Chapter 24
Cat yawned intensively as she walked into the com room, only wearing some loose shorts, whereas the rest of her well curved, tattooed body was still uncovered. With one hand she tried to wipe some drowsiness out of her eyes while in her other one she carried an old mug with coffee in it.
It was in the middle of the night and she was responsible for all radio communication at the moment. Though, during nighttime there was mostly none com-traffic whatsoever, except emergencies, but those were very rare. Nonetheless, she did her job and checked all frequencies by standing in front of the long-range radio equipment and flicking through all channels. It wasn't much to do, so she sometimes sprinkled this rather monotone job with some additional breaks, like the one she just had.
Normally, she was entirely into women - especially one young teenage-girl that was on vacation at the moment. But sometimes she enjoyed a real dick inside her pussy. A good girth that would pummel her deep and massage every part of her vagina.
Before the outbreak, there had been sextoys, but nowadays, they were hard to find. So, she had to go with what nature was providing her. Like the penis that had given her three orgasms in a row. It had been unexpected and spontaneously, but eventually beautiful. A surprise without any comparison from a person she had never expected it from.
Thinking back, her lips formed a slight smile while a droplet from between her legs began to run towards the ground, tickling her thigh. She swiped it off with her hand and licked it from her palm with her tongue. It tasted good. She actually loved the taste of her wetness as well as El-...
She suddenly felt a sharp, hot sting on the left side of her ribcage, but before Cat was able to scream, a hand was suddenly closing her mouth and nose from behind.
Cat struggled as hard as she could, but her strength faded quickly as the pain in her chest increased. She felt how the throbbing of her pulse decreased with every passing second. She had a hard time keeping her eyes open and slowly but surely was losing that fight until she couldn't hold them open anymore and fell into eternal darkness.
"Ass-Bomb!"
Forming a ball after jumping off a rock, Ellie impacted onto the water surface, causing a giant splash that hit Sarah, who turned away and squealed. And as soon as Ellie emerged, the mature woman jumped at her and pressed her down into the water again, only to let her get up right away. And while Ellie coughed and cursed, Sarah giggled childishly before taking the teenage girl into an embrace and kissing her intensely. And after she broke the contact and gazed deeply into Ellie's green eyes, she realized that this was the first real vacation she had taken since the start of the outbreak. The first vacation that was making her feel like a teenager again.
Taking Ellie's hand, Sarah led them out of the lake and towards their camp, where they both sat laid down onto a pair of blankets where the warm summer sun was warming and drying their naked bodies.
She enjoyed the quietness of nature and the absence of other humans. She enjoyed the wind brushing over her skin, inducing goosebumps all over her body. She enjoyed, when Ellie climbed on top of her and started to kiss her again. She enjoyed when she kissed a wet trail down her body until she was giving her pleasure with her mouth. She enjoyed it, when she was pleasuring her in return.
This was how life should be. Carefree, without violence and worries. This was the life she had ever imagined for Ellie. Sadly, it was just a vacation. A break from reality. A break that was only possible by agreeing to conditions, like reporting in regularly.
Sighing heavily, she gave Ellie one last kiss on the forehead and said "Sorry. Time to report in. I'll be back in a minute."
"Don't take too long," Ellie returned, adding with a wry smirk "I'm still hungry."
Sarah knew what she wanted and didn't mind at all. So much had summed up over the last 18 months, that she didn't mind to overdo it. With one last deep kiss she confirmed the young girl's wish and then went over to the tent, where she brought forth a radio from her backpack and activated.
"Here's Sarah to Jackson, come in!"
The radio stayed silent for a moment, only statics cracking from the speaker. During bad weather, an unstable connection was possible over such distances, but it was a clear sky without any clouds. So, she should at least have a signal.
"Jackson, Jackson, this is Sarah, reporting in as scheduled. Come in!"
Again, there was silence. Silence that made her worry. Thankfully, the radio came to life and Tommy's voice chimed from the speaker.
"Hey Sarah, this is Tommy, come in!"
Relief! She felt like an idiot to be worried. Jackson was secure, even without her, because other people could do her work, too.
"Hey Tommy, everything dandy? I thought Cat had radio duty for the next few days? Come in!"
But there it was again, silence. A pause to be exact. A pause that was followed by a deep sigh.
"Sarah…there's been a problem…"
A problem. Never a good sign, but manageable.
"Cat…she's dead. We found her in the woods by the old drainage pipe number 7. We think she got murdered."
Reality was always catching up fast. And when it caught up, it was with a giant bang. Cat, Ellie's best friend, was murdered. She glimpsed for a short moment at her girlfriend who was humming a song while reading a book.
One thing was clear, vacation was over. Instantly, her brain geared back into its old state. She knew what Cat - the person who had given Ellie her tattoos - meant for Ellie. How close they were. Hell, she even knew about their little secret affair and never hated them both for this. No, she actually was pragmatic about it, searching the blame by herself. She even would've accepted, if Ellie would've broken up with her during that time. Foolish, but she would've had no other choice, considering that her relationship with Ellie was a secret.
No, that was the past. At the moment, she was having two tasks ahead. First, solving the murder, and second, telling Ellie. But for that, she needed to know more.
"How did she die?"
"Maria's still examining the body. She wants to do some sorta autopsy as soon as we bring her back to Jackson. But so far, it seems like she got stabbed."
"Okay, but don't make too much of a mess. I wanna take a look at the scene myself!" said Sarah, the portable radio clenched in her hand. "I'll be there in an hour. Over!"
"Sarah…" chimed Tommy's voice one last time before she was able to turn off the radio. "How're you planning to tell Ellie?"
Her gaze rested on her girlfriend again, who was still unaware of this deep tragedy, and she knew that this was soon over. And she would be the messenger of this bad news.
"See you in an hour!" was everything she replied before turning off the radio. How did she plan to tell Ellie? A good and a stupid question at the same time! If life had taught her anything, then there was no easy way when it came to death. Her dad, Anna's mom, Anna herself… All death notes came with tears and sorrow, and this wouldn't be any different.
Exhaling deeply and gathering some courage, Sarah got up and walked back to Ellie. She tried to put on her poker face, but that wasn't possible, knowing that she was about to shatter her beloved Ellie's perfect world into pieces.
At first, the 15-year-old - soon to be 16-year-old - was more focused on her book, but as she heard Sarah's footsteps, she turned her body towards her and spread her legs.
"So, how about round two?" she asked seductively with a smirk, which faltered immediately as she saw her girlfriend's stern demeanor. "What's wrong?"
It was hard to deliver a bad message. Very hard. Especially when it would hurt the person you love the most.
"Ellie…" she began, immediately realizing what a silly kind of way it was to start such a conversation. Exhaling again, she kneeled down, looking with watery eyes deeply at Ellie and said "I'm sorry! Cat…she's gone."
There it was again, silence. But this time it was an uncomfortable one. It was shock, nothing more. Sarah realized that when the young girl wasn't able to do or say anything. But sooner or later, her brain would resume its work, and the fact would hit her like a hammer.
But in contrast to what Sarah had imagined, Ellie didn't break down or run away to have some quietness. Yes, her lips were trembling and her voice was brittle. There were even tears. But beside this, there was only rage and determination in her green eyes, underlined by a tight grip on her hand.
"How?" she asked which gave Sarah the feeling that Ellie already knew that something wasn't right. Cat was never outside the walls, always helping from inside. So, it didn't make sense for her to be outside the walls at all.
"It looks like she got murdered."
"How? Who?"
"We don't know, yet. But I promise you that I-…"
"WE!" Ellie threw in with gritted teeth, the burning fire in her eyes making it clear that for her it was adamant and no room for discussion. "WE will find this motherfucker who did this. And then, I'll waste this sonofabitch!"
Ellie was in rage, her mind already clouded by vengeance. Sarah understood this since she used to be the same. A hothead, guided by emotions. No, there was no reason to argue against her right now. It would only make things worse. So, she did the only right thing and silently hugged Ellie, giving her a chance to calm down and release her sorrow.
An hour later, Sarah and Ellie arrived at the crime scene with their horses. During the ride, both hadn't spoken even one word. The young teenager was continuously in the process of grieving, probably already imagining what she would love to do to the person who had killed Cat.
Sarah could relate to that. And though she would never obviously announce it, she would support Ellie in her revenge to a certain point, though she didn't know yet where to draw the line.
The blond woman slipped effortlessly out of the saddle and approached the spot where Cat's body had been found, Tommy already waiting for her. On her way, she used the time to scan the surroundings.
They were probably a mile away from town, in the middle of the woods. There was only a small path leading to this spot, where an old drainage pipe was emerging from the ground. A crucial part for saving the town from the high amount of water that was coming from the mountain after a heavy rain or the melting snow in spring.
"Hey Sarah, sorry for crashing your lil' vacation!" Tommy greeted her with a stern demeanor, and, of course, Sarah wasn't in the mood for some chitchat.
"Cut the crap, Tommy, and gimme the details!"
They then walked down a small slope into a channel, where normally the drained water would run further down the mountain.
"One of our troops who were regularly checkin' the drainage system found her this morning. She was lying there, right in the bed."
He signed at a spot right beside them with a big accumulation of partially dried blood that was carried away by a tiny rivulet running through the bed, coming from the big drainage pipe. Sarah knelt down and checked every detail. But apart from that, the ground was dry and partially covered by leaves.
Ellie, however, was still standing on the edge of the channel, watching and listening while her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her hands clenching into her upper arms.
"She was stabbed, you said on the radio?" Sarah asked, looking over her shoulder at her uncle, who nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, lil' stab wound on the left side of her chest, probably right into her heart."
"Lemme guess," the blonde then continued, getting up again while scanning the area again. "All this blood came from this one wound, but you neither found the knife nor any other blood traces around?"
"Yeah, that's right, apart from the fact that she was naked. But how…?"
"She wasn't murdered here," Sarah concluded and climbed up the slope again. "I need to see the body. Meet me back in town." she then said over her shoulder while heading back to the horses while taking Ellie by the hand. "C'mon, Ellie!"
Ellie had already seen a lot of corpses in her young life, reaching from fresh to completely decomposed ones. But seeing the body of someone you used to like or even love was an entirely different dimension. So, no wonder that she had to gulp hard and swallow down a giant surge of emotions as she was standing in front of the table where Cat's body was laying, covered by a white sheet.
"You sure you wanna do this, Ellie?" Maria asked as she witnessed the young girl's inner struggle.
"I'm fine," was everything she, however, spat back, her sight still glued onto the covered body in front of her, which shapes were telling her who was lying under it.
Sarah was also having her experience, regarding the loss of loved ones and seeing their mortal shells they left behind. Empathic about this topic, she wrapped one arm around the young girl's shoulder and signaled Maria to lift the sheet and reveal the cold, pale body.
Cat used to be a tattoo artist, who had not only decorated the skin of others, but also her own. Her entire body was a canvas, even her most intimate area. But that was not the reason they were here, Maria's voice underlining it as she cleared her throat and began to talk.
"The cause of death was clearly a stab wound on the left side of her chest," she said and lifted the left arm. "The blade punctured her heart and caused a rapid death within two minutes as the blood flow stopped and her brain failed to get any oxygen."
"Any other signs of violence?" Sarah then asked in return, taking a closer look while Ellie gulped down another wave of grief.
Some time ago, the young girl had learned that even in death, most people looked very peaceful and like being asleep. This wasn't any different with Cat. Apart from her paler skin color, she looked like she was sleeping, which reminded Ellie of the one night they had spent together.
It had happened after one of their tattoo sessions. Ellie had just ranted about Sarah's absence and how it was frustrating her. How she wished that they would spend more time together. How she felt left alone. And how Cat had told her that life wasn't always easy and was like a rollercoaster with ups and downs and some loopings. Ellie knew that she was still young and naive. And as Cat had told her that she wasn't alone and had started to get touchy with her, she didn't even protest. She just let it happen. And though she used to be angry at Cat for playing her like this, she had also cherished their deep friendship.
"No. No other lesions. Yet, I found traces of sperm in her pubic hairs."
Right away, Ellie was fully aware and gazed deeply at Maria.
"Wh-what do you mean with 'sperm in her pubes'? Did someone…?"
"No, it's unlikely that she has been raped," concluded Maria the young girl's thoughts and covered the body again.
"You must be wrong. Cat was…" Ellie countered, but got immediately shut down by Maria, who gazed directly at her.
"There are no signs of force or bruises, and not even sperm inside her vagina. So, rape is simply not plausible."
"Which means that she probably had voluntarily sex with her murderer right before her death," Sarah then concluded, pinching her chin again. A conclusion that didn't fit into Ellie's point of view. Cat had told her that she was seeing nobody else and that she was special to her. But how was she supposed to be special, if she was easily replaced by some guy?
Spitting out a quiet "Bullshit!" Ellie turned on her heels and left the clinic, only stopping as she had reached the square with the bench again, where she sat down and started to sob as she wasn't able to gulp down those summed up emotions anymore. Of course, Sarah would follow her - that was as clear as glass - as well as that she would take a seat right beside her and start to soothingly brush over Ellie's back.
"I can't believe that she's gone," was everything the young girl managed to answer between her quiet sobs as she laid her head onto her girlfriend's thighs, where she got her head tenderly stroked. "Yesterday, we were just chatting over the radio and now…"
"I know," Sarah returned, watching all the people that were passing by like any of them could be the murderer. "Say," she then said after Ellie had calmed down a bit and her mind couldn't focus on anything else but the case. "According to your reaction, you didn't know about her relationship with a man, didn't you?"
Taken aback by this question, Ellie sat back up and frowned at her. "Of course not. I always thought that she was into women."
"And she never mentioned that she was seeing someone, towards you?"
"Geez, no!" Ellie answered and got quickly up as she realized that the time of comfort was over. "I didn't even know that she also had a thing for men."
"Huh…" was everything Sarah commented before she got up and mentioned "C'mon, we got one more place to go."
Being puzzled, the red-head followed Sarah with her gaze before joining her. "Uh, where to?"
"The place I think she got murdered."
The com room in the administration building was in one of the upper rooms. And apart from a young woman who had taken over Cat's duty, it should mostly be untouched. At least, that was what Sarah was hoping for.
As she and Ellie were entering, the young woman jumped up from the seat, her eyes red and sleepy.
"I-I, uh… M-Miss Miller, I…" she stammered, searching for the right words. But Sarah didn't care about that.
"Did you clean something up after you took over? Tossed over furniture? Used dishes? The bed?"
"Uh…" was everything that dropped out of her mouth, since she was probably still unaware about the murder and the investigation, and wouldn't probably contribute much to it.
"Thanks, now get out and wait 'til we're done!" Sarah then commanded and waited until the door fell into its lock until she approached Ellie. "Alright, now search for anything that looks suspicious. Dried blood, hairs, traces of a fight… Just anything!"
"Got it!" Ellie confirmed with determination and started the search around the radio while Sarah walked over to the bed. Luckily, the young woman from before had been too lazy to clean up and so she was hoping to find at least some traces.
The bed was a mess. Old pillow and an old blanket on old bedsheets, wildly crunched up and scattered. Still, it got cleaned regularly, which was once a week. Taking a closer look, Sarah found a bunch of different hairs as well as remnants of body fluids. Yes, someone had been very busy in this bed during the last few days. But had it been Cat? There was no blood or anything else, though. So, she probably hadn't been murdered in bed.
"Sarah, look!" Ellie called from the place with the radio, kneeling in front of it. "I think that's blood."
They were small and barely noticeable on the wooden floor. Still, they were there, having a red-brownish color. And they were leading away from the desk and towards the door.
"Seems like someone at least injured her here and then dragged her away," Sarah mentioned as she followed the blood trail, which eventually ended on the muddy streets. "Well, that's it. We can just assume that the murderer killed her here and then brought her to the drainage to get rid of the body. A smart move since it was well hidden and wild animals would've consumed it to the bones within weeks."
"And what now?" Ellie asked as they were walking along the street. The whole town was booming with life on this warm, sunny day. Citizens as well as traders from other settlements, everyone of them the potential perpetrator.
"We need to think this through and piece together the puzzle before we report this to the council," Sarah responded as they headed towards their house for some privacy. "Just the two of us, nobody else. Every man in this town could be the murderer and rumors spread fast."
Yet before they had reached their home, Sarah's radio came to life as Matt's voice chimed from it.
"Hey Sarah, this is Matt, come in!"
Frowning upon the surprising call, she took the communication device from her belt and answered.
"Yeah, this is Sarah. Whassup, Matt?"
"Tommy told me 'bout the shit that's goin' down and that you 'n' Ellie are lookin' for this sonofabitch. Listen, Cat was my friend too and I couldn't stop from takin' a look on my own and found something."
Upon knowing that every detail would help them with the case, both women exchanged a short, stern glimpse. "What did you find?"
"A knife with loads of blood on it, down by the river, close to the ol' lumber mill. Looks like this fucker wasn't smart enough to make sure that it hit the water. Maybe there's more, but six eyes are better than two, right?"
"Got it, we're on our way. Over!"
With slow movements, Sarah put the radio back on her belt while staring into empty space as the gears of her mind started to grind.
"Something's off," she muttered under her breath, still deep in thoughts while Ellie walked impatiently up and down.
"So what?! He has another clue, so let's go!"
"No, no, no… We're missin' somethin'. A motive…" She kept on thinking, very much to Ellie's dismay, but knew that the teenage girl wouldn't freak out. "Why would someone kill Cat?" she then asked loudly and gazed directly at the red-head.
"Does it matter?" she then replied with a shrug, now stopping in her movement as well. "The world's full of fucked up freaks. You outta all should know it. So, why is it that important, out of the sudden?"
"Ellie, nobody kills without a reason, not even the sickest motherfucker," the blonde said and sat down on the small porch of their home. She then signed Ellie to do the same, which she reluctantly did. "Just stay with me here and assume that the killer is a crazy psycho. Would Cat have fucked someone like that, freely?"
"Uh, no. Guess not. At least…I think," Ellie replied, scratching the back of her neck. "Geeze, I didn't even know that she was fuckin' guys."
"Believe me, sometimes you just need a good dick in your pussy," Sarah returned off-topic with a wink as her younger girlfriend scrunched up her nose, and then continued. "But yeah, I also don't think that Cat would let a brutal psycho-stranger from outta town close to her. No, it must've been someone she knew. Someone who she trusted and let close. Someone, who had a reason to kill her in cold blood. A stab from behind, through her heart. Quietly and calculated. And then dump her in the woods at the drainage pipe. It's perfectly covered, only inspected twice a year. In there, either wild animals would've eaten her or the next surge of water would've carried her down the mountain and eventually into the river. And this all in the middle of the night, without any witnesses. That's a huge operation and something you won't do without a reason."
"So, it was planned?"
"Probably," was everything Sarah responded to that question and got up again. "Anyway, I'm gonna head to the old lumber mill and meet Matt, you're gonna meet with Tommy and tell him what we found out so far."
"Wait! Shouldn't I come with you?" Ellie protested and wanted to follow. But Sarah had already turned around and embraced her.
"Right now, I need you here," she said calmly and planted a soft kiss on the young girl's cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be back in an hour, okay?"
Still being reluctant to let her go, Ellie eventually nodded and watched as Sarah left for the stables while she made her way to Tommy's and Maria's place.
Calmly, the river ran downstream while Sarah rode alongside it. The chirping of birds was mixing into the sound of lapping water while a soft wind brushed through her hair, causing a serene atmosphere that could let everyone easily forget the worries of the world. Sadly, those worries weren't gone and reality quickly caught up.
Sarah had just passed the ruins of the old mill as she already spotted Matt up ahead, who was waving at her before he started to approach her.
"Hey Sarah, thanks for coming!" he greeted her joyfully and then looked around. "Where's Ellie?"
"I left her in town to report to Tommy," she answered as she dismounted the horse. "So, where's the knife you found?"
"Oh, yeah. Follow me!"
For a few minutes they slowly walked along the graveled side of the river in silence. Occasionally, Matt asked about the case and Sarah told him the details they had gathered together so far, until he changed the subject.
"You remember when I took you down here on a date?"
Smiling warmly, Sarah nodded and said "Yeah, I actually do. It was…kinda romantic."
"Kinda?!" Matt scoffed, giving the blond woman a playful push. "I read a dozen books and prepped this for weeks. And now it was just kinda romantic?"
"Alright-alright!" Sarah then giggled sheepishly. "You really pulled this off and got me into bed, okay."
"Damn-right I did!" he then announced proudly before looking at Sarah's hip. "And I also see that you still have my gift on you."
For a moment, she stopped and followed his gaze, which was on the holstered gun at her side. "Oh, yeah. Got me outta lotta shit."
"Can I look at it?" Matt asked with a soft smile, stretching out his hand, and for a moment Sarah thought about it, eventually pulling the pistol out of her holster and handing it to her ex-boyfriend, who then checked it.
"Hmm, got some tough scratches on it. But a thorough maintenance should iron 'em out."
"I'd appreciate it if you'd take a look at it back in town," Sarah responded and wanted to move on as she suddenly saw two strangers coming out of the woods right in front of them. "Matt…gimme the gun!" she said hastily, not leaving the threat out of her sight. Only as Matt didn't answer, she hissed sharply "Matt!" and turned towards him, only to realize that he had the pistol aimed right at her.
"Sorry, Sarah!" he said coldly, taking a few steps back while even more strangers emerged from the underwood, and as Marlene entered the scene as well, she immediately knew who had laid this ambush.
"Fuck!" the blonde hissed and raised her hands, waiting until she was face-to-face with the queen of the Fireflies.
"Hello, Sarah! Thought we've forgotten you?" Marlene said sternly with a sour demeanor. "Where is she?"
Knowing what the leader of the Fireflies wanted, Sarah simply scoffed victoriously and replied "She's still in town, safe 'n' sound from you motherfuckers."
"That's too bad. I had high hopes that we could bring this behind us without any bloodshed."
"You really wanna do this?!" the blonde exclaimed as she became aware that Marlene was ready to attack the town and kill innocent people only to get Ellie. But the dark skinned woman stayed unimpresses, yet threw her hands in the air while walking up and down.
"You never got the big picture Sarah. What's a tiny-ass town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, if we could finally find a cure and save thousands of lives."
But Sarah just scoffed and shook her head. "Well, newsflash, Marle. There is no cure. I did some research on my own, and it's impossible to find the base for a vaccine. Not unless you wanna dissect her like a piece of meat."
Still, Marlene stayed unimpressed and crossed her arms, her superior gaze resting on the blonde.
"And you expect me to believe you? We have an entire hospital and a team of doctors at our disposal. And what do you have here? A microscope, a nurse and a wannabe physician? Oh, please!"
"It doesn't matter!" Sarah blurted back furiously, taking a step towards the queen of the Fireflies, which caused everyone around to lift their guns in unison. "You won't get her anyway. Jackson is armed and ready. Your losses would be too great. And…"
"Look what I found!" suddenly chimed a male voice, followed by a sadly too familiar one.
"Lemme go, you fuckin' piece of shit!"
Ellie!
And as Sarah witnessed how one of the Fireflies brought the young red-head out of the woods and onto the riverside, she couldn't restrain herself anymore and walked with big steps towards her before she smacked her right in the face.
"What the fuck are you doin' here?" she said with a brittle voice before tightly embracing the entirely stunned girl. "Dammit, Ellie! Why-why, fuckin' why?!"
"I wanted to warn you!" Ellie replied quietly and backed away a bit in order to look directly into Sarah's blue, watery eyes. "It was Matt. Matt killed her. It came to me when I was talking to Tommy. I-I remembered somethin' Cat had told me. I…"
"I know…" the blonde whispered back and embraced Ellie again before she whiffed into her ear. "Run! Run into the woods and back to Jackson. And don't you dare lookin' back!"
Ellie didn't have much time to think deeper about those words as Sarah attacked the closest Firefly with a loud scream, punching him right in the face and taking away his gun. And though it hurt her to do that, she used the element of surprise and shot a bullet into the thigh of her horse that was still standing in the middle of the group of Fireflies, causing it to flail out with loud and wild neighing, hitting some of the people around it.
Of course, Ellie wanted to use the distraction and sprinted towards the treeline, a hail of bullets following her, whereas one hit her calf. Gasping out of pain, the young girl stumbled and hit the ground. Still, she tried to crawl away, but eventually someone stepped on her back and held a gun to her head.
"Don't move, Ellie! I don't wanna hurt you any further than necessary."
It was Marlene, who then took the young girl's gun and knife, tossing them into the woods before lifting her on the feet and leading her out of the underwood. The riverside was a mess. Sarah's horse was dead, bleeding onto the gravel as well as two Fireflies. But as Ellie looked around in dire hope that Sarah had gotten away, she eventually saw her lying in the gravel as well, barely moving.
"SARAH!" the young teenager yelled in desperation, tears already running down her cheeks. And as one of the Fireflies wanted to head towards her with a pulled gun, she screamed and struggled, ignoring the pain in her calf. "Leave her alone, you fuckin' assholes! I'm…gonna…kill…you, you fuckfaces!"
"STOP!" Marlene eventually called out, making everyone freeze in their spot. "We got what we came for. Let her be and let's head out. It's possible that someone heard the shots."
Again, Ellie tried to struggle, but a hard hit with a pistol's grip by Matt ended any resistance in an instant. Once again, she hit the ground, feeling all dizzy and confused, barely able to stay conscious. Only realizing that she was getting carried away.
