Ellie Williams x F!Reader

Thirty

"God, I'm not made for this...", you huffed as Ellie made you push the car to help the engine get going.

Sweat dripped off your forehead and onto the faded red of the trunk. Your fingers trembled, blemishes and rashes mixed with dust and chipped paint in your palms.

"Why the hell do I gotta push this thing?!", you yelled towards the open window.

Ellie let her head pop out the window to throw you a broad grin and a middle finger. You returned the favour and threw in a stretched out tongue.

She wiggled her eyebrows, leaned one arm against the edge of the window and leaned out just far enough for you to hear her instructions.

"You can't drive so I gotta push the pedals.", she said and turned the steering wheel as the tires started to slowly roll on their own.

Huffing and puffing, you gritted your teeth, put all your weight in the next step and threw yourself against the trunk to get the car to move more than just a bit.

Luckily, the road wasn't as even as it looked like and the car rolled a few inches on its own.

Ellie hit the gas pedal, the engine howled and crows rose into the sky, crowing loudly in protest.

Nervously, you looked around. Sweat dripped off the tip of your nose. You wiped it with one of your rolled up sleeves and walked up to Ellie who kept the car rolling at a painfully slow speed.

"You should get in.", she said with a glance at the fuel gauge. "I'm not sure how long this one will take us."

Quickly, you rounded the car, tore the door open and jumped in while throwing your backpack into the room between your feet.

Dust and small pieces of sand pressed against the bottom of your pants and made a shiver crawl over your arms.

"Perfect...", you muttered with your teeth clenched.

"Just wipe it.", Ellie shifted a gear and the car started to roll faster.

Crunching your nose in a sarcastic manner you pulled a face to show her just how obvious that advice was and pushed your bum up to wipe the roughest dirt off the seat.

As you did so, your eyes wandered and caught a glimpse of something moving in the shadows. You narrowed your eyes and leaned forward to have a closer look.

"Ellie.", you reached to the side to tap her arm.

Shadows moved. Birds flew into the air. Fled, while screaming.

"Hm?", she didn't take her eyes off the road.

"Can this thing go any faster?"

She huffed.

"Really can't way to visit that museum, can ya?", with a smug smirk she gifted you a quick glance only for her eyebrows to raise in surprise. "Ah, shit..."

Her foot hit the gas pedal. The car flinched, stuttered and for a brief moment you feared it would break down, leaving you hanging.

But the engine pulled through and the car drove down the road at a quicker speed. It wasn't overly fast but quick enough to get away from the approaching infected that crawled from the edges of the shadows.

None of you had noticed them because their bodies were so heavily damaged by the fungi that they had seemed to be a part of the tree trunks.

Now they ran into the open by the dozens, screaming and fighting with one another. But the loud engine of the car caught their attention.

The infected stopped all at once. Their heads flinched as they tried to make out the direction from which the noises came.

"Fuck...", sweat ran over your forehead. "Can you give it some more juice?"

Ellie's lips pressed into a thin line.

"We don't got infinite gas.", her eyes jumped to the fuel gauge that was dangerously close to the empty sign.

"How far can we get?"

Her foot pressed more on the gas pedal as the group of infected approached, first hesitant then quicker until they tried to run up to the street.

Your fingers wrapped around the handle of your rifle. With two quick movements you opened the chamber to have a look at the ammo.

"Three bullets.", you tore your backpack open. "One more pack in reserve."

Ellie reached behind her to pull out a pistol. She threw it into your lap. Her eyes jumped up to check the rear view mirror.

"Fuck...", she hissed and threw another glance at the fuel gauge.

You turned in your seat, looked through the back window.

Dozens of dark figures ran down the street. Their screams echoed through the abandoned cars, bounced off the tree trunks and chased up to the sky.

They weren't faster than the car. Not yet. But it was only a matter of time until the fuel ran out and the two of you would be stuck in a small chamber of certain death.

The beating of your heart pounded against your ribs. It felt like the blood froze in your veins and made you feel like it was about to burst.

Your hands trembled as you picked Ellie's pistol from your lap and opened the chamber.

"Half empty...", you muttered to yourself and looked back once more.

The infected had formed into a small group. It was hard to tell how many they actually were but you guessed more than a dozen. Twenty, maybe.

Probably the former owners of the abandoned cars. That also explained why there had been so many. They must have gotten into an accident, for whatever reason, and one or a few had been infected.

After that the rest was just a chain reaction.

If you used the ammunition wisely you'd be able to take them all out. But it would leave your supplies almost completely exhausted.

And if you were completely honest you did not want to risk it. Ellie still had her new blade and you always carried some extra knives and a baseball bat but if close combat could be avoided you preferred that.

With a quick glance into the rare view mirror Ellie took a sharp turn and then hit the gas.