Finding Ellie

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"Aly, don't!" Joel hissed at you as you slid off Shimmer. You weren't really listening to him though, only caring about the little girl that was hiding behind the tree in front of you.

You cautiously inched closer to her as she eyed you with speculation. You noticed she was digging in her pocket, searching for something. You took a step closer, and then she took a step back.

"Don't come any closer, I have a weapon!" she yelled as she pulled out a metallic brown switchblade, opening it up to let you see how serious she was. The blade was shiny and sharp, ready for using.

You held your hands up in defense, showing her you meant no harm. "I'm not gonna hurt you. See, nothing in my hands," you said softly.

She braced her jaw and gave you a once over, slowly lowering her switchblade and putting it back in her pocket. "You're not with the fireflies are you?" she asked cautiously.

"No, we're not. We ran into them back at the hospital though. Marlene told us about you."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking between you and Joel, conflicted about if she could trust you or not. You turned your head to look at Joel. He was clenching his jaw and he looked so livid. That couldn't be good.

You turned back to the little girl and held out your hand. "It's alright, we're not going to hurt you. You can come out." You motioned her forward, trying to get her to come out from the shadows.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked cautiously.

"I swear, we mean no harm. I give you my word," you promised.

She looked at the ground and shifted her weight between her feet, thinking about her options. After a few seconds she took a few steps forward, coming out from behind the tree and stopping right in front of you.

"Who are you two anyways?" she asked looking between you and Joel.

"I'm Aly, and that's Joel," you said as you glanced back to Joel. He was standing next to Shimmer, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He didn't say a word, only stared harshly at her.

"Uhh what's his problem?" she asked with a snarky tone.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's fine," you lied.

"Your name's Ellie, right?" you asked tentatively.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Marlene."

"Oh, I see," she said as she sighed. "You're not gonna take me back there are you?" she asked with fear in her bright green eyes.

"No, we're not going back there." You shook your head as you looked over at Joel. He was going back and forth between looking at you and Ellie, his mouth shut tight. You could see the anger fuming off him, it's like you could smell it. You met his eyes, and he just stared back with heat in his dark eyes. That's the last thing you wanted right now, him to be angry.

You looked back to Ellie, and she was stuffing her hands deep in the pockets of her purple jacket. She was cold. You couldn't just leave her here to freeze. You needed to get her to some warmth, out of the harsh elements. You felt a pull to help her. You weren't sure why, but you needed to do this.

"Why'd you run off?" you asked with concerned eyes.

She glanced up nervously and bit her lip before she spoke. Her green eyes looked scared, her body tensing up. "They just wouldn't stop. They kept wanting more blood, more tests and the questions. They asked so many, it was never ending. They promised me it'd only be one more blood draw, one more test and it'd be over. It didn't end though. And today they were supposed to prep me for surgery. They never told me how long it'd be or what they were doing. I freaked out and snuck out and just ran as far as my legs could carry me." She reached up to her shoulder and squeezed, her fingers digging into her jacket material as she was lost in thought.

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