Ellie Williams x F!Reader

Forty-One

"You could stay.", Ellie said as the two of you walked up a hill.

Fields of wheat lined up left and right, starting to crumble and wither away since no one had made an effort to reap the seeds and turn them into something useful.

Lost in thoughts, you reached down to let your hands seal through the paper like strands. They felt rough to the touch yet dry.

Perhaps it was still possible to make something off them. And if not flour for bread at least some good old porridge. After all, one couldn't be picky in these times.

The smell of dry grass and blooming trees danced through the air as a breeze swept across the fields and made every strand sing a song.

Your gaze traveled brother, past golden fields all the way to the horizon where a line of fresh green stretched through brown and grey of streets.

"Lights.", you noted with raised eyebrows as a settlement caught your attention.

Large walls made of thick wooden pillars shut the city off from the rest of the world. Streets and buildings lined up next to each other. It was hard to tell from this distance but you believed to see humans roam the streets.

It looked so normal. So alive.

"That's Jackson.", Ellie pulled a metal gate open to let you set foot on the farm first before she followed.

The old metal screeched. It was in desperate need of some oil and maybe new screws. The way Jackson looked there was no shortage of any supply.

"It looks... so luxurious.", you noted but still made an effort to not meet Ellie's eyes.

A small farm house with a large porch sat in the middle of the fields. The front door was shut but small curtains decorated the windows, giving the impression that somebody lived there.

Ellie stopped at the edge of the small stairs that led up to the front door. Her fingers twitched one by one. Even the ones that weren't there anymore.

The injury had healed quite well, no more open wounds just scars and some swelling where the healing process was still ongoing.

"We've got electricity and running water down there. Save walls.", Ellie put one foot on the first step but hesitated. "Food, shelter. Patrols to keep everyone safe."

You frowned, your attention still fixed onto the city in the distance. It was like a sight of heaven, a piece that promised everything you could have ever wished for.

But it was too late. All too late.

If only you could have saved your mother, could have brought her here. But your father would have never allowed anyone to leave the house you had once called home.

The house that had tuned into the place of her execution. And he had wanted to return to it. Only thinking about it drove vomit up your throat.

You swallowed it. Hands clenched unit fists you gathered all your courage and turned to face Ellie for the last time before she'd be reunited with her family.

A soft wind caressed your hair, made strands of her auburn mane dance. It had grown quite a bit over the past weeks, long enough for her to tie it into a small ponytail in the back of her head.

"Ellie.", her name left a bitter aftertaste on the tip of your tongue. "Why would you leave all this behind... Just to revenge a man who won't come back? Even if you had killed Abby."

All of a sudden, Ellie's entire existence started to tremble. A layer of tears made the green of her eyes shimmer while she needed to suck in such a sharp breath that it could have sliced throats.

She swallowed hard. Then, just like that, everything came crumbling down.

"I... everyone I ever cared for left me. Or died. Joel died. Abby killed him just like that!", pearly white teeth appeared, accompanied by gums that almost started to bleed from the force. "She took him from me. Took my chance to make up for all the... all the weird moments and arguments that were so full of shit!"

Her eyes fell onto you. And there she was: Ellie, the kid who had lost her best friend and was left behind with a kind of mutation that was equally gift and curse.

She would never turn. In a world full of monsters she had what everyone prayed for. And yet, she'd always be left behind. Either because others left to protect themselves or because they did not share her ability to survive a bite.

Ellie was a loner in a world where no one could afford to be alone.

And she hated it. She hated it so much that she chased after Joel's legacy in hopes that it wouldn't leave her behind.

"Ellie.", softly, you placed a hand on her trembling shoulders.

She let her head fall down, hid the tears of frustration and regret that forced their way out of her eyes and over her face.

Small trails of salt were left on that freckled skin of hers.

"You're going to leave too.", it wasn't a question but a statement, a conclusion she had made over the course of your journey.

You sighed, your gaze jumped over your shoulder to have one last look at a civilisation full of people. A place you had needed many years ago.

And now?

Now you couldn't help but be disgusted by this. Others had been so much more fortunate. You had been in the wrong places at the wrong times.

And yet.

You did not feel like ruining other people's lives just because you were bitter. You wanted to be better than this. It wouldn't fix the scars that you carried. But it wouldn't make any new ones either.

"It will be okay.", the words crossed your lips with a smile, softly and so gentle that it made the tears dry. "I will be okay. I want to be okay."

You wiped her cheeks with your thumb.

"You'll leave me.", she said and grabbed your wrist.

Something stabbed you in the chest.

"You have Dina. And the boy. But you need to let go. You need to want to get better. Otherwise it's just self sabotage."

"Please stay.", her voice was hoarse. "Just a few days."

You eyed her.

"I'd love to."