averno, tlou

forty two

chapter forty two: alone

Ellie still held tight onto Dina, her hand removed from her mouth.

Alejandra continued checking outside, seeing if the hoard had moved at all, instead they grew quiet again. Too quiet, making Jesse feel comfortable enough to speak at a normal volume. "Shut the hell up!" Both Ellie and Alejandra whispered at him, Ellie throwing her hand out and hitting against his chest while he made an offended face and held his hand over where she hit. "We're on our way out. Aubrey's at the post. If we're lucky, the tree's won't light up and travel." Mateo's voice spoke quietly over the comm and Alejandra pushed back the seat. "Come around to the West and lead them to the river, there's an open patch of acre-" Dina's blood ran cold at the sound, and finally, Ruth slowly opened her eyes.

"Is that..." Jesse whispered and Ruth pushed herself up from the floor of the tree house and pushed past Alejandra to look outside. "Hamburger..." Dina gasped while she rose from Ellie's lap and looked out next to her cousin. Sure enough, the two girls saw their dog sprinting fast through the walls of Jackson, barking loudly as she ran past Joel and Tommy, hitting against Mateo's thighs before pushing for the small gap between the dirt and the wall where the kids would climb in and out of. "No!" Ruth screamed, seeing her pet crawl from under the wall and be introduced to the monsters.

Alejandra grabbed ahold of Ruth, wrapping her arms around her shoulders while Dina stayed watching with wide eyes and her mouth dropped open. Ellie slowly looked at Jesse, then to Alejandra who held Ruth's head to her chest. Covering her eyes from seeing anything, "she's leading them away..." Dina said softly, watching as her first dog barked until she got the attention she was hoping for. Quickly turning and sprinting as fast as her legs would take her, with a hoard of infected chasing after her.

"Are they following?" Alejandra asked, pushing Ruth from her while moving the sheet out of the way. Alejandra saw the german shepherd, sprinting faster than she has ever seen. It was unnatural how fast the animal was moving it seemed like she was floating. "Go, go, go!" Alejandra shouted, jumping from the fort and flying her body to the ladder, ripping the knife out while Jesse came next. "Behind you!" He screamed and Alejandra turned fast, throwing the blade in front of her the metal pierced through the infected's neck, it came charging at her. "Go!" Alejandra screamed as Jesse lifted Dina from the ladder and pushed at her shoulders making her stumble forward.

Theary pulled herself from under the hole, meeting halfway with Dina who dove into the dirt and was pulled by her arms from Maria. Alejandra ripped the blade from the infected, when Theary grabbed the back of it's jacket and pulled its body hard. It stumbled over its feet and Jesse watched as her foot came up and smashed down hard onto its head. "Fuck," Jesse breathed out while looking back to the fort. "Girls!" He screamed, waiting to help them down as Theary's surprised scream echoed through the woods after she was grabbed. Alejandra jumped over the body, shoving the blade behind the infected's neck and dragging up until it abruptly stopped and fell dead.

"Ruth, we have to go!" Ellie shouted while Jewel climbed down from the ladder. Jesse grabbed her hips, setting her on the ground while a high pitched scream filled their ears after one poked its head out from behind a tree, meeting Jewel while the teen sprinted to the hole in the dirt. The stalker was fast on her, lunging forward as her body flew into the ground. "Get her!" Alejandra shouted to Theary who twirled the blade in her hand before pulling the infected off of Jewel and slamming the blade into it's back, dragging up with a grunt while Jewel used her legs to kick its body off of her. "Good girl," Theary told the teen who turned on her stomach and crawled to the entrance she could take.

"Ruth, we need to go. Now!" Ellie pleaded while holding onto Ruth's face. "No, I can't-" Ellie groaned while she grabbed onto Ruth's hands. "They're coming back!" Theary shouted seeing the hoard loose intrest in Hamburger, the dog barking as loud as she could while circling around and racing back to her family. Ellie moved to push the sheet back, "Ellie, please!" Ruth screamed as she was pulled from her spot in the corner of the fort. "If we want to survive, we have to get out! They can climb, Ruth! We aren't safe in here!" Ellie told her friend as she continued to sob.

"Where is Joel and Mateo?" Alejandra asked, debating on running or climbing back into the fort. "They should be coming."

Theary found Jesse, "go, now!" She told the boy who shook his head. "I'll fight with you!" He replied and the woman rolled her eyes while handing him another blade. "You're as dumb as you look." She said while hearing the two girls screaming at each other in the tree house. "Ruth, you will survive if you come with me. I promise you." Ellie felt like crying while pleading on her knees, both hands grabbed tight onto Ruth's. "I'm gonna end up like my daddy if I go down there, I won't end up like him. I'm not him." Ruth's tone changed to demanding as Ellie's face fell. "You're not him. You're you, Ruth. You can fight!" A loud shot interrupted the two girls causing both of them to jump hard, "what the fuck was that?"

Ellie moved the sheet out of the way, seeing Joel and Mateo on their horses. Mateo's arm was rose in the air, holding a flare gun as the bright red bullet lit up in the sky. Everything went silent for a second, the wind stopped blowing, Hamburger quieted down, Ruth stopped crying. Then a howl that echoed through caused goosebumps to raise on everyone's arms. A wave of nausea coursed through Alejandra's stomach as she slowly turned towards Theary whose face grew three shades too pale. "What was that?" Jesse whispered, "we need to run." Alejandra said while she took slow steps backwards, noticing how the infected slowed down. "Alex..." Theary whispered while she felt bile rise up her throat.

"Go, run!" Joel's voice screamed, terror filling his tone that caused Ellie to curse loudly and grab ahold of Ruth's face. "Joel is telling us to run. Joel is! We need to go, Ruth! Now!" Ellie told the girl while she felt her tears between her fingers, seeing how she was debating with herself. "I'm not like my daddy?" Ruth asked and Ellie sighed loudly, "you are Ruth." Ellie squeezed the sides of her face before dropping her hands and pushing the sheet back.

Alejandra continued to take slow steps back just when the Thing came from behind the trees. "Oh my God," Jesse cried out as he turned on his heels and sprinted towards the hole in the ground. He dove down, pulling himself through it just as Theary stuck her arm through. Joel and Mateo turned on their horses, with Hamburger hot on their trail. Alejandra looked back to the tree fort, seeing Ellie throw her legs over and climb down fast from the ladder. Alejandra checked where the Thing had came out from and her blood ran cold once it disappeared again, "what the fuck?" She whispered while turning around quickly to try and find it.

Ruth's feet hit the ground hard and felt Ellie grab ahold of her hand, a loud scream pierced through their ears after Ruth caught sight of the monster that seemed closer than before. "Run!" Alejandra screamed as she jumped up and down and waved her arms in the air, "over here! Here! Girls, run!" Ruth didn't take another second before taking off in the opposite direction of Jackson, her feet carrying her faster than they have before. "Wrong way!" Ellie screamed as she was quick to follow her friend. "Girls, no!" Alejandra screamed, trying to keep one eye on them and the other on the monster.

"Aubrey, shoot it!" Alejandra screamed, seeing Aubrey hoist the gun to the left and pull the trigger. Alejandra was flown back from the blast, with Ruth tripping over her feet into the trees and Ellie still chasing after her. "Alex, c'mon!" Aubrey shouted as the woman pushed onto her knees and turned around, not seeing the two girls. "Ellie!" Alejandra's voice echoed through the forest, looking back to the Thing that limped fast towards her. "No, Alex, come on!" Aubrey screamed again, "fuck!" Alejandra yelled, turning and running as fast as she could to the hole in the ground.

She fell, diving under it while Jesse grabbed her hands and pulled her through. A loud quake hit the wall, making everyone go silent. Alejandra rose her finger to her mouth, looking at Jesse who started to silently cry. The wall shook again as the Thing hit its body hard against it. "Where is Ruth?" Lucas asked, fear coming over his body as goosebumps lifted on his skin.

Alejandra couldn't breathe. Ellie, her daughter was out there with no protection. Out there with the Thing strong enough to withhold the blast Aubrey shot. Out there alone.

"They're outside the walls in the forest."