The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Zelda's pov

I wake on a cold, dirty floor. I blink slowly, getting the room to stop spinning and I see metal bars. Panicked, I sit up despite the dizziness and my pounding head, finding myself in a cage. There's a bucket in the corner and I look out into the room. It's tiled and the door is on the far wall. It smells disturbingly like blood. There's a wooden table next to me, stained dark with knives and saws hanging on the wall.

My legs shake as I stand and pull on the cage door, rattling the metal. It doesn't budge and I back away. I'm stuck and alone. What if they found Link? What are they going to do to me? A cold sweat makes me shiver and I pull at my hair, the memories of being captured before flooding back. Link came for me then. He was hurt but he came for me. He could come for me now.

The far door opens and David comes in, closing it behind him.

"I was worried you wouldn't wake up," he says, that creepy smile back on his face.

"Let me out," I whimper, the strength in my voice gone. I back up to the wall when he comes up to the cage and sink down to the floor.

"Well that's the plan." He takes a seat on a crate next to the cage. "Hungry?"

"Why am I in a cage?"

"Because I'm afraid of you." I force myself to look at him. I want to kill him. "You're a dangerous person. You've certainly proven that. The others want me to kill you after everything that's happened." My head rolls back to the side. "Did you hear me say they want to kill you?"

"Yeah," I scoff. I should've killed him when I had the chance. But then I wouldn't have gotten the medicine for Link.

"But I stopped them."

"I don't care."

"How about we start with your name."

"Fuck you." I almost smile, realizing why Link swears. It feels good to, especially right now. There's nothing else I can do.

He stands and gets closer to my prison. "Listen to me. You can't survive on your own. No one can. But I can help you. I can protect you."

"I'm not on my own." I might as well be.

He nods, that smile creeping back. "Right. Your friend. Who isn't a woman. How is he?" They haven't found him yet. But they will if he doesn't wake up. "I can see how much you care about him but unfortunately, your time with him is over."

"No." I swallow, my mouth already dry. "Let him go."

He clicks his tongue. "I can't do that. He killed one of mine at the university." A lump forms in my throat. That's how they knew. It's the same group. They're the ones who stabbed him. He wouldn't be dying if it wasn't for them.

"He was protecting us," I seethe. "Your man tried to kill him."

"I still have to avenge my own."

"Fuck you!" I say, my voice cracking. My chin trembles. They'll find him eventually and he's too weak to fight them. And I'm stuck here. With nothing but fear and uncertainty.

"I am sorry but that's how it's going to work. You'll have to find a way to trust me or you will be alone."

He leaves and I break down once the door clicks shut, clawing at my chest. The ache is going to swallow me whole.

Link's pov

Do not fall asleep.

It's dark even after I open my eyes. I'm covered in sweat, making my clothes damp and cold. I struggle to push the blankets off I'm bundled in and I try to sit up. Pain shoots from my side and I clench my jaw.