The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Three

Zelda's pov

Link climbs out of the window first and I follow, being careful to not make a sound on the metal grate under my feet. We use the fire escape to get down and thankfully I only live a few floors up. We quietly creep down until we get to the last section where we have to jump off. Link jumps down first, his feet making no noise on the pavement when he lands. He turns to me with his arms up for me to jump into. I hesitate to jump into the stranger's arms and Impa nudges me. I don't doubt she'll toss me down if I don't do it myself. After taking a shaky breath, I jump down. Firm hands grip my waist moments later and he lowers me to the ground with ease as if I weigh nothing to him. Impa hops down next without assistance, her feet as quiet as his. They know exactly what they're doing and they're good at it. I don't belong with them.

I hear the distant growl of a military truck as it patrols the streets. It's hours past curfew now and we'll be shot if seen. My hands shake and my heart pounds harder than it should. Impa places her hand on my shoulder, making me jump.

"Stay low in the shadows," she whispers. She motions for me to follow Link who was checking the street. He beckons us forward with his hand and quietly runs across the street to the next ally. When I'm almost across, a truck turns the corner. Link grabs my waist and yanks me into the dark behind a dumpster. What if I was seen?

The truck rolls by slowly, shining lights into dark corners. I hear the faint conversation of soldiers as I keep my head down. Link presses his hand over my mouth again and holds a finger up to his lips. I didn't realize how heavy I was breathing.

The truck passes and he removes his hand, allowing me to release the breath I was holding. If I'm this scared now, how am I going to make it outside of the zone with dangers far more terrifying than a bullet?

We continue to weave through the dark streets, slowly making it to the edge of the zone while avoiding patrols. I can see the fence now, the one I don't dare go near. Most of it is electrified but Impa said this section isn't. It's how they got into the zone and I'm sure it's what everyone else uses when they sneak out. A hole was cut in it and that's where we need to go.

"Aw shit," Impa breathes. There's a guard patrolling the section near the hole. He's armed with a rifle.

Without hesitation, Link creeps out of our hiding place when the guard is turned. I watch in horror as he grabs the guard from behind, covering his mouth and stabbing him in the neck. The guard frantically grabs Link as he's lowered to the ground. He stops moving but the blood doesn't stop flowing. It spills onto the ground, staining the concrete. Link motions for us to come but I'm frozen. He killed so easily. He killed someone innocent.

"Move it!" Impa hisses as she drags me along. The dead guard's radio goes off. "Shit!" She drags me along faster and Link pulls the fence, revealing the hole. Impa dives through and I crawl under next, my backpack getting caught on the jagged metal. I frantically try to free myself when I see more lights behind me and indistinct shouting. They're coming!

I finally free myself just as the guns start firing. Impa drags me behind a rusty car as bullets hit the ground. What about Link? He didn't follow us through.

Impa keeps my head down as the shots continue. It seems that there are fewer and fewer guns firing. Then it ceases. I hear the fence rattle again and a large figure holding a rifle appears at the side of the car. I panic for a moment, thinking it's a soldier until I see that it's Link. Did he kill all of them too?

"We have to go," he says as he grabs my arm. He drags me along with him, forcing me to match his quick pace. We stay I the dark and avoid the floodlights from the quarantine zone. What if they're looking for us? Don't they go after people who kill their own?

We find an empty building to hide in that's far from the zone. Link checks it first for infected before calling Impa and I in. They barricade the door and I curl up in corner. All I can think of is how Link killed those men. He doesn't show any signs of remorse for what he did. I watch as he sits down and cleans the knife he used to kill that guard. Bile rises in my throat. He's so calm as if he didn't force someone to drown in their own blood. And then those other soldiers. There was a group of them and yet he's the one who came out alive. He looks at me as he tucks the knife back into his belt. His expression doesn't change but his eyes cut into my soul. It makes me feel sick.

"You'll get used to it," Impa says as she takes a seat next to Link.

"W-what?" I stutter as I try to swallow the bile. The last thing I need is to throw up.

"Killing. You'll get used to it. It's necessary."

"Necessary?"

"Everyone out here wants to kill you so you have to kill them first." I let her words sink in. I could easily die out here. I'm not longer in the safety of the zone. Not that it was very safe to being with but it didn't have raiders or infected. "But that's what we're for," she adds.

"How many people have you killed?" I ask, not sure if I want to know the answer.

"A lot." I want to throw up again. I'm being escorted by killers. Murderers. "But like I said, it's necessary." I not but I'm not sure I believe her. Can't it be avoided sometimes? "The more you think about it, the worse it gets. Now get some rest."

"I'll take watch," Link says as he takes his rifle and rests it in his lap.

I lay down facing away from him. I don't want him to watch me sleep and that's if I even fall asleep. My mind can barely grasp that my whole life just changed in only a couple hours. Everything is different now. And I'm not sure it's for the better.

***

Link's pov

I'm going on a suicide mission. How am I supposed to get her from here to Seattle if she can't handle it? She's weak. She can't fight. She's going to slow us down and get us killed. I can't give her a gun either; she'd accidently shoot herself.

I look over at her. She's facing away from me but I can't tell she's sleeping from her steady breathing. She's innocent. As innocent as someone can be nowadays. She's ignorant to how the world really is and that makes her a liability. I never should've taken this fucking job but I'm committed now. As heartless as I am, I can still find that little sliver of humanity in me. God I hope she figures this quickly.