Hope wasn't made for us

chapter 8- The Overrun

Chapter 8

We reached the camp, hope surged through me, but it vanished at the sight of flames and the sound of gunfire.

We dashed to the fence, realizing we hadn't closed the gap Ryder had cut. I froze, a chill spreading through me. Thoughts of my family consumed me.

"No, no, no," I muttered, sprinting to my tent as bodies lay lifeless and screams intensified, with biters swarming and soldiers firing at them.

Approaching my tent, I found it ablaze, the growing fire forcing me to shield my face.

"Mom!" I screamed, tears streaming down "Dad! Tommy!" I wailed, frantically searching for them, oblivious to the biters. "Dad!" I cried out, "Mom!" My heart sank at the sight of Tommy's inhaler. I collapsed as two hands clutched me, growling. Struggling to fend off the biter, I fell back, desperately trying to push it away.

"We are free now!" it snarled, prompting me to cease resisting, thinking I... deserved this. But before the biter could harm me, it was ripped away, and I locked eyes with Ryder.

"Ellie, come on, we have to go!" Ryder urged, his voice muffled as I wept, realizing my family was lost, every single one of them.

"They're gone!" I wailed, "Tommy," I whispered, my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Ryder pulled me away, and we ran. It was my job to protect him, Tommy, but I failed.

"Wait," I said, remembering Gwen. I ran to her tent, and Ryder followed.

"Gwen!" I yelled. "Gwen," my voice cracked as my heart broke. I could barely stand as Ryder pulled me away while I cried.

"We aren't going to find her; we need to keep moving," he stated as we ran past all the biters and dead bodies.

We stopped when I saw Rose, whom I met on my first day here; she was shot and dying.

"Rose," I said, "we're going to help you," as I helped her up and she whimpered. I was relieved that someone I knew was alive, but she wasn't faring well.

"We n—" she struggled to get the words out, "get me...to the medical tent," she managed to say. I looked at Ryder, and he carried her to the medical tent while I followed. I wanted to save more people, even though my family couldn't be saved. We made it to the tent, and my eyes filled with tears when I saw Tommy lying on the bed.

"Tommy," I call out.

"No, no, he's infected," she says, clutching her gunshot wound.

"What?" I exclaim, noticing they've chained Tommy to the bed.

"He's infected with the A virus," she replies.

"Since when?" I demand, anger rising.

"Just a few hours ago," she groans, causing me to glance at Ryder as he gathers supplies into a bag.

"Tommy," I whisper, hearing him stir. "Hey, Tommy," I say, tears welling up, but as he opens his eyes, I see something feral in them. I recoil when he suddenly lunges at me, growling.

"Oh god tommy" i cry holding my mouth, as he screamed making my heart break. 

"Come on, we've got to go," Ryder urged, prompting me to glance at Rose as we ran out of the tent and then at Tommy. A sinking feeling in my stomach told me I couldn't save him.

"We can't just leave him," I protested, causing Ryder to halt and face me.

"Do you want to stay here with them?" he shouted, making me survey the chaos around us as the biters clawed and bit at people.