A Place To Call Home

Will Things Ever Be The Same Again?

Three Months Later

Ellie stopped at the hilltop over looking The Jackson Community, it had been over six months since she had last visited her once home. She had found Abby and the young boy, but it wasn't what she had been expecting to find. They were being held prisoner by a group called The Rattlers, they were cruel and hostile. The Rattlers had set up camp in an oceanside mansion in Santa Barbara, California. Apparently they owned most of land around the city, they had weapons and outposts all over the place. When Ellie had first encountered them she had seen a man running for his life, he had shot himself in the head right in front of her. She soon learnt that The Rattlers were a slaver gang, they had traps set up across the city to catch the Infected and travellers. They forced people into slavery and used the Infected as guard dogs at their headquarters, they chained them up like animals which Ellie found quite inhumane. She hated the Infected, but it was kind of cruel.

Ellie had struggled to get through the Oceanside mansion due to the gang members patrolling the building, she had gained an injury herself from her own encounter with The Rattlers. But that wasn't going stop her, she wanted revenge more than anything now. She had found herself in an imprisonment in the mansion's basement area, she had gained information from the prisoners about Abby and the young boy's location. She learnt that those who resist were sent to the pillars, they were strung up and left to die from exposure to the elements. They were tied to some wooden beams set out on the beach, this gang was beyond brutal when it came to punishing others. She released the prisoners and let them go their own way, they had their own revenge to gain on The Rattlers. They had basically started a war with them and set the mansion on fire, it was the distraction she needed to move forward unnoticed. 

Looking at her two missing fingers on left hand Ellie sighed to herself, the revenge she had hoped for didn't work out like she had planned. She had changed her mind in the mists of a fight with Abby, it was her memories of Joel that stopped her from drowning Abby in the vest ocean. Joel hadn't always been the best of role models, he had killed many people without a second thought. He had killed Abby's Father to save Ellie, but it was the memories of him that had stopped her from taking Abby's life. She didn't want to kill Abby, it wasn't right. Abby had lost her Father, she didn't want to take Abby away from her young companion. Ellie had let them go, she had watched Abby and Lev sail away onto the mist rolling over the ocean. She never wanted to see their faces ever again, she hoped that they could find a home far away from Jackson. But for now Ellie had her own family to face, she had no idea how Dina would react to seeing her again. 

The Farm House had been emptied, her belongings had been left in her own little study. She had decided to leave everything she owned behind at the farm, she couldn't face the past anymore. She had left her once dream home and walked all day to get to The Jackson Community, now here she was standing on the hilltop. Walking forward Ellie followed the pathway through the field of corn on the outskirts of the community, the sun was high in the sky and she could see the watch towers in the distance. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Tommy, they had parted on bad terms. She wanted to see Dina and JJ again, but she had no idea how to approach them after the way she had left them. The walls of The Jackson Community had been repaired more than once by the looks of it, she waved to one of the outpost guards and he soon signaled to one of the other guards to let her inside the community. She stopped in front of the community's gates, they soon opened them and she was greeted by someone she hadn't been expecting to see. Maria was standing with a patrol group, she made eye contact with Ellie before she excused herself from their company. Ellie walked forward, she felt nervous. She met Maria halfway and lowered her gaze for a moment, she hadn't seen her adoptive Aunt for over six months. 

" Oh my, Ellie?" Maria asked.

" Hey Maria." Ellie replied.

" Ellie, is that really you?" Maria asked.