The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Forty

Zelda's pov

"Wakey wakey!"

I'm yanked off the floor and I fight against the hands on me. "No!" I scream, fighting as hard as I can. "Let go of me!"

"I told you you shouldn't have done that!"

David and James drag me from my cage towards the bloodstained table. They're going to butcher me like a farm animal and eat me. The fear constricts in my chest, choking me from the inside.

I bite David's hand as hard as I can, drawing blood. He cries out and backhands me. They lift my flailing body, slamming me onto the table and holding me down.

"NO!" I scream and thrash.

David raises a rusted butcher knife. "I warned you!" I need something. Anything.

"I'm pregnant!" I scream. They both stare at me and then at each other. "M-my friend," I continue my lie. "Please...It's all I have left of him!"

"Are you really?" David asks, almost amused.

"Yes! Go ahead! Check!"

He brings the knife down and I flinch as it lodges in the wood only inches from my head. I bought myself a few seconds. I can't mess up again or I'll be chopped to pieces.

"I'll play along," he says and moves down to the hem of my shirt.

The second he pushes up my shirt, I break free from James' grip, grabbing the knife and wedging it in his neck. He chokes as the blood pours out and I roll off the table, wasting no time as I run for the door. David shoots a moment too late, hitting the door frame rather than me. A faint gleam catches my attention. A small knife on a table by the door. I grab it and run.

I find the exit, running straight into a blizzard. I already don't know where I am or how to get back to Link. That's if he's alive. I have to hope that he is. I'm alone with nothing if David's men killed him.

A faint bell sounds and I hear yelling being carried in the wind. I have to get out before they find me.

I wander aimlessly through the snow avoiding people running by with guns. The snow is my ally and enemy, the blizzard making me nearly invisible but keeping me lost. Snot and tears freeze on my face and my fingers go numb. I could die from exposure. It's a better fate than being chopped to pieces like a pig.

A large lodge style building appears before me and it seems empty. I can hide here and escape when the snow stops. I go inside, desperate to get out of the pelting cold. I move around back, finding a kitchen and I curl up in the corner with my knees to my chest. I can still see my breath in here and my clothes are drenched, making me shiver.

Tears trickle down my face, warming my cheeks. How am I supposed to sneak away when the snow stops? I won't have the blizzard to hide in or fresh snow to cover my tracks. He went out of his way to find me before; what would keep him from doing it again?

"Oh Zelda," David calls out in a sing-song voice, making even my blood run cold. "I know you're in here. You're easy to track."

I curse under my breath and crawl to the doorway. He's nowhere to be seen. I can make it to the door before he finds me.

I run for it.

I reach out to the handle when I'm yanked backwards. The small flicker of hope I'd felt is ripped from my chest at the same time. I scream, thrusting my elbows into him. In my flailing, I knock over a lamp and it sets the carpet on fire, the old wood catching easily. I stab my knife into him, feeling the blade sink into him before I yank it back out and he throws me to the ground, making my head hit the floor. I shuffle backwards, my head spinning. He has a long machete style knife, one I saw hanging on the wall outside of my cage. He's going to butcher me with it next.

"You bitch!" he snarls as he lumbers towards me, holding his bleeding side. "That was quite the act you put on but it's over now."

He kicks my hand, flinging my only weapon across the floor. He tosses his knife away in a sort of mockery. He doesn't need it to kill me. I'm not the one in control. I'm completely alone. No one is here to save me. If Link is alive, he's too sick to come to my rescue again. I'm on my own to fight for my life.

He pins me down with his body, clamping his hands around my neck. "N–,"I choke as he closes off my throat. No air fills my lungs when I try to breathe. I pound my fists on his arms, claw at his hands in an attempt to pry his fingers away. Link is in my head, telling me to fight harder. I don't think I can.

"Just give it up! You'll die on your own anyway!"

He tightens his grip and the edges of my vision darken. My hands feel heavy and I kick my legs, trying to get him off, the memory of Link being strangled flashing in my head. Each weakening moment brings me closer to death. I won't survive if I don't do something now. But what is there? I'm not as strong as Link. I don't have a weapon...

His knife.

"You should've listened to me and this wouldn't have happened!"

I let my hands drop, forcing them to search until I feel it. With my last bit of strength, I clench my fingers around the handle and drag my arm up, lodging the blade in his neck. In the same split second, he releases my throat and I suck in the breath I was kept from. My vision returns to normal and I'm left with a vengeful rage. For everything.

I flip us over with a strength I didn't know I had, pinning him down this time, letting him know how it feels to be the prey. A primal scream escapes my lips as I slam the sharp edge of the knife into his face and hands when he raises them in a useless attempt to block my attacks. I bring the knife down again and again, feeling the warm blood fling across my face each time I yank the knife from his skull. He turns into a bloody, fleshy mess but I don't stop. Sobs mix with my screams as I make him unrecognizable. I don't recognize myself while I hack him to pieces like he was going to do to me. He deserves this.

Arms wrap around me from behind and I scream, whipping the knife around at my attacker. It's pried from my fingers and he turns me around. I pound against his chest and scream as he grabs my face.

"It's me!" The blue eyes. The messy blond hair. All the scars I've memorized. "Baby, it's me!. I've got you."

I slowly lean into him, my body shaking with rage and fear. He's here.

I'm safe now.