WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD ✸ Joel Miller

vii. Mistakes of Our Past

[ CHAPTER SEVEN ! ] 

mistakes of our past

THE BOSTONIAN MUSEUM. WELCOME. The painting on the wall reads as my flashlight shines over it. There's even more fungus growing here than the Hotel had. It's completely dark and I already feel a chill run up my spine, leaving the hairs on my neck standing. 

Then, as I turn the corner, I'm met with a dead body in the corner of the room. I can tell it's freshly dead due to the colour of his skin. It's a white male with black hair, he's wearing a striped sweater and jeans and all I can feel is my heart thumping in my chest and the chills that were once of my neck covering my entire body. There's blood dripping down his face and I immediately call Joel and Tess over as I stare at the scar in the center of his chest. 

I kneel down and can see even more scratches. There's one inches deep on his neck and two others on his neck with an additional four on his face. One going diagonally down his nose, two on his right cheek, and the other is in the center of his forward. 

"What the fuck did that?" I can hear Ellie exclaim behind me. I tilt my head to face her with a shake of my head and a shrug, even though I know exactly what did. Someone--something was in this building with us. 

I try to spare Joel a look that will explain what I'm thinking with my eyes but Theresa has already beat me to it. They're looking into each other's eyes with so much meaning and conversation that my blood is on fire. Boiling. 

I look away, dragging my attention back to the body. Trying to divert my attention onto any more damage. 

"Maybe... he was attacked outside and crawled through the door. The door was open." Tess says quietly. Hopefully. "Could've been him." 

"I don't hear anything," I whisper in response, hoping to conceal my jealousy with my fearful tone. 

"Who would you hear?" Ellie asks in her normal voice. In which, Joel and Tess immediately shush her. I stand from the body and go to grab Hayden's shaking hand. Ellie repeats her question in a whisper. "Who would you hear?" then she turns to me. "Are you saying and infected did that?" Joel and Theresa hush her once again and I can't contain my eye roll of annoyance this time. "Because I've been attacked by one and it didn't look like that." 

The shake in Hayden's hand only speeds up and I mentally curse Ellie. "Calm down. I've seen things like this in the mor--" 

"Okay, from this point forward, we are silent." Joel demands, glaring harshly at Ellie and then to me. He's completely cut off my sentence and it takes everything in me to not shout at him. "Not quiet. Silent." 

"What--" Ellie starts to ask but Joel cuts her off now. 

"No questions. Just do it." 

Ellie looks up at me, silently telling me she wants me to put him in his place but I don't want to risk all of our lives. Instead, I tighten my hold on both my gun and on Hayden's hand and begin to walk out of the room and slowly up the steps. 

As I walk up each step, the flooring creaks beneath my feet and it isn't until the fifth step that the entire building shakes and debris begins to fall.