected. If we had delayed a little longer, she might have been killed by the creature.

However, Alexia was quick enough and fired her rifle with undeniable skill, which made me think that it would be ideal if I improvised silencers for the residents of the community she led so that they would not be easily found by enemy hordes, although it would be somewhat laborious to find plastic bottles for everyone... But I had to admit that they were such a concise team that the effort would be worth it.

However, we had a delicate situation to deal with: Ellie was injured and we could not leave the group outside under Christian's command, no matter how attentive he was. So I asked Alexia to go to them and leave me alone with the immune girl. At first the community leader was afraid to leave the bookstore and leave us alone, but as soon as she heard Ellie's answer, in which she was assured that we wouldn't kill each other, she was calmer. As she left the store, I kicked the corpse of the infected man out of the place so that it could be properly burned.

As soon as I closed the door when I returned, I set up a barricade with two bookshelves in order to prevent any invasion that might occur, sat down on the floor, and opened my backpack to look for medical items. The silence between us was somewhat tense, perhaps because of the uncertainty I felt about what our next interaction would be, since we had not talked until then.

"I couldn't see... Was it you who shot it or was it Alexia?" I heard the inquiry as I watched her sit down next to me.

"It was her. I had the rifle in my hand too, but since I realized that Alexia had a better angle and had hit it first time, I put my gun away to go check on you." I admitted, my tone friendly.

"I shouldn't have put mine away..."

I noticed the guilt etched in her green eyes, which seemed odd to me because on the occasions we had met, all I saw in her expression was hatred and resentment. "Yes, that is already one of the guidelines, you know." I tried to speak as gently as possible. "But I believe there must be a reason why you kept the gun."

"You're right. Maybe I found this environment too quiet and I just relaxed... I didn't even realize the danger... Which can't happen." She justified herself, as if she feared I was angry or that I would say something. "I don't know... I don't know what was going through my mind at the time."

"It's okay, don't even worry about it." I reassured her. "It was a small cut, you probably hit your head when he pushed you or when you fell, something like that."

"I guess so." I remained quiet as I tended to her head wound, the very instant I noticed her holding her breath, even if she didn't know why. "I came to look for books... For us."

"Really?" I asked interested, precisely because I didn't know if she liked to read or not.

"Yes. I don't read much, but I'm quite curious." She replied with a small smile, which to me meant a huge breakthrough.

"I read a lot in my spare time, I like to learn about practical things and read fictional tales, too." I commented, suddenly feeling nostalgic for the library in the Washington Liberation Front stadium, the only place I really felt comfortable there.

"I'd better know, then."

"Why?"

"I'm just trying to be polite." She returned me by using a tone similar to mine yesterday when I helped her deal with her panic crisis, which again left me surprised, since I didn't expect that change in attitude so quickly. Maybe she was just in a good mood, or just wanted to be nice because I had put a bandage on her head wound. Whatever it was, I knew it was my chance to try some kind of approach.

"Point for you, little girl."

"What did you call me?" she inquired, pretending to be offended as she noticed that I displayed a playful smile.

"Little girl." I repeated, defiantly.

"I'm not a little girl, huh. I'm as grown up a woman as you are!" She complained, nonconformist.

I laughed. "Ok, ok, woman as grown up as me who got knocked down by a runner, let's get back to the squadron before they show up to look for us." I commented amusedly.

In response, Ellie stared at me for a few seconds and flashed her tongue at me. "Did you call me a little girl because I'm shorter than you?"

"Obviously!"

"I may be smaller in size, but I know and very well how to even things out in a fight."

"On that I can't disagree." I replied, as I returned her backpack and then looked away.

The memory of our last fight ten years ago was still something that haunted me, mainly because at the time I didn't want to accept the duel. I could no longer see any reason to remain trapped in that endless cycle of violence that had perpetuated itself between us.

However, standing there beside her inside the bookstore, I could feel how fragile our truce was, that it could break at any moment; all it would take was one wrong gesture on my part, one questionable decision I made, for everything we had evolved in a few days of living together to collapse.

We walked to our group and when we got there, several infected of bodies were scattered around the street in a grotesque scene that made me shake my head. How many corpses had I seen in my entire life, after all? It didn't matter; we needed to survive and we would do whatever was necessary to do so, especially since the infected individuals were no longer people. There was no cure for the infection, and even if there was a possibility, doctors were more concerned with taking care of their factions members when they were injured; look for a way to obtain a vaccine had been left behind. This was a dream of Marlene, my father and so many others who died for the cause, which would not be achieved by us.

As we burned the bodies to also eliminate the spores and any trace of the fungus, I turned my gaze to the immune girl once again. I knew that she could be the cure for the Cordyceps infection, we could almost certainly get a vaccine from extracting what was in her brain, which would fatally end up killing her. And I no longer knew whether I would like to force her or lead her to be the cure for humanity should the chance arise.

Not that I felt any appreciation for her, quite the contrary; I was still in doubt as to what kind of relationship we would build as the days went by, whether it would continue to be turbulent or healthy, so all I could even think about was not forcing her to be the cure. There was already too much between us since we first met at the Baldwin mansion, and I wouldn't be the one to put it all at risk for the sake of a damn cure that would kill her and might fall into greedy hands.

As soon as we had finished fighting the flames and cleared the streets, we saw from the sun's position that it was close to noon, and since we needed to return to the community, which would take several hours of walking, I instructed everyone to do so. I was always ahead of the group of thirty individuals, so that I could keep an eye on the road and the slightest sign of enemies.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and we arrived at the Campbell compound when the sun was still high. Since the next shift would be spent organizing items such as food and medicine, I would not train them. I had no idea what exactly I could do in the afternoon, because I was fully aware that I was not allowed to go out, which left me with limited options. In any case, I could make myself available to help them perform some task if they wanted, but I did not know if they would accept my offer.

I thought about asking Alexia's permission to go to Newport to see how my friends were doing, but decided that it was not the best time to do so; they did not even trust me, I had been with them for almost three days, which was a very short time for them to believe my real intentions.

As soon as I waved goodbye to everyone - I had chosen to go to Ellie's house to change clothes in order to come back for lunch - I noticed that someone was following me. Instinctively I brought my hand to my thigh as if searching for my pistol, but I remembered that when I entered the Campbell-led locality, I handed over the weapons I had at my disposal. When I went out to train them, they would give me back my rifle and pistol, but as soon as we returned, the deal was that I would hand over both weapons again, a condition I had not even questioned.

Fortunately my father trained me well enough from an early age to be able to hide in order to confuse the pursuers, and that is exactly what happened as soon as I crouched down, using the overgrown grass to my advantage.

It was Mia, one of the first residents of the place I had met, although we hadn't exchanged many words since I saw her. Exactly for this reason I didn't understand what she wanted behind me, but I was willing to ask. I quickly left the stretch where there was overgrown grass and went to the other side of the street just as she was looking for me, which startled her a little.

"Hey, do you want to talk to someone?" I inquired, my tone friendly.

"Yes, you."

"Okay, so tell me... What do you want?" I asked again, all the more so because I sensed some animosity in her tone.

"That you tell me the truth."

"I don't understand..."

"I'll be blunt: I dated Ellie about a year and two months ago. We were in a relationship for a short time, but she felt comfortable telling me the shit you did."

"Okay... So, what do you want?" I repeated the question, trying to better understand where she was going with this dialogue.

"That you get out of Portland and send one of your friends to continue with the damn mission!" Mia spoke a little louder. "Because it's not possible that after everything you've done to ruin her life, even to the point of making her feel so incapable that she couldn't even keep a date, that you would reappear as if nothing had happened!"

"Well, if I do that it will take some time before training resumes and you all might die."

"But we can survive on our own, too. Or do you consider yourself so essential that you think only you can assist us?" She challenged me.

I sighed, suddenly feeling irritated by the dialogue. I had an urge to punch that short young woman until I made her aware that I was free to do whatever I wanted and that if they wanted to survive they all needed me at the moment, but I wouldn't do something like that, not anymore. Years ago I would certainly resort to violence as a way to resolve the issue, but with maturity I began to ponder that not everything I needed to resolve with the strength of my fists.

"Under the circumstances yes, I am all you have so you can safely leave Portland." I replied irreducibly, as I turned around to continue on my way toward Ellie's residence.

I needed to change my clothes and return to the dining hall for lunch, so that I could go talk to Alexia later. Because I would certainly report the rough dialogue between Mia and me to her not so that she would take sides with anyone in particular, but so that as the leader she was, she would know what had happened.

As personal as it was, I couldn't allow noise to interfere with the mission and, at least for me so far, Ellie's ex-girlfriend in a clear fit of childish jealousy was a distasteful interference I wouldn't want to deal with.

"She makes sketches of you to this day, did you know that?"

The questioning asked so suddenly made me stop walking almost automatically. The young woman's tone was accusing, as if I was guilty of something I was not even aware of. "What did you say?"

"Don't play dumb, I'm absolutely sure you know what I mean. From the time Ellie and I started dating I had to live with the fact that she made sketches of you. I don't know if she had this habit before because when I asked Dina I didn't get an answer, but during my dating with her it was something customary."

"Well, that's news to me. Ellie and I fought each other twice, as you may know, so I know absolutely nothing about her because we met on three occasions: in Wyoming, in Seattle and then in Santa Barbara."

"Which is when she let you live…"

"Yes."

"So… I don't know why she did that, if she still keeps portraying your figure in her damn notebooks!"

"That's one issue that there's no point in you being angry with me or even blaming me for, Mia."

"If you were dead, Ellie would be free of everything you represent." She spat, angrily.

"Then kill me, girl!" I exploded, before standing facing her with my arms stretched across my body. "What are you waiting for? Surely you have a gun, pick it up and shoot me at once…"

"I'm not going to do that, because I'm absolutely sure she wouldn't forgive me." She replied, his gaze attentive to my body posture. "But maybe after you leave us alone I will come after you. Ellie needs to be freed from your figure, because otherwise she won't be able to maintain a relationship with any other person who wants to be with her."

"Listen here, I'm really sorry things turned out the way they did between her and me… But I have no way to fix the past, nor am I going to waste my time justifying myself to someone like you, who doesn't even know who I am or what my reasons for being here are."

"I don't need to know your motives, Abby, it's written in your eyes, on your face, on your body. And if you won't admit it, at least I have an advantage."

"Do you think I'm enjoying her?" I inquired as I arched an eyebrow.

"Even if you weren't, which I doubt very much you aren't, what you're doing is trying to be as friendly as possible, but it turns out that someone like you doesn't deserve that, not after the monstrosities that you've done. And the way Ellie portrays you, with the frequency and obsession that has accompanied her for years, it won't be hard for you to gain her trust!"

"She's not mentally fragile." I replied dryly, as if I felt I needed to defend her somehow, while noticing that the woman named Maria was watching us intently. "And what's more, she's not even physically fragile, despite being thinner and shorter than me." I concluded before walking away, ending the conversation.

As I walked as fast as possible towards Ellie's house, because if I didn't put the maximum distance between me and the young woman I could put everything at risk by acting violently, I could hear Mia shouting in my direction. She claimed that the immune girl had drawn me yesterday, that she found out about it because the notebook used for this sketches was on top of the desk in the living room, and since Dina had to go get a repair tool she had forgotten there early in the morning and Ellie had given the key to JJ's mother, Mia considered it an excellent opportunity for accompany her and go through her ex-girlfriend's diary and the respective drawings I had never seen.

I never even knew that she was in the habit of drawing, I never asked her about anything she liked to do on her days off, because I was on a mission and intended to finish it as quickly as possible in order to find my friends again, if I was worthy of living.

However, the information that I was constantly portrayed in drawings stirred me in a particularly strange way. I needed to find a way to talk to Ellie about it, but how could I do it without her suspecting that I had snooped in her diary? Because that's certainly what she would believe.

I entered the house her, went to the room I occupied, and changed clothes in a few moments, listening to my stomach rumble with hunger as I wondered if it was possible that the immune girl had conflicting feelings about me, although I didn't know what to think about it, first because our interactions had always been extremely violent toward each other until then, and second because I had never stopped to wonder if I liked women other than men; I was more concerned about surviving than having any kind of intimate contact with anyone, which made me choose to be alone for the ten years after our fight in Santa Barbara.

As soon as I left the residence, I made my way back even faster. The dining hall was in a larger house closer to the entrance of the town, and since Ellie lived in a house further away, the route to be walked was somewhat long. But walking always made me get my head around it, especially the fact that there now seemed to be someone else in the Campbell community with reason to hate me besides Ellie herself, although I no longer knew if what she felt was hatred or resentment, or something else I'd rather not think about just yet.

I had to concentrate on the mission of instructing the people chosen by Alexia, so that the local residents could leave Portland and go to Newport as soon as possible, because as far as I knew by then, Emily and her commanders would continue to live there. This was exactly what I needed to focus my attention on, otherwise I might risk innocent lives, which I did not intend to do.

The afternoon had gone without any problems. At Alexia's request, after we talked and I reported what had happened about Mia, I went to help Dina with the food harvest, even though I felt uncomfortable because I had almost murdered her more than a decade ago. However, I never gave up any task for personal reasons, and if I wanted to gain the trust of the Campbells permanently, I knew that the leader of the community was testing me to that end, even though she and her own father had treated me in a more cordial manner, despite our short time together.

Surprisingly, Dina did not behave as rudely to me as I imagined she would. She kept a little quiet at first, which I considered perfectly natural, since the person who tried to kill her was now assisting her in a somewhat rather mundane task. I also chose to remain silent, not because I had anything against her, quite the contrary, since I didn't even know her.

But as the minutes passed, she talked to me; she started talking about Mia, asking me if the young woman had come to me; I answered yes and related part of our rough dialogue, which immediately worried her. However, she sounded enlightening enough when she said she was still afraid of me, especially for what I had done to JJ's father. I, on the other hand, commented that I didn't even know that the boy I had killed in the theater in Seattle was the kid's father; I immediately felt sick that I had done to her son what Joel had done to me, but I tried with all my might not to highlight that. The brunette woman also mentioned that although she still feared my presence, she felt grateful that I had helped her son when I had the chance, which made me happy because most likely my action would be something that would connect us as long as I continued to live with them.

As soon as we finished the task, Dina returned to the house she shared with Alexia and JJ, while I went back to Ellie's house. Along the way I carried the bags of vegetables for her to deliver to Mr. Gregory, since with my help we had managed to collect many more items than anticipated, in order to store them for the trip to Newport.

The work of collecting, bagging and transporting food was not something new to me. When I was held prisoner by the Rattlers I was able to learn, albeit in a forced manner due to the torture I was subjected to in the hot sun, to have special agility in performing this type of service, which gave me some traumas, but nothing that I could not handle later. The important thing was to give those people the chance to travel as soon as possible.

I said goodbye to her in a friendly way, and as soon as I opened the door to Ellie's house, I felt the impact of a hand against my face with such speed and force that I didn't even recognize who threw the punch. Only later could I see that it was the immune girl herself, a fact that made me widen my eyes and grab her arms as she sank her knee into my chest aggressively and stared at me angrily.

"Who was it that gave you permission to look at my sketchbook and my journal?!"

"Fuck… It wasn't me!" I hurried to answer. "I wouldn't have any reason to!"

"Listen to me because I'm going to say it just one damn time: I have nothing to do with you, Abby. I'm only keeping you here out of mere obligation by a request from Alexia, because I know we need to get out of this shitty town as soon as possible and unfortunately you're the best person to teach us. But that doesn't entitle you to read and watch the things I do! she shouted, as she tried to get out of my grip.

"Hey, calm down! She's not lying, Ellie!"

We heard Dina's voice and immediately the immune girl moved away from me. I sat up to clean the blood dripping from the wound just below my eye, realizing that I would need a medical kit to make a bandage.

Only in that instant did I understand that this had been Mia's purpose all along, to make sure that Ellie knew it was me invading her privacy so that she could attack me, which wouldn't be hard to do because of our history.

"What the fuck is this? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"It's true. This morning when I came to pick up the tool I had forgotten to put in the box after fixing the television, Mia insisted on accompanying me. I didn't quite understand why, but I agreed anyway; as soon as I found what I came for, I watched her flipping through her sketchbook. I even commented that you would be angry, but she said that was exactly what she wanted to happen and I understood even less, but now it all makes sense."

"So…," the immune girl looked from me to JJ's mother, as if she didn't know what to say or as if she wanted to find a better way to make her point. "You didn't do it?"

"No. I have no reason to invade your personal life, especially with everything between us."

"What you're saying is... You don't know what I write or what I draw?"

"Exactly. I have no idea what you write or draw, and I don't want people who do know to tell me. Except if you wanted to tell me something." I replied as I stood, omitting that I had found out through Mia, because I didn't consider the timing to tell the fact. "But since I know I'm at your house out of obligation, you don't have to worry; soon you'll be in Newport and you won't have to see me anymore." I completed dryly, feeling offended that she didn't even stop to listen to me.

As soon as I finished speaking, I straightened up, and even though my face was bleeding and a purple spot was starting to creep under my left eye, I had to go to the room I occupied in order to be alone for a while. I didn't care about the wound itself, because the harsh words I heard gave me a clear notion that everything I thought she and I had advanced in the few days we had been together was in fact just a mistaken impression I had that things between us were better.

I don't know for how many minutes I lay there with my eyes closed, listening only to Dina and Ellie's voices in the background. They were talking about me because I heard my name mentioned more than once, but I didn't intend to get up to see what exactly they were talking about. The dialogue was between them and I would not be the one to interrupt them.

After a while, however, only silence was present. I didn't know if the girl had gone out with JJ's mother, but most probably yes, maybe because she couldn't stand to be around me… It didn't matter anymore. I still wouldn't give up my efforts to stay alive - and maybe even the Campbells would talk Ellie out of killing me - but I could see in her eyes that there was still too much hate for her to simply treat me as someone deserving of at least consideration.

Anyway, if it was to be killed by a stupid infected, I would rather be murdered by her. I told Lev this once and he was surprised, but there was no other person who deserved to kill me that wasn't Ellie.

Her image came back into my thoughts, her angry orbs as she was sure that I had skimmed through her sketchbook... Beautiful, predatory green eyes that stared at me with intensity. Maybe the young woman named Mia was right that I liked the owner of those eyes, but I couldn't distinguish the feeling.

I had never felt anything like that for another person, no matter how much Lev thought I was in love with Owen… No. I had no reason to lie that I liked him, but not to the point of giving up everything to live together. Owen had taken on a responsibility from the moment he had gotten Mel pregnant, so I knew that things couldn't happen between him and me, even if at some point in my life I wanted something to happen. Besides, just like today, back then I was more focused on ensuring my survival and that of the people with me; I didn't even have enough time to think about having any kind of feelings for anyone. Even more so today when it comes to Ellie, someone I have met only a few times in my life and under tragic circumstances.

Years ago I'd thought that all I felt for her was resentment and hurt, but even today I can't really understand what I feel.

However, it was certain that the occasions when we interacted were the most relevant and decisive for me. When we fought in the theater in Seattle, I had the whole situation of having fled Seraphite Island along with Lev and being chased by the Wolves, and the guilt for Yara's, Owen's and Mel's deaths weighed heavily on my shoulders.

Back in Santa Barbara, she saved me from imminent death by releasing me from the pilaster, even if it was so that we could duel later. Without realizing what she had done, Ellie gave me the chance to fight for my life and the boy's again, which I could never do while tied to the pilaster. And for this I would be eternally grateful, even if she hated me deeply.

I opened my eyes when I heard two knocks on the door of the room that was meant for me, but I remained silent. It could be Alexia who had decided to kick me out of the community for good, or it could be Ellie… I didn't know if I wanted to hear it, either way.

"Abby?"

It was her. I sat down as I thought about whether or not to answer, because I had no idea if we would have another fight, and at that point in events, all I wanted to avoid was another senseless confrontation. I wiped the blood that had fallen from the wound, but fortunately the liquid had stopped draining probably due to the position I had laid down in; I needed to get a bandage on the site as soon as possible so that it wouldn't have a chance of getting infected, but I was too exhausted, more emotionally than physically, to move.

"Abby… I know you're there. Listen, I just want to talk, I promise. I'm not going to fight or anything like that."

Her voice reached me again and I sighed with relief. It wouldn't be hard for me to give her another chance, although our violent history usually took care of leading us to solve problems through the force of our fists. "Okay. The door is ajar." I warned, clearing my throat soon after as my tone of voice sounded huskier than I had intended.

I watched as the door was pushed slowly open and she entered the bedroom. She carried a small tray with three sandwiches in her hands, which she placed on top of the mattress and a backpack on her back. "I need to apologize. I would have sworn it was you who had snooped through my notebooks and…. Fuck. Sorry, Abby." She spoke, handing me the plate.

"It's okay, I totally understand. We're not living together because you want us to, so you don't have to apologize to me."

"Dude, forget everything I said, I was really angry and when I'm angry I usually say a lot of shit.

"I could tell, you hit me pretty hard, even. I replied, in an attempt to lighten the mood, even though I didn't even touch my food.

The girl laughed lightly. "You'll forgive me?"

"If it will make you feel better about yourself...," I looked straight at her green orbs, at the scar above her right eyebrow, and then down to her lips, where I lingered for a few seconds before facing her in the eyes again. "Yes, I forgive you."

"Yeah, because you're here to help us despite all my history with you because of what happened and… Damn it. I can't continue from beating you up like this." She commented in response, as she took the items needed to bandage me out of her backpack. "Let me see how you're doing with that wound.

"I've been through worse, thank you."

"I don't doubt it. But consider it retribution, after all you did help me at the bookstore."

After reflecting for a few moments I nodded in a slight movement and approached her, who had sat down on the mattress. We stood sideways to each other, although I turned my face away so that she could bandage it; suddenly our legs touched moments later, and as much as I imagined that we would move apart out of pure instinct or the embarrassment of being so close, it didn't happen. Neither she nor I wanted to lose contact with each other, even if only our thighs were touching.

We didn't dare look away or make any other movement; we didn't even speak so as not to break the peace that silence brought, especially after an angry outburst from her for something I didn't do. All I wanted was to enjoy just a few moments of stillness, even if it was next to the person who claimed to hate me so much.

As soon as the immune girl finished the bandage me, I started eating still in silence. Perhaps I was waiting for her to decide what the direction of the dialogue would be, whether we would actually talk about any particular subject.

"Dina told me that Mia threatened to look for you." She initiated, as she stood up and walked to the window.

"Yes."

"So… She did it?"

"Yeah, this afternoon." I answered, paying attention to her expression, the way she diverted her eyes from mine when we remained staring at each other for too long.

"She fucking… Does she think she and I are still dating or what?"

"I don't know for sure, but maybe she's jealous of me."

"What, what do you mean!?"

"Well, the person you usually draw is at your house and will be in the community for a few more weeks, so go find out what's going on in Mia's head."

Ellie nodded. "Why didn't you tell me before that she talked about my drawings?" She asked interested.

"Because you were so angry with me, thinking I had invaded your privacy." I don't want to lie to you anymore, Ellie, but if I admitted that I knew about the drawings in the state of rage you were in, I would never be able to convince you otherwise, and It would be one more reason for you to hate me, which I don't want to happen."

I noticed that she fell silent again as she turned her back to me, watching the movement through the window. Meanwhile I took the opportunity to notice her body, although I didn't really know why I was doing that. But she had a lean and extremely beautiful physique. I knew that one of my tasks, as a form of redemption for all I had done to her, JJ and Dina was to get them safely to Newport, even if it was the last thing I would ever do.

"Okay, you're right about that." She answered me finally. "But… Did Mia say anything else?"

"No. She just asked me the real reason I was here, that sort of thing." I commented, not feeling ready to talk about the possibility of having feelings for Ellie, not least because I still wasn't sure what those feelings were.

"I'm going to talk to her."

"Do you think it's necessary?"

"Sure. She came into my house and kept looking at my notebook to see what I usually do. To bother you with this and make sure that I was sure that you were the one who opened my diary... This is not right, man. It's not because we dated before that she can go out and do shit."

"Well, it's up to you. The fact that you trusted Dina when she warned you about what happened was already important… First because you stopped hitting me." I laughed.

"I think I need to start trusting you more."

Hearing her utter that made me smile minimally, as I dropped the already empty tray. "I understand the reasons that keep that from happening." I spoke understandingly.

"It's been ten years, man... Ten! And I can't let go…"

"Maybe it's harder for you to understand that we're in a different time; I haven't left behind the shit I've done or the good things, because contrary to what you might think, there are good things in my life." I paused briefly as she sat back down next to me. "When I was in Seattle I knew I would lose everything by helping Lev and his sister, because their group wanted them dead; I knew it went against the principles of the leader of the faction I belonged to, but I didn't care; all I wanted was to provide safety for those children at the time." I spoke, feeling tears flood my eyes, though I tried hard not to allow them to fall.

"Wow!" Ellie exclaimed. "I thought you were just fighting Tommy…"

"No. I didn't even know he was there to begin with. I didn't know until… When Manny died, because it was Joel's brother who killed him. Just like I didn't find out you were there until I got to the theater." I replied, "But regardless, my goal was still the same: to get those kids to safety. That's why I went to California in search of the Fireflies. You must have read my note on the yacht at that time, right?" I asked, feeling a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach as my leg brushed against hers.

"Yeah. Your note is with me to this day."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure what my motives were, but I think I intended to confront you about the Fireflies. I wasn't thinking straight that day." She admitted.

"Do you want me to tell you about them?" I inquired softly.

"Yeah. But not today because it's late. We'll have time." She replied in the same tone. "Not least because if you're not there it means you've been disappointed in them."

"In a way it does." I smiled minimally, just before I saw her stand up.

Ellie nodded in a light movement, sketched a smile back, and approached the door. "Have a good night, Abby."

"You too, Ellie." I replied, feeling a chill run through my body as I heard her utter my name.