Apocalypse [Ellie Williams]

◜chapter nineteen◞

They had made it to the museum, Joel's back up plan. Cassie, no word of a lie, was nervous. One wrong move, three words she had been repeating to herself the whole walk over. She was brave, she had lived alone, unaccompanied and without help for three years but something about willingly putting herself in harms way made her want to run yet she wouldnt. She couldn't. The people she was with (one more than others) meant too much to her.

"you know ive always wanted to go to a museum" Cassie commented at the four stopped in front of the door, the outer walls coated in fungus "ever since i watched that fucking night in the museum film. This is not what i was expecting for my first time to one"

"you've got to be fucking kidding me" The girl that was stood beside cassie muttered

"well, there's a way across from the top floor" Tess explained

"well, then i guess its fine" Ellies retort laced with sarcasm

"we used to take it all the time" The older woman comforted the teens, Cassie gulped and nodded exaggeratingly, wringing her hands out as she watched Joel touch the cordyceps before smacking the end of his gun into it.

"its bone dry" Joel walked back to the three women "it could mean they're all finally dead in there"

"oh man" Ellie muttered at the same time as Cassie cursed. The two adults had gotten to the ground and pulled a flashlight out of their bags

"Marlene pack you one of these or just sandwiches?" Joel commented, the two girls swinging their backpacks off and fishing out their flashlights

"okay so, more ground rules" Tess turned to the girls "were gonna go slowly, if we come up against anything then you get behind us and you stay there, okay?"

"yes" Ellie said, Cassie nodded in response. The two girls shared eye contact for a moment, Tess pulling out a pistol "i have a spare hand"

"and im a great shot" Cassie smiled sweetly

"congratulations" The man of the group commented before walking to the door, once he signalled that it was clear Ellie held out her hand, Cassie grabbing it and the two followed the man into the building, Tess behind them. Inside was pitch black minus the flashlights, the two girls spinning slightly as they looked around.

Paintings and fungus covered the walls, tables and exhibitions being littered absentmindedly on the ground. Some even looking so untouched it could have been considered new. As they walked through the doors to the gift shop, Cassie took note on the scattered bodies on the ground. Some laying and some sat against the walls, some looked like normal people and others had fungus growing out of them.

"yep, cooked" Joel stated, Cassie couldn't take her eyes off one of the bodies. They where young, probably the teens age. Cordyceps sprouting from the left side of his face, if realisation hadn't set in before then it did right then. And clearly for Ellie too, the girls grip tightening on her hand ever so slightly.

"finally some fucking luck" Tess commented

"i guess we should've gone this way in the first place" Joel added ass the girls turned the corner, disappearing from the adults view yet immediately stopping in their place

"oh shit" Joel was quick to run over at Ellies words. In front of the girls was a dead dude, clearly new since the blood was still red and not all crusted and he was sitting in a pool of still wet blood "what the fuck did that"

"maybe... maybe he was attacked outside and crawled through the doors" Tess's voice was now a whisper, she seemed nervous which made Cassie nervous "the door was open, could have been him? i dont hear anything"

"who would you hear?" Ellies voice was quiet yet the adults till rushed to tell her to whisper, she lowered her voice and repeated her question "are you saying an infected did that?"

"weve been attacked by one and it wasnt like that" Cassie's voice was in a whisper, she tugged her hand out of Ellies and pulled her arms around her body. The movement made Ellie frown, she knew it was what the girl did when she was nervous, angry or close to shutting off. All being bad in that moment.

"okay, from this point forward, we are silent" Joel warned "not quiet, silent. No questions, just do it."

The man then carefully started to walk away, Ellies hand on the lower part of Cassie's back as she gently guided the girl forwards. Tess quickly following behind. The slight hold on Cassie's back made her ease up, her arms uncrossing as she focused on being quiet and careful. The four headed up a flight of stairs, each step creaking under their feet. They almost got to the top when the ceiling rumbled and loose dust fell.

Cassie swore in that moment that she died and then came back alive.

Joel had turned around to face the other three, his jaw clenched before turning back and continuing up the stairs. There was a lot more fungus on the second floor, the floor barely seen over the piles of it, all they had to do was cross the landing to get to the over set of stairs. Ellie accidently stepping on a dead persons hand that practically turned to dust under her foot. Joel was quick to turn to the girl who just gave him an apologetic look before they continued walking.

They reached a set of double doors, Joel slowly pulling it open and checking inside. The man nodded at the girls who were quick to follow him inside. Everything was untouched, set out exactly how it was all them years ago only covered with thick layers of dust. Cassie had to resist the urge to rush forward, she was no history nerd but something about the past had always fascinated her.

Suddenly, the ceiling rumbled and the ceiling structure tumbled down. Tess pushed her way into the room quickly which resulted in Ellie falling down as well and Cassie tumbling into Joel who quickly grabbed her arm with wide eyes. Once the girl was stable, he rushed to help Ellie up while Tess pushed herself off the ground.

Unfortunately, this gave Cassie an opportunity to look around. Her flashlight out in front of her as she walked around carefully. Selfishly disregarding the others for her own peace of mind, she thought that if she saw something she thought she would only ever dream of seeing that it would put her mind at ease. A sudden and loud clicking noise being heard from behind her.

Cassie gasped, standing extremely still as she pressed her back against the glass exhibition. She turned her head to the three who had all backed up. The girl was panicking, the infected creature had stopped right in front of her. She quietly pressed a hand to her mouth that was threatening to let out a sob. Tears had welled in her eyes, panic settling in. As she blinked, the tears rolled down her cheeks pooling on her hand.

Despite another loud clicking noise from across the room, Ellie's eyes stayed focused on her best friend. Her knife in her hand just in case. She was behind Joel and Tess, protected from whatever was in front of them. Cassie wasnt and she wasnt going to sit around and let another one of her best friends die, even if cassie was immune. She wasnt immune to getting ripped apart.

uh oh

i want to reiterate that Cassie was and is an absolute badass but at the end of the day i want to make this more realistic, all of us would be shitting it at this point. So is Cassie, at the moment anyway. Adrenaline is a crazy thing.