When a beaten and lost, near-dead girl walks up upon the gates of Jackson unannounced, people are bound to be suspicious of why she's shown up. But, when she reveals that she knows something about an organization in Seattle planning to come to Jacks...
"No-one likes a mad woman; you made her like that."
⎯⎯⎯
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⎯⎯⎯
CHAPTER ELEVEN Narrow Escape
⎯⎯⎯
Ellie trudged lightly through the water, Willow trailing beside her. Every few steps she took would send an uneven breath through her lungs, but she tried to ignore it as they approached the large staircase they had scaled down before. Willow took the lead, walking up the steep steps. Her feet began to ache under each movement, and she silently wished for a release from the non-stop walking. The door stood in front of her, tall and almost threatening.
Soldiers of the WLF were going to be gathered in groups, there was no doubt that Ellie and Willow wouldn't be able to go back the way they came. The older teen cautiously grabbed her gun, pressing it against her chest. Willow turned the doorknob slowly, opening the door just a crack. Light poured into the sewer system, but it wasn't as much as she had suspected. Large, thunderous clouds had gathered above, cold rain falling down onto the concrete roads below.
The two slipped through the door, their hair and faces immediately becoming drenched in rain. They ducked behind the military truck, holding their breaths. WLF soldiers talking was all they could hear over the rain, and Willow quickly scooted herself to the front of the vehicle. She craned her neck around the hood, spotting three soldiers on their way over to the girls' hiding spot. One was a bit behind the others, hot on their friends' trails.
Two of the soldiers walked by Ellie and Willow, letting them leap out and tackle them both in a chokehold. With little struggle, they fell to the ground, limp and lifeless with no air to keep them breathing. The third soldier noticed his friend's disappearance, and Ellie could hear the sound of a gun clicking with a reload. Willow motioned her over, and they slipped behind another vehicle, pressing their backs against the stadium wall until they were on the other side.
"This is Solomita at stadium sector twelve!" The first soldier yelled out onto his radio, his deep voice startling Willow and Ellie. "McLoughlin and Simons are dead! We've got company!"
Willow could barely hear the response from the radio, and frankly, she didn't want to. The two girls stayed behind the Humvee, trying to ignore the footsteps that eagerly approached them. Soldiers were going to be after them, there was no doubt about it. Ellie quickly noticed a sniper glint from one of the skyscrapers, circling around the premises. She grasped harshly onto Willow's hand, dragging her back behind the vehicle. A shot rang out beside them, a bullet hole encasing itself into the stadium walls.
"They're here!" One of the WLF soldiers cried. "It's two of them, should be easy, don't let them get to you!"
Panic rose in Ellie's chest as the footsteps of soldiers came walking around the vehicle port they were hiding in. They had to think of an escape plan, fast. The river wasn't steady, and it would kill both Willow and her if they tried to swim down it. But if the WLF had taken it as their territory, there had to be some kind of boats they could steal, right? It was better than their situation, guards approaching them, ready to kill. They had to be ready to take a chance.
The older girl grabbed onto the younger one's shoulder, looking at her with her eyes widened. "We need to get to the water bank, there'll be some kind of vehicle to get across." Ellie planned, only getting a shaking head in return from Willow.
"There's snipers and soldiers everywhere!" She whispered. "We'll die!"
"Well, unless you have a better plan-"
Willow hushed Ellie, bringing her to silence as the sound of harsh footsteps against the road filled their ears. They had nowhere to run to. The older teenager immediately took action, swinging herself up onto the hood of the car. She attracted attention, but that was enough to pull Willow up and slide off of the other side of the truck. With shots firing around them and their legs and chests burning with adrenaline, they ran across the wet road.
Rain flooded their senses as they ran. Willow's eyes burnt as she gripped onto Ellie's hand, letting her run ahead a bit. Everything was happening at once. Thunder boomed harshly across the city, the WLF took as many shots as they could at the girls, barely missing. Ellie's sneakers squeaked against the wet road, the river finally coming into view. The yelling of soldiers was faint below the loud rain and thunder, but Ellie reminded herself constantly that they were still there.
Finally, they reached the break of the road, and Willow pulled to a stop. Large, tin boats with engines were softly humming below them, almost prepared for their arrival. Ellie ducked down, jumping onto one of the boats. She pulled her hoodie over her head, holding her hand out to Willow and pulling her down as well. More and more shots barely missed their heads, the sound of the bullets whizzing filling their senses.
The younger girl slumped down, lifting her jacket up. Blood was coating itself around a small graze wound. It wasn't too life-threatening, the bullet wasn't lodged into her skin, but she was still bleeding out onto her jeans. Willow winced as she pulled her backpack off of her back, letting out a sharp intake of breath. She grabbed some loose bandages out of it, tightening it and wrapping it around her lower torso.
Ellie looked at her, taking a hold of the boat engine and steering it towards the way the current was rushing. She gazed at the blood seeping through Willow's bandage, her eyes widening as she tried to yell over the loud roar of the boat engine. "Are you okay?" She asked loudly.
Willow nodded. "Yeah, just a-" She took a sharp breath, holding her hand to her wound as she pulled her shirt back down. "Just a graze, I'll be fine." She convinced herself, trying to blink away the black spots that were dotting her vision.
They looked around Seattle as they rode down the natural river, enjoying the simple noise of the rain with no gunshots. The silence was like music to both of the girl's ears, and Ellie reminisced about what the city may have looked like before the outbreak. She gazed towards Willow, watching as the girl's eyes flickered open and shut. Ellie sighed, turning back towards the front of the boat and continuing it down the river.
