VILLAINESS [TWD]

➴8

People were avoiding Ellie. That's when she knew things were.. not right.

Jeanette stayed close to her, tears in her eyes every time she looked at the young girl. That's how she knew something had happened.

She hated being a kid. People never let her in on the jokes. The secrets. The truth.

"What did he mean.. my daddy?" she asks Jeanette.

Jeanette pretends she didn't hear the question.

The implications, the neglect, it only made Ellie feel worse. It made her think of the worst.

"Where are we going?" a woman asks the rude man driving.

"Anywhere. I- I don't know."

"Rick would know," Ellie hisses, "Maybe if we waited for him and-"

"Ellie, honey, how about you rest?" Jeanette asks rhetorically, "You're still getting over that sickness, just like me. Rest up, sweetheart."

If Ellie went to sleep, she'd just have nightmares again. Memories. Her last one was when Matt died. Considering just how bad things were now, who knew what she could dream about next?

Ellie was clearly the youngest on the bus. Maybe if the adults thought she was asleep.. Maybe they wouldn't be so filtered.

She nods and Jeanette eases the girl's head onto her lap. It was an uncomfortable bedding, if you could even call it that.

She lays there, though, eyes closed as she pretends to fall asleep.

It took awhile for the people around to think she was out. For them to really open up.

"Did you see it?" a voice distantly asks, "It was him. The Governor."

"It was the Governor?" "The Governor is back?" "How? I thought he was dead?"

"Did anyone see my son?"

Ellie forces herself to not react. The Governor. The bad man. He attacked them?

"He had Michonne and Hershel hostage. A new group of people, too. Sorry suckers he lied to and scared them into attacking us is my guess."

"Or something. Assholes rolled up to the gates in a goddamn tank. I'm thinking whoever they are, they're just as sick as that asshole."

"Did anyone see Beth or Maggie? I can't believe we just left them behind after that."

"Don't.."

"Hershel was one of our leaders. He was a working member of the council and we just watched as-"

"Knock it off, dude. Things are bad enough. We shouldn't think about it. We just need to think about the next step."

"Did anyone see my sister?"

"No. Did you see my husband?"

"How? The prison is gone. The leaders aren't here-"

A scream rips through the air and Ellie shoots upright.

Turning her head, she could see that two of the previously sick people and another person that had been shot during the shootout had turned, attacking the people on the bus.

There's more screaming, shouting, people wrangling one another and Jeanette ushers Ellie to the door. As Jeanette attempts to open the door, the bus skids to a stop. Someone was shooting stray bullets and it hits Jeanette from behind. 

The elder woman falls on top of Ellie and Ellie hits her head on the dashboard as she falls to the floorboard.