Sorry for the long wait, but you guys are probably used to it by now. I have not been very motivated to writing this past year, making a chapter about an angry emotional teenage is not fun so I have spent most of my time on my other hobbies instead. I'm not entirely satisfied with how this chapter turned out but I'm not entirely sure how to make it better. I'll leave it up to you the reader to judge if it is good or not, please inform me of you thoughts in the comment section, I do read them even if I don't answer that many of them.
Ellie was awoken by a sharp nudge to her midriff. She groaned and with great reluctance opened her eyes – blinking several times to get the sleep out of them – and found the unwelcome sight of Troy standing over her.
"Get up. Bill's gonna have a word," he said slowly, his tone low and rasping.
If he was hoping to scare her – with what she assumed was supposed to be a Carver impersonation – he would be disappointed, the guards back at the QZ was far more intimidating. Whiles he wasn't as scary as them, he was just as easy to hate. Ellie didn't move, she just stared up at him with loathing.
Troy responded to her silence with a sneer, aimed his rifle at her and said with his normal voice, "get the fuck up."
Stifling a yawn, Ellie stiffly obeyed and got to her feet, her eyes never leaving the weapon aimed at her. The hard wooden bunk beds were only one step over the booze shed's floor when it came to comfort. Looking around, Ellie saw that all the other beds were empty, everyone else were already up apparently. Troy jabbed the muzzle in the direction of the loading door that led from the yard into Howe's. Ellie hesitated briefly before she did as ordered. She felt very uneasy turning her back on an enemy with a loaded weapon, but she didn't have much choice.
As she walked, Ellie took the opportunity to study her surroundings in the early daylight. The yard they had all been herded into last night was squeezed between two brick buildings, chain linked fences linking the buildings together, forming the yard into an almost perfect square. The fences had been reinforced with sheets of metal, plywood and barbwire, both to stop escapes as well as to hide them from the stalkers outside. Not that they really needed to, Carver had had a wooden wall erected outside for added protection.
The yard had once been an area to buy gardening equipment, at least that's what all the advertisement and the about twenty pallets of topsoil and plant pots indicated. Unsurprisingly, any gardening tools the place had once housed that could have been used as weapons or potentially aide in an escape had been removed. The place was littered with a lot of other crap though, all of it – as far as Ellie had seen last night – was useless. It didn't look any more promising in the daylight.
She passed the fire pit in the center of the yard, which served as the main meeting place for its occupants with barley a glance. The others had spent nearly twenty minutes around it last night, seated on several old beach chairs, talking to their pal Reggie, a one-armed man with olive skin and a residing hairline that had been left behind when they had originally escaped Howe's. Ellie had used the distraction they made to try to find a weakness in the fence but found none. To her frustration, she saw no more in the daylight then she had in the dark.
The rest of the yard's residents had all assembled in a loose group around the door. Ellie noted that the two other occupants of the yard she had seen last night – the silent shorthaired woman and Mike – were not among them. A quick glance around revealed that they were nowhere in the yard. Maybe they had already been put to work.
On the right side of the group was Kenny, Sarita and Matthew, the first two staying close to one another while the latter stood slightly apart. Matthew had hardly said a word to anyone since Walter's death. Ellie had expected him to be angry, even lash out, but he hadn't expressed any animosity towards anyone at all for what had happened. He simply kept to himself in silent misery. Guilt stabbed at Ellie's heart, part of the blame for Walter's death lay assuredly on their shoulders, they – however inadvertently – had led Carver to them. But if anyone should shoulder most of the blame – other than Carver himself – it was Kenny.
In contrast to during yesterday's Truck ride, Kenny had an air of calm around him, maybe that hit to the head that had bruised his face yesterday had knocked some sense into him. Ellie doubted it however. She wished though that he could have had that calm yesterday when he almost got them killed with his stupid escape plan or the night Pete died.
The man was an impulsive moron of the highest order who didn't think before he acted. Sure, Ellie would admit – very grudgingly – that she was impulsive at times to and had made her share of mistakes, but she had never tried to go up against an unknown number of armed enemies with her bare hands whiles trapped in the back of a truck and expect to win. Nor had she ever tried to free a bunch of hostages from an armed group that was held up in a building alone. The guy seemed to think he was some kind of one-man army or something.
She had taken no small sense of satisfaction when Kenny great escape plan had ended with him face planting the truck door when it had abruptly stopped and almost knocking him out cold. She had actually hoped that after Troy had opened the door and seen that Kenny had managed to get lose from his bonds, he would shoot him. It would have been a kinder fate then he deserved.
"Why couldn't he have died instead of Pete?"
She felt her eyes going moist. Under the pretense of rubbing the sleep out of them, she whipped the tears away before anyone saw. She hoped that the next time Kenny did anything else stupid it would get him killed, and she wished she would be there to see it. Unable to stand looking at his bearded face any longer, Ellie turned away.
Standing in the middle of the assembly at the front of them all was Reggie. The sight of him dredged up memories of their conversation the previous night and soured her already bad mood further. The sympathy she had felt upon seeing that he was missing an arm went out the window when he had started spouting shit about how good this place was and how merciful Carver had been to him. Even when she had shouted of Pete's and Walter's murder at Carver's hands, he had haltingly tried to explain it away. The guy was a total sucker, he had completely bought into the promise that if he was a good little slave, Carver would let him back into the group.
Ellie didn't even try to hide her sneer of contempt when he cast a glance over his shoulder at her. Opting to stay as far away from him and Kenny as possible, Ellie took her place next to Nick who stood at the edge of the assembly on the left side.
"Morning," he greeted. "Did you sleep well?"
"Peachy," Ellie answered. That was a bare faced lie, she had woken up at least three times during the night from nightmares and going back to sleep had been hard each time. She had even started crying after one of them. She hoped it didn't show on her face how tired she was. "You?"
"Yeah, me to," Nick said, trying to stifle a yawn.
If he was going to say anything else, he never got the chance. The door opened and Carver stepped out. He projected an air of calm authority as he approached the assembly, whatever discomfort the wounds caused him, Carver let none of it show on his face. He did however not have the same control over his body. Ellie felt sadistic pleasure when she noted the stiff movement of his wounded shoulder and she had to struggle to suppress the gleeful smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth. Carver stopped three feet from the group and slowly surveyed them all – making several of them tense up – before he spoke.
"There's been increased lurker activity along the fence, so be mindful when outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation. Now… there are some folks who might be sore about what happened… at how things went. Well, that's all in the past now."
"In the past my ass, you piece of shit." She clenched her fists so that the nails dug into the palms of her hands.
"Some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here… forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work."
Carver surveyed them all again then turned towards Reggie.
"Reggie. You're nearly back in. Keep following the path, and we'll welcome you back with open arms."
His words made Reggie's face split into a wide smile.
"Fucking bootlicker." Ellie felt an urge to kick him just to wipe that idiotic grin off his face.
"How did you sleep?"
Ellie was so startled by Sarah's voice by her side that she nearly jumped; this went completely unnoticed by Sarah who didn't wait for a response from her before she continued talking in what she probably thought was a discreet manner.
"I was so tired."
"What the actual fuck!" Ellie just stared at her. What the hell was she thinking trying to make small talk when Carver was holding a speech? "Read the fucking room Sarah! Now is not the time."
"I didn't even r-"
"Be quiet," Ellie whispered harshly. "Or do you want him to do to you what he did to me?" Her eyes darted towards Carver then back to Sarah.
That shut her up. She stared wide eyed at Ellie's bruised cheek, her mouth opened and closed several times, but no words escaped it. Ellie returned her focus to Carver, who thankfully didn't seem to have noticed their interaction. He continued talking for a few more minutes, detailing what everyone would do. Ellie was given the job of helping Bonnie in the armory, which sucked.
"Though probably not the worst job. Maybe I'll be able to steal a weapon."
That was very unlikely though, Carver wasn't stupid and probably had everything locked up tight. Everyone makes mistakes though, but even if they had it would be difficult to smuggle anything out since Ellie would be watched the entire time. Bonnie had been nicer towards the group during their trip back then Carver or Troy, but that didn't mean Ellie liked her any more than the others.
"You've all been given your orders, now get to work," Carver finished and headed back inside.
Glaring at his back, Ellie hoped he'd fall down the stairs to his office and break his neck.
"Hey, you!" Ellie took her eyes from Carver's retreating back and found the bushy haired woman, Tavia, watching her. "Didn't you hear? You're working in the armory."
"Yeah, I heard."
"Then follow me." Tavia turned and headed inside.
"Yeah, fuck you to."
"Look out!" A voice called from above.
This was almost instantly followed by a heavy thud about ten feet from Ellie's position and the smell of compost became noticeable. Several bags of dirt had seemingly fallen from the sky and ruptured on the pavement. Looking up, Ellie saw Mike and the shorthaired woman leaning over the edge of the roof next to a wooden makeshift crane.
"God damn this thing." Mike cursed when he saw no one was hurt. "One day it's going to kill someone."
"Hopefully that someone will be Carver. If only they could have dropped it a few minutes ago and a little more to the right."
The thought of Carver being crushed by compost made the corners of Ellie's mouth twitch. Looking back down, she moved to catch up with Tavia who had just noticed that she wasn't following her.
"Stay close," Tavia chided and lead her further into the Howe's. Ellie saw no point in responding.
"Who's this?" an unfamiliar voice said when they were about halfway thought the store.
Ellie looked to her right and found a brown-haired girl about her own age watching her with curiosity from one of the many aisles. A woman who was working behind the girl turned around. The woman had the same hair as the girl. One look at their faces told Ellie that they were related, sisters maybe or a very young mother and her daughter.
"She's one of the new people." The woman said. "She was with Carlos and Sarah and-"
"Ugh. Sarah?" The girl sneered. "I wish she'd stayed gone."
"She's had a hard time, Becca."
"So have we. We're not sitting on the ground like fucking babies," Becca retorted harshly.
"Becca!" The other woman chided.
"All she does is eat, drink, shit and cry. A fucking baby. She's useless! A drain on our resources. Carver should have left her out in the wilderness."
Ellie clenched her fist but kept on walking. As much as she wanted to deny it and tell Becca to go fuck herself, she wasn't wrong about Sarah. The girl didn't know how to hunt for food or how to fight, the only thing Sarah could contribute to aid the group's survival was help carry stuff. It wasn't entirely her fault though, no, some of the blame lay with Carlos's overprotectiveness. So long as he kept coddling her instead of teaching her how to survive, she would remain a burden.
Howe's armory turned out to be a converted workshop. Most of the tools had been removed from the shelves and been replaced by ammo boxes. There were a few tools left, but they were all too big to smuggle out in her pockets. Although she had expected it, Ellie was disappointed to see that all the guns were thoroughly locked up in several cabinets. Carver it would seem had assembled quite an arsenal, even more then she imagined. The cabinets held everything from handguns and hunting rifles to military grade weaponry. She recognized several of the models, they were the same that some of the guards in the QZ used.
"Did he raid an army depot? Or kill a bunch of soldiers?"
She was not given time to ponder this thought. Bonnie – who was sitting in a chair by a workbench by the far wall – chose that moment to make her presence known.
"Hey… I guess you're starting you day with me," she said with a smile. She gestured for Ellie to sit down in a chair opposite her. "We're gonna be loading magazines."
"Oh joy."
Ellie sat down and grabbed one of the many empty magazines on the workbench. It looked to belong to the same model that Carver's crew had had at the ski lodge. She tightened her grip on the empty magazine as the memories of Carlos protecting her with his body as they cowered on the ground flashed in front of her eyes and the roar of gunfire echoing in her ears.
"Have you ever done this before?" Bonnie asked, shaking her out of the memory.
Ellie didn't respond, but if she had then the answer would have been yes. One of the common punishments in military school was to reload all the empty magazines and Ellie had become more that familiar with the process. She took a few bullets from one of the boxes and started loading them into place. The familiarity of the action made her feel as if she was back in the QZ again, being punished for one of her many infractions. Ellie felt a growing throb in her skull, a headache upon everything else, just what she fucking needed.
"Guess you're a natural at this." Bonnie said.
She gave Ellie what she probably thought was a friendly smile. Ellie fucking hated it, but said nothing, and focused her attention on loading the magazine in her hand in silence. She did not want to talk to Bonnie or anyone else of Carver's stooges. The throbbing slowly increased, it felt like every bullet she inserted in the magazine made the blood pounding in her skull worse.
"Ellie…" Bonnie said hesitantly after about half a minute of work. Ellie tried to ignore her. "Listen… I… I owe you an apology…"
Ellie gritted her teeth. Jesus Christ why didn't this bitch get it, she did not want to talk to her, and she sure as shit didn't care for any apology either.
"You were sleeping on the sofa, so you didn't see me, but… I was the one who found you all at the lodge."
That caught Ellie's attention, she looked up at the other woman.
"Walter, Kenny and the little girl, what's her name?"
Ellie didn't answer.
"Well, they found me, and I thought they were gonna kill me. Kenny wanted too anyway. The girl… she didn't trust me I know that, but I don't think she wanted to hurt me. But Walter, he shown me a kindness I never would've expected from a stranger."
Bonnie wore an expression of sadness and regret, though Ellie could not tell if it was genuine or not. It didn't really matter; Bonnie was an enemy and could not be trusted. Ellie wished they'd shot her dead, maybe then they wouldn't be neck deep in shit, and Pete and Walter would still be alive. Ellie's heart contracted painfully in her chest.
"But… now folks are dead… and I can't help but feel I'm to blame."
"That's because it's your fault. You and Carver and Kenny. You're all to blame."
Ellie gritted her teeth and her grip tightened on the magazine. Two of her comrades were dead because of this self-pitying piece of shit, maybe even three. No one had seen Alvin or heard anything about him since one of Cavers goons took him away last night. Carver could very well have killed him. Ellie's insides were boiling with rage, her headache had become a pulsing beat behind her eyes, and it felt like her skull was on the verge of exploding.
"The plan was for no one to get hurt. I truly believe that was the intent. At least that was mine-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ellie screamed, startling Bonnie. She rose to her feet so fast she toppled her chair. "I don't give a shit about your intentions or your fucking feelings! You're damn right it's your fault! Pete's blood is on your hands just as much as Carver's!"
"I know. Believe me, if I could change it I-"
Ellie hurled the magazine with all her might and only Bonnie's reflexes saved her from receiving the twin to Ellie's own head wound.
"FUCK YOU!"
The magazine clanged off a metal shelf and clattered to the floor, heralding an almost complete silence that descended in the room. The only sound that could be heard was Ellie panting for breath. She glared down at Bonnie, the urge to punch her almost overwhelming. She wanted to grab one of the heavy tools from the workbench and smash her stupid face in so that she wouldn't have to see it again. Only her sense of self-preservation and her concern for the group stopped her.
"Ellie, sit down." There was still some sadness in Bonnie's voice but also an edge of warning.
Ellie read it loud and clear, no further outburst like that would be tolerated. Ellie glowered at her in silence for several more seconds before she picked up her chair and sat down. Refusing to meet Bonnie gaze again, she grabbed another magazine and started furiously loading it.
"I understand you're mad at me, and you've got every right to be…" Bonnie sighed. "I just wanted you to know that I regret my part in all this."
"That won't bring Pete back," Ellie snarled, her voice cracking slightly.
"I know, and I know my words don't account for much, but it's all I can offer right now."
The next ten minutes was spent in complete silence. Loading the magazines was boring work but it helped calm her down, at least a bit. Her skull still throbbed but it was slowly subsiding. Bonnie looked like she wanted to talk more, but Ellie's outburst seemed to have made her wary.
"How was your first night in the yard?" She eventually built up the courage to ask. "I know it ain't so comfortable… But it's safe…"
Ellie glared at her but remained quiet. Bonnie sighed dejectedly but took the hint and shut up. They worked quietly for another ten to fifteen minutes before the blissful silence was broken again, this time by Bonnie's walky-talky crackling to life.
"Hey Bonnie, is the new girl still with you? I need to come get her. Over." Tavia's voice spoke from the device.
Bonnie picked it up and pressed the big rectangular red button.
"Yeah, she's here. Over."
"Good, I'll be there in a minute. Over and out."
"I'm sure it's fine," Bonnie said with what she probably intended to be a reassuring smile. "Oh, I almost forgot. I grabbed this for ya."
Bonnie walked off into the corner and came back almost immediately, holding a pair of knitted gloves. The gloves were a bright ugly pink with rose red heart embroidered on the back of the hands as well as all around the hem. They were without a doubt some of the girliest gloves Ellie had ever seen.
"I found them at the lodge y'all were at." She held out the pair to her, Ellie did not take them. "I know their probably not your type, but I imagine it's pretty cold at night out in the yard and… well, every little bit helps."
She wasn't wrong about that. Ellie had pulled her hands into the sleeves of her jacket in order to keep them warm last night when she went to sleep, and every time she had woken up, they were stiff and cold. Grudgingly, she took the gloves, all the while trying to ignore the small smile Bonnie gave her.
The door creaked open and Tavia stepped inside. Ellie quickly shoved Bonnie's gift into the pocket of her jacket.
"Everything okay in here?" She asked and gave the room a once over, no doubt trying to see if anything was missing.
"Everything's fine," Bonnie answered. She gestured to the pile of now fully loaded magazines. "Ellie here is a hard worked."
"Good. We need people that can pull their weight around here." She turned to face Ellie. "Carver wants you in the greenhouse. Come."
Ellie rose and followed, ignoring Bonnie's goodbye.
The greenhouse, it turned out was located on the roof next to the sun panels they used to power Howe's. Ellie was not impressed by what she saw. The place was a hovel compared to the greenhouses they had back in the QZ, not to mention the farmland they had made of the parks. The community at Howe's was smaller it was true, but even so, Carver would need a hell of a lot more that this if he was hoping to keep the settlement feed after all the dry and canned food ran out.
"Wait in here until I know what you'll be doing and don't touch anything," Tavia said as she ushered her inside.
"Bitch," Ellie muttered ones the door had closed, and she was sure Tavia wouldn't be able to hear her.
Ellie crossed her arms and took the opportunity to look around while she waited. The colors green and brown dominated the space before her. From floor to ceiling, there were potted plants everywhere. They were really trying to get as much out of the little space they had as they could.
Ellie was about to inspect the closest table when she heard a sniffing noise. Following the sound, she found Sarah sitting on the floor and hugging her knees to her chest next to some barrels full of tomato plants. Her eyes were puffy from crying and snot was rolling down from her left nostril. She looked more miserable than Ellie had ever seen her.
"Oh, crap."
Ellie was not in the fucking mood to deal with one of Sarah's meltdowns. Carlos, Rebecca and Clementine were a lot better at dealing with her when she was like this, but none of them were here right now. Ellie took a deep calming breath, it was up to her alone, fucking wonderful.
"Sarah?" Ellie said after taking a few seconds to compose herself.
Sarah started at the sound of her voice. Upon seeing her, she sniffed and whipped her nose on her sleeve.
"I-I'm… I'm s-sorry," Sarah stuttered.
"For what?"
Ellie sat down on the cold floor next to her.
"Because I'm stupid," she said and lowered her head. "I cause nothing but problems for everybody."
"Oh fuck. Don't tell my she's still upset from the meeting." Ellie wrapped her arm around Sarah's shoulder and pulling her close. "Why do you say that?"
"Because it's true," she hickuped, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "I can't do the things you and Clementine can; I've never even fired a gun. I can't fix people like my dad; I can't even help him because blood makes me scared, and I start shaking. Every time I try to help with a problem, I only make it worse. You looked so angry this morning and I wanted to sheer you up. Instead, I nearly made Mr. Carver angry at us and I didn't even realize it until you told me."
"Sarah," Ellie sighed and pulled her into a hug and started rubbing circles on her back. She wasn't wrong, but that wasn't what she needed to hear right now. "You're not useless, just inexperienced. I froze up to the first time I saw a stalker too and I shook like a leaf when I had to help bandage up another person for the first time. I'm sure Clementine and the others reacted the same. It's normal." Ellie broke the hug and whipped away the tears behind the glasses. Ellie gave her a reassuring smile. "It takes longer for some than others, but you'll get the hang of it, I know you will."
"You… you think so?"
"Yeah." She was lying through her teeth; it was doubtful Sarah would ever fully get over her anxiety problems, but it put a smile on her face and that was all that mattered at the moment. And who knew, maybe with enough time and training she wouldn't freeze up every time she got scared.
The sound of the greenhouse door opening had Ellie jump to her feet and helped Sarah up. By the time Reggie and Tavia walked into view, the two were standing side by side at the ready.
"Don't mess this up," Tavia said to Reggie.
"Got it."
Tavia turned her attention to Ellie and Sarah.
"Reggie's in charge here. Listen to what he tells you, understand?" She waited for their acknowledgment – which ended up being a meek yes mam and a short sharp nod – then left as quickly as she had come.
"Okey," Reggie said. "We got to do a good job, guys. The camp is counting on us."
"Fuck the camp," was the response Ellie wanted to give to that but kept her silence.
"Come on, I'll show you what to do. It's super easy." Waving with his only hand for them to follow, he walked over to one of the tables. He gestured to several pots that seemed to be growing blue berries. "Okey, so we're picking these berries here as well as those over there, right?" He pointed to another table on the opposite side of the greenhouse. "Just pick them, put them in the basket. Simple."
Yes, it was simple even Sarah shouldn't be able to fail at it. Speaking of which, Ellie saw from the corner of her eyes that Sarah seemed to only be half listening. Ellie lightly and discreetly jabbed her in the side to snap her out of her daze. Sarah blinked and her gaze moved first to Ellie then to Reggie.
"Whiles you're at it," Reggie continued. "If you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off, and stack them neatly for composting. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ellie said and went over to the other table and started picking berries. She hadn't even been working for a minute before she saw Reggie stop next to her table in her peripheral vision.
"Hey… can I talk with you for a moment?"
Ellie gave him a stare that said get on with it or fuck off.
"Is she okay?" He jerked his head in Sarah's direction. "I don't want her freaking out and getting me in trouble."
"Yeah, god forbid that Carver's little bootlicker gets in trouble." Ellie sneered.
"Okay…" Reggie said hesitantly, drawing out the word. "That was uncalled for."
Ellie didn't say anything in response, but let her face convey the contempt she felt.
"I think I know what this is about," Reggie said. "Look, I'm sorry if what I said last night made you angry, it was not my intent. Pete was always kind to me, he helped me out of a pickle more than once. I'm sorry he's gone, I really am. His friendship meant a great deal to me as I am sure it meant to you an-"
"You have no idea what he meant to me," Ellie hissed. A strong urge to throw the shears at his face rose within her.
"Look," Reggie sighed. "Carver expects good results… from everyone. This is not just about me getting back on his good side. If we fuck up, he won't just be angry with me. But if we do a good job, I might be let back in. If that happens, I can help you guys from the inside."
Ellie's face contorted in anger at Reggie's poor attempt to persuade, motivate, coerce or whatever the hell he was trying to do to make her work harder.
"Do you really believe that I'm that stupid?" Ellie said with a snarl so fierce that it took him aback. "You'll be just as scared of losing your new position as you are of not getting in now that you will prioritize that over us every fucking time. Help from the inside my ass! Now fuck off!" And with that said she turned back to her work.
Reggie stood there for a few seconds, stunned, before with a shake of his head left her for his own worktable further into the greenhouse. Ellie gave his retreating form one last disgusted look before immersing herself in her work.
Although there were many things Reggie clearly didn't know shit about, he hadn't been wrong about the work. It was so easy and boring that Ellie could do it in her sleep, which meant it gave her a lot of time to think. Mostly about painful and creative ways to kill Carver and his goons, but also of an escape plan. The second of which was not as fruitful as the first.
It didn't take her long to see that escaping the yard was next to impossible. Climbing the fence was not an option, not all would be able to make the climb and it would make too much noise in any case, the guards on the roofs would spot them. Digging under the fence was not an option either, it would take too long and the risk of being spotted by the guards or Reggie to high.
Ellie's mind raced through several other scenarios, and they all came out pretty much the same. There just wasn't enough time to create an escape way for a group this large without being spotted, there were simply to many eyes on them at all times, either from the guards or Reggie.
For a few blissful minutes Ellie contemplated killing the man but that would probably not work, Carver would punish them all for killing his spy. Making it look like an accident might work but Carver would probably still be suspicious and punish them anyways, he seemed the type. Besides, Rebecca and the others knew and liked him, so ending him wouldn't go down well with them.
If they could get Reggie on their side then maybe, but the guy had his nose so thoroughly shoved up Carver's ass that Ellie couldn't see it happening, not unless he fell out of favor so badly that he saw no other choice.
"Ellie," Sarah stage whispered, shaking Ellie out of her contemplations. "Carver's coming."
Ellie's head snapped in the direction of the window next to Sarah's table that looked out onto the roof door. Sure enough, Carver was walking straight for the greenhouse. The door opened a few seconds later with a creak and Carver marched in, his face set in a friendly smile.
"Just checking in, see how the new girls are working out."
His gaze darted to his right and Ellie tightened her grip on the shears to the point that it hurt as he approached her table. The temptation to try to stab him as he stood there within arms-reach was almost overwhelming, and it took a great effort to not give into it. After what felt like several minutes of tense silence, in which the smile never left Carver's face, he gave her a nod. Seeming satisfied with her work, he moved on to Sarah's table. It didn't take more than half a minute a frown made its way onto his face. He pulled one of the finished plants closer for inspection.
"Why haven't you removed these?" Carver asked gruffly, pointing to several leaves that were slightly discolored with a withered brown color in places.
"Oh fuck. Not good."
Ellie recognized that tone well enough, having heard it many times before. It was the tone of someone who had been looking for and spotted a mistake – no matter how insignificant – and was now going to severely reprimanded and punish the individual in question who had done it. Sarah was in deep shit, and Ellie was unsure what she could do that would not make the situation worse. Sarah herself looked confused and afraid.
"They are mostly gree-" Sarah started to say hesitantly. At a sharp sideways look from Carver, her words cut off abruptly and she fixed her gaze firmly on her own shoes.
"They are dying. In a few days they'll be as dead as the rest, and from what I can see it's not only on this plant. Not to mention that your also way behind Ellie." Sarah flinched at the sharp rebuke and let out a stuttering sorry.
Ellie felt her indignation rise at Carver's words. What the hell was he playing at? Sarah might have been a bit sloppy, but it was no way near as bad as he made it out to be. It easily fixable. And so what if she were maybe one or two plants behind her, it wasn't a fucking race.
"Explain this," Carver demanded and turned his hard expression on Reggie.
"Look, Bill, they're new, and me with my arm, it's just not the eas- I just ha- I have one arm, so-"
"Shut up," Carver snapped. "Shut the fuck up. I wanted an explanation to this, not excuses."
Ellie blinked in surprise; she had expected him to go berate Sarah not Reggie, not that she was complaining or anything.
"Bill, please, just-"
"Sounds like you're about to give me another excuse." Carver's mouth twisted into a sneer. "I hear you've been giving Tavia a lot of those whiles I was away as well."
"Just give her a little more time, she'll-"
"Time's up, Reggie. You had a task, and you didn't get it done. Looks to me like you failed."
An idea struck Ellie in that moment, one that might make a future escape possible. If she could shift the blame even more on Reggie, she could potentially fuck things up for him so badly that Carver would never take him back. The million-dollar question was who would he hate more? Ellie for sabotaging his chances to get back in or Carver for leaving him out in the cold. She had to phrase her words carefully, to make her intention less obvious.
"It was my fault," Ellie said, stepping forward. "I didn't show Sarah well enough."
"Nah, this ain't on you," Carver said calmly, never taking his eyes of Reggie. "Instructing her was his responsibility, his job. We talked about this Reggie. Didn't we? But you just don't get it, do you?"
"Get what? I-I-" Reggie's voice trembled with fear and his eyes had grown wide.
"Girls, wait outside," Carver said, not taking his gaze of the other man. "Reggie and I have a few things to talk about."
"Come on Sarah." Not wanting to stay in Carver's presence a second longer than she had to, Ellie hurried over and took the other girl by the arm and lead her towards the door. Sarah did not resist and kept her eyes firmly on the ground, her body trebling slightly.
"Thanks for the help girls," Reggie said with pitiful resignation.
Whatever sympathy Ellie might have felt for him in that moment was crushed instantly by the overwhelming satisfaction of seeing his chances to get on Carver's good side dashed to pieces. Though she tried, she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from pulling into a smile. Fortunately, no one could see it.
"I've had about enough of this Reggie," Carver started to say as Ellie closed the door behind her leaving the rest of the sentence an incoherent mumble.
The two girls walked almost to the edge of the roof where they had a great view of forests beyond Howe's parking lot and the mountains reaching for the horizon. Although the sight was beautiful, Ellie didn't really have time to take in the view since Sarah looked like she was on the verge of a break down.
"Are you okey?" Ellie asked.
"I-I did everything he told me to," Sarah said, her voice breaking and tears forming in her eyes. "And I still got it wrong."
"Sarah that was not your fault, no matter what Carv-"
The door to the greenhouse burst open and Reggie stumbled out, blood running from his nose and mouth. He managed to just barely stop himself from falling onto his knees. Carver came storming after him, his hands clenched into fists.
"I GAVE YOU PLENTY OF CHANCES!" Carver shouted.
"NO, NO, NO! PLEASE, BILL!" Reggie pleaded.
He backed away from Carver as fast as he could, not realizing that he was heading towards the roof edge until he almost fell over it. Carver grabbed hold of Reggie's vest and delivered a knee to the man's gut. Reggie doubled over; the air forced from his lungs. Sarah let out a sound that was something between a gasp and a cry. Ellie grabbed the other girl and turned her away from the violence, embracing her in a hug. Before Reggie had a chance to do more than gasp for air, Carver grabbed the back of his vest and hurled him over the edge.
Reggie's panicked scream was quickly and abruptly cut off by a sickening bone breaking splat. Sarah hugged her tighter, and Ellie heard her let out a whimper into her shoulder. Ellie, stunned, stared with wide eyes at Carver who was looking down at the body below with contempt, holding his wounded shoulder with his left hand, but quickly removed it.
"What the fuck!" Ellie though just as Carver turned towards them, his face expressing a mix of anger and pain. "Oh shit."
"Let this be a lesson," Carver said, his voice low and grim. "Incompetence, weakness, it puts us all at risk, and it won't be tolerated. Keep that in mind the next time you're asked to do something. Now get downstairs Ellie, Bonnie got more work for you. Sarah, stay."
Slowly, reluctantly, Ellie let go of Sarah and backed several steps towards the door. Sarah expression was pleading her to stay, but Ellie did not dare take the chance to anger Carver now, not after what she had just witnessed. She spun on her heel and hurried to the door but threw one last look over her shoulder before she closed it behind her and saw Sarah standing with her back to her with Carver's hands on her shoulders.
As she hurried down the stairs Ellie's stomach turned, and she felt physically ill. Despite her many flaws and that she annoyed her at times, Ellie did not want Sarah to come to harm. Her conscience was screaming at her to turn around and run back up to make sure that Sarah was safe. But Carver's warning kept her going downwards even though the image of him throwing Sarah over the edge next kept flashing in her mind.
"He wouldn't," she assured herself. "She's more valuable alive, as a hostage."
Reggie had also been valuable though, he had been his spy, his eyes and ears in the yard. Ellie didn't feel much in the way of guilt for the roll she played in Reggie's death. From the way Carver had acted, it seemed like he was looking for any excuse to get rid of the man. For all she knew Carver would have killed him even if she hadn't said anything.
"He was a shitty spy, and he wasn't a good worker, crippled as he was. The again, neither is Sarah"
"Fuck," she hissed as she reached the bottom and stopped. Leaning her hand against the wall and panting for breath even though the decent had not tired her. She felt a grease tightness manifest in her guts. A discomforting sense of powerlessness.
"If he kills her, I'll… I'll."
What? What could she do?
"Hey!" A male voice called that almost made Ellie jump. Looking in the direction of the voice, Ellie found a bespectacled middle-aged man with long brown hair and a rich beard watching her. The man was clearly a guard as he was armed with a machine gun. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," she lied, her voice cracking slightly.
"Okey," the man said slowly, clearly not convinced. He threw a quick look around then said, "look, take a minute to catch your breath then hurry on to your workstation. Bill does not like idle hands."
Ellie nodded gratefully and took several deep breaths to calm down, using the time to look for Bonnie. She quickly spotted her standing on the opposite side of the building. With brisk steps she hurried in the ginger woman's direction, passing a group of teens that were gathered by a row of shelves and talking animatedly. Ellie noted with a glance that Becca was one of them.
"Hey, you're one of the new people, right?" One of the boys in the group called out when he saw her.
Ellie walked past him without as much as a sideways glance. Several of the kid's chuckled at her lack of response, she didn't know why, nor did she care. She heard rather than saw someone hurrying to catch up and then fall into steps beside her.
"Hey, name's Chris, what's yours?"
"Go away," she snapped.
"Whoa, no need to be like that, I'm only trying to get to know you is all."
"More likely you're trying to get into my pants."
Boys had tried to flirt with her back in the QZ as well, maybe not as much as the other girls, but it happened more then she liked. Most of them had the sense to know when their advances were not wanted, but there were a few who either didn't know the meaning of the word no or were too stubborn to accept one. This Chris unfortunately seemed to be one of them.
"So, what is your name?"
"What part of go away don't you get."
"As soon as you tell me your name." Whiles Ellie refuse to look at him, she could hear from the teasing in his voice that he was smiling.
Goddammit, boys could be so dense at times. It was as if they couldn't get the concepts of a girl not being interested in them unless they literary screamed it to their face. Whiles it would no doubt be satisfying to do so; it would cause more problem for her then it would solve. So, she tried to keep her temper under control.
"Fuck off," Ellie said through gritted teeth. They were close enough now that Bonnie could hear them as she turned in their direction at the sound of Ellie's voice.
"Alright," Chris said in mock surrender. She heard his footsteps cease. "But I will get your name sooner or later."
"I don't care," she said, but it was doubtful he heard her.
"Making new friends?" Bonnie asked as she approached, a broad humorous smile plastered on her face. "Chris is a nice kid; you could do a lot worse than him." She gave Ellie a wink.
"Are you fucking kidding me!"
"I'm just messing with you Ellie," Bonnie laughed. "God you should see your face. As red as a ripe tomato. But jokes aside though, Chris is a good kid. I think you two would really get along."
"Just tell me what's my job is," Ellie said flatly.
Impossibly, Bonnie's smile grew wider. She probably thought that Ellie was deflecting, as if she was some love smitten teen from a tv drama. Bitch.
"Right, your job. So, it's really simple. They want you to run some supplies out to the boys working at the expansion. Just take this over to them." She held out a bucket full of nails and nodded in the direction of a door marked with an emergency exit sign.
"Go outside?!" If what Ellie's sense of direction was telling her was right, then that door was less than a stone's throw from where Reggie had been killed. "His body is probably still out there. Unless it's started moving. Maybe Sarah's is- NO! DON'T THINK LIKE THAT!"
"Right," Ellie said hesitantly.
She took the bucket with both hands – damn thing was heavier than it looked – and turned towards the door but suddenly found it difficult to move. What if she was wrong, what if there was a second body out there? Would she be able to see if there was? She had so far not gotten a good look on the exterior of Howe's, but she had seen the night before that they had built a walled corridors to the expansion project. Maybe there were gaps in the walls to look through?
"Ellie? You all alright?" Bonnie asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Fine, why wouldn't I be." Ellie felt her voice cracking. "I've just been enslaved by a mad man and his army of goons."
"Ellie, I know things are ha-"
"And if I don't do what I'm told perfectly, he'll kill me."
"Ellie, darling. Bill wouldn't do that."
"Tell that to Reggie."
"What are you talking about? Ellie, you're not making a lick of sense."
Ellie wanted to scream at her to go look outside, to make her see what Carver had done, but she didn't. It would make no difference. Bonnie was one of his troops, she would just rationalize it away like with everything else Carver had done up until now. It would be pointless. Ellie saw from the corner of her eye Bonnie's hand reaching out towards her shoulder and quickly stepped out of the woman's reach. Sighing, Bonnie pulled back from her.
"Ellie, darling. You're under a lot of stress. After this is done, I'm gonna go check if there ain't something easier you could be doing."
Ellie didn't reply but mustered her courage and hesitantly walked to the door. With her hands full, Bonnie helped her by holding up the door and called out to Troy – the asshole – who stood guard on the roof of the building she would be going to.
"Troy! Ellie is bringing them boys some nails."
"Alright."
"I'll see you soon," Bonnie said and went back inside.
Now that she saw it clearly in the day light, the walled corridor looked more like a haphazardly erected fence built of planks, plywood and whatever else they could nail together. There was even a small area that had incorporated a chain linked fence. Ellie looked through the metal links and felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. There was only one body lying on the ground and judging by the way his skull had been caved in, Reggie was not getting back up again. She stared at what was left of his face, a frozen expression of panic. She looked up but could neither see nor hear anyone on the roof above the body. Carver and Sarah were probably no longer there, which was a relief.
"HEY!" Troy's voice called out behind her. "Stop gawking and get that stuff over to them boys. Just follow the cable."
Though she didn't deem to respond, she nevertheless did as she was told and followed the yellow cable on the ground. She passed the fence to the yard but could not see anyone inside. Next, she passed a comic store and she almost halted in her steps when she saw the cover of Savage Starlight plastered in one of the windows.
"To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive," she murmured the hero's favorite quote from the comic. Ellie felt like she had done nothing but that for the past two years. Now that the cover of her favorite comic was in front of her, she remembered she never got around to reading the last issue that came out before the outbreak. "Wonder if they have it here."
As she got closer to her destination the familiar stench of decay invaded her nostrils and the weak moans of the dead could be heard on the other side of the fence. Had the vanguard of the herd reached them already? Or were these just your average group of stalkers that had stubbled here looking for something to bite.
The fence next to her suddenly shook violently and she jumped. A loud aggressive growl came from the other side and the fence shook again. In a small gap between two planks a white cloudy eye stared at her. Ellie walked faster until she reached a door to what had once been a shoe store.
"I ain't nobody's laborer. Fuck that!" Kenny raised voice was the first thing she heard when she entered. Ellie's head snapped in the direction just in time to see the bearded man push Mike up against one of the boarded-up windows, his forearm pressed against his throat. "Let them do this shit themselves if it's so goddamn important."
"Oh shit."
Ellie dropped the bucket; it made a rattling clang as it hit the floor and scattered nails everywhere. The slip hazard she had just created did not concern Ellie one bit, the only though running through her head as she rushed towards the combatants was that she had to stop Kenny before he got someone else killed.
"Get your fucking hands off me, man," Mike yelled.
"You ain't gonna force me to do this bullshit."
"Kenny, let him go!" She shouted and grabbed hold of his right arm to ease the pressure on Mike's windpipe. Her effort provided some relief, but she wasn't strong enough to break Kenny's hold of the man.
"He's been on my ass this entire morning," Kenney snarled, increasing the pressure and making the glass under the plywood board behind Mike crack audibly. "He got this coming."
"I was trying to help you, asshole!"
"Help! Like hell! You're one of them, aren't you? A fucking spy for Carver!"
Was that true? Was Mike a spy? It could explain why Carver killed Reggie with so little concern, because he had another spy in the yard. Ellie filed it away for later consideration, at the moment she needed to stop the fighting.
"Kenny let go of him, please. Don't give Carver an excuse to kill any more people today!"
"What!?" The two men shouted in unison. The men stood frozen in place like statues, their conflict temporarily forgotten, their sole focus on Ellie.
"Who? Who did he kill?" Kenny asked, the fear in his voice mirrored on his face.
"Reggie. Carver threw Reggie head first from the roof less than twenty minutes ago. His body is still out there." She pointed behind her in the general direction.
"Jesus," Kenny whispered.
"Are you sure?" Mike asked. He looked stunned. "Di-"
The sound of shattering glass interrupted whatever Mike was going to say and the board behind him suddenly bulged so violently inwards that it sent both men staggering back. Ellie felt her heart jump into her throat. The board hit the floor with a thunk and half a dozen decaying arms reached in through the breach followed quickly by their owners. They tumbled in through the broken window and hit the grounds like sacks of meats, before rising. They were quickly followed by four more stalkers.
"Shit! Fucking grab something!" Kenny shouted, snatched a hammer from the floor.
With a savage yell he smashed the first stalker within reach in the side of the head, sending it crumpling to the ground. Following Kenny's lead, Mike had grabbed another hammer and started swinging.
Ellie had instinctively backed away from the breach in the direction of the door she had entered from. Her heart rate increasing and her senses kicking into overdrive. Out of the seven that had entered, three stalkers had zeroed in on her and were now moving with aggressive hast, their hands grasping for her. Behind them another pair stepped in through the broken window. She had been completely cut off from the others. She cast her eyes around for a good weapon but the best one she could find was a sledgehammer that lay on the floor by a doorway that led into a backroom. If she went to get it, she would be cut off from the exit. That would not be a good position, as much as she hated the idea, running away might be the best option.
"It's not as if I would lose anyone I care about. Being eaten alive sounded like a fitting end for Kenny after all he has done, and as for Mike, well, he might be a spy so good riddance."
She was about to turn and bolt for the door when words that were not her own cut through her mind like a white-hot knife and filled her with equal amount fear and hate.
"Incompetence, weakness, it puts us all at risk, and it won't be tolerated."
The drill sergeants in the QZ had taught her that it was only common sense to do a tactical retreat when you faced bad odds, but Carver would probably not see it as that. He would see it as cowardice, and cowardice was weakness. Ellie was not weak; she had dealt with odds worse than three stalkers before and come out on top. She was not going to give that fucker an excuse to throw her of the roof like Reggie.
Ellie ran for the hammer.
"Come on you fuckers!"
She hefted the sledgehammer; it was heavy but nothing she couldn't handle so long as the fight didn't drag on too long. The first stalker that came within reach received a sideways swing that broke its knee and sent it to the ground. Using the momentum from the swing she brought the hammer up high and swung it down on the stalkers head with a sickening splat that spattered gore in all directions. Ellie yanked at the hammer, and it came free with a meaty squelch.
The second stalker lurched forward, it's one rotten hand outstretched to grab her, the other having been cut off at the wrist. Ellie managed to sidestep it's charge just in time. With a yell, she swung the hammer like a baseball bat with all her might, aiming for the bridge of the staggering stalker's nose. Her strike hit true and the hammers blunt head lodge into the skull with a wet thunk. Ellie felt a painful jolt move through her hands and up her arms, making her lose her grip.
It saved her life.
The stalker toppled backwards, the hammer solidly planted in its skull and would have pulled her down with it. Ellie did not have time to try to get the sledgehammer back before the third stalker was on her. It was moving fast, eager to sink its decayed teeth into her soft flesh. Ellie barley managed to duck under its arms. Backing up, Ellie cast her eyes around for a new weapon but saw none, what she did see though was something to slow the fucker down.
She reached out and tipped over the ladder that stood next to the doorway to the backroom. It hit the stalker in the shoulder with a clatter and made it stagger, but unfortunately it remained standing. Ellie took the opportunity she had created to run into the backroom.
"I need a new weapon, preferably something sharp an- what the shit!"
She felt something tangle her feet, making her lose balance and fall. Though she instinctively reached out her hands to catch herself, it was not a painless landing. Grunting, she rolled onto her back and found her right foot tangled in a power cord.
"Fuck!"
Ignoring the pain, Ellie sat up as fast as she could and stared to untangle the damn thing. She had just gotten it lose when she became aware of the low growl coming from the door that made a cold shiver run down her spine and sent her heart hammering in panic. With arms outstretched, fingers grasping empty air, the stalker shambled into the room, it's gaze locked on her.
"Crap, crap, crap!"
She crawled backwards along the ground as fast as she could, trying to gain as much distance as she could. The thing was hot on her heels, teeth chomping. Getting to her feets, her back almost against the storage shelfs lining the wall, Ellie's eyes darted around for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. There was nothing. Her back hit the shelfs, making them rattle and sway ever so slightly.
"Wait!"
She looked at the shelfs, the frame wasn't bolted the floor or the wall, they were loose. A desperate plan formed in her head. She had to time this right or else she was a goner. She waited, eyes locked on the stalker, every muscle in her body tense in anticipation of the moment as the stalker got closer.
It had been a man in his early thirteenth in life, tall, broad shouldered with dark skin and thin stubbles on his jaw and cheeks. Death had not been kind to him. Most of its hair had fallen out – or the skin beneath had rotted off – and the nose was also missing, whether it had been bitten off or decayed was impossible to say. Its lips were also missing, not uncommon for stalkers, they would eat through their own lips in their feed frenzies.
The dead man's hands were almost in reach of her face when she struck out with her foot. The savage kick caught the stalker in the knee making it lose balance. Performing perhaps the fastest sidestep in her life, Ellie ducked under its arms and out of the way before the stalker stumbled into the storage shelf. The whole thing wobbled dangerously but might not have fallen if Ellie hadn't grabbed the fame and pulled. The whole thing came down on top of the stalker with a mighty crash that made Ellie's eardrums hurt.
Staring at the wreckage, Ellie let out a panting chuckle. It had worked, it had fucking worked. Her chuckle was interrupted by a growl and metal clanging came from the wreckage. Ellie's heart skipped a beat, but just as quickly calmed down. Though the stalker tried to move, it could do little more than shift the wreckage slightly. It was trapped. Ellie approached the head, the only part of it not trapped. It stared up at her with its milky eyes and growled, its mouth chewing the air as if it would somehow help it get close enough to bite.
Ellie raised her foot and stomped down on the stalkers head. The skull collided with the floor with an audible crack, leaving a smear of congealed blood mixed with some other wile stinking fluids. The stalker let out another growl and tried to rise itself again. She brought down her foot again, and again, and again. She didn't stop, not even when it went limp and quiet, but continued until the skull caved in.
Breathing heavy, she stared down at the bloody mess, and the blood splattered all over her legs. She could feel some of the liquids seep into her shoes and socks. The sight made her stomach turn and she tasted bile in her mouth, she tried to get rid of it by spit but had little success. It was only as she got her breathing under control and the adrenaline started to wear off that she felt how tired she was. Her arms and legs felt like jelly, and she wanted nothing more in that moment then to sit down.
From out in the store came the shouting mixed with rasping growls and the sound of fighting. She headed towards the door, there was no time to rest now, there were more fighting to be done and she needed to get her weapon back.
There were no stalkers waiting for her when she returned to the main room, Kenny and Mike thankfully seemed to have attracted the bulk of them. The hammer remained where she had left it, it took her several tugs before she managed to get it lose. It felt heavier then before.
She moved slowly in the detraction of the battle, she was not going to take the risk of a stalker jumping out on her, no matter how remote that possibility was. Sneaking between two shelfs, she looked around the corner and caught sight of the combatants. They had killed most of the stalkers it would seem, given the odds they had against them, Ellie was very impressed. But in the process the fight they had gotten separated. Mike was fighting against a large broad-shouldered stalker that was almost a head taller than himself and was just barely managing to keep the thing at bay.
Kenny had it worse.
His back was up against the wall, his forearm pressing against the stalkers throat, the only thing that stopped it from sinking its teeth into his neck. His other arm was holding back a rotten arm which was missing its hand, two sharp broken yellow bones protruding from the stump that was its wrist. If he let go of either the arm or the throat he would get stabbed or bitten. He was trapped and he looked tired.
The sight sent a thrill of anticipation rushing through Ellie, making her heart skip a beat and her lips pulled into a savage smile. It looked like she would get her wish.
"You've fucked up for the last time Kenny."
