Collision

Chapter Nine

~ Chapter Nine ~

Ellie's P.O.V.

The sound of crashes and bangs woke me up. I got up from the floor and started walking, checking my surroundings. We were all still in the pharmacy, safe and sound. They were all still asleep, but since my body decided I would be a light sleeper that day, any sound alarmed me. I sauntered to the door, pulling the wood from the handles as carefully and as quietly as I could. I opened it and took a peek. All I saw were two men looking around. They were armed with hunting rifles and knives. I didn't recognize them at first, but as soon as I looked outside, I saw a glimpse of their truck and ran to Joel.

"Joel! Wake up! Wake up for fucks sakes! There are hunters here with us! They're just outside the door! I saw their truck, and man, they put a new person up!" I loudly whispered, panicking but trying to keep my composure so I wouldn't wake anyone up.

He opened his eyes quickly and stood up, walking to the door. "It can't be them. They only live in Pittsburgh."

"Well, they're here now! What the hell do we do?" I asked, urgent for a response. I felt my pulse quicken with angst.

"Wake everyone up quietly, I'll try figuring out how many people are out there," Joel instructed. I nodded and awoke each and every person up, one by one, as carefully as I could without alarming them.

"Who or what are hunters?" Rick asked, reloading his revolver.

"No time to explain, they're making their way on over. Here's the plan: Rick, Harvey, Michonne, Finn and I will go out there and sneak up on them. So far, I've only seen four heads, but they're smarter than that. They've probably got a group outside waiting for them. No gunshots should be fired unless you want war with these people, knives and swords would be preferable. You, Aaron, and Carl stay here just in case all hell breaks loose. You don't step outside of this room unless we tell you to do so, got it?" We nodded, and the five of them left, hiding behind shelves and closing the door swiftly behind them.

I walked over to Quinn and examined her. She hadn't moved since last night, and it seemed as if she lost more color. She looked almost as white as paper now. 

I put my hand to her forehead and then hovered it just below her nose. My blood ran cold the minute I couldn't feel any air being forced out of her nose. "Guys? She's not breathing, she's not breathing!"

All of them ran to the table where I was at. Edward, Delaney's husband, put his hand to her neck, "She's got no pulse either!"

Carl pulled handcuffs out of his back pocket and put it around the pipe, behind the table, and on Quinn's wrist. "Just in case," He huffed, taking steps back afterwards.

"I can do CPR, I could give it a try," Edward insisted. I hesitated, but there was nothing else we could do. We wouldn't want to disappoint Harvey or Finn. I moved away from the table, giving him space.

"What happened to Ms. Johns?" Lia asked faintly, looking up to me for an answer and switching her gaze between the cold body and Edward.

I went on my knees to answer her, "we're just trying to wake her up, it seems she's still asleep." I couldn't tell her what was happening, she would be too confused to handle it.

Lia shrugged and went back to Carl, listening to him tell stories about superheroes. He seemed to be calming the two kids down, trying to keep his own thoughts straight as well. As I surveyed him with the kids, he looked up and caught my eye, then he gave me a solemn nod as if to say 'it'll all be okay.' I turned around again to see how Edward was doing.

"Any news?" I asked him.

He turned around to face me, "I... I'm afraid I couldn't do anything. I must be doing something wrong!" His face turned into disappointment, and then into urge. He quickly went back to Quinn, slamming his hands on her chest over and over again, then blowing on her mouth to give air to her lungs. He was desperate to bring her back to life.

"Edward, I understand. There's nothing we can do, let's just-" just at that moment, when his ear was to Quinn's mouth, she woke up. But not as someone we wanted her to be. Instead of her sparkling blue eyes, they were grey instead. The hand that was free grabbed Edward's neck, keeping him in the same position. I pulled him away as quickly as I could, but I wasn't fast enough. Blood was already gushing out of his shoulder blade. Delaney screamed, then went to her husband, weeping and holding him. I turned around to Quinn, took my knife, held her down, and carefully put it through her head. The crunch of her skull made me cringe as I took my knife back.

The door burst open and Rick came running through, "we heard screaming! The rest are on their way, they're just finishing off a few more. What happened?"

No one had to answer for him. As soon as he saw the old woman holding her husband in tears, his face fell. Harvey came in behind him and saw Quinn. "No! No, no! You were supposed to stay alive.... You told me you would stay alive..." Harvey held his cousin in his arms, tears rushing down his face. Finn followed him, seeing his wife on the table, he fell to his knees. Lia followed him, unaware of what happened.

It was a hard moment to take in, two deaths at once. I went over to Delaney, she was quiet already. Her sobbing was no longer heard, it was now replaced with silent hiccups. Edward stayed motionless in her hands.

Aaron and Carl took the kids out of the room, not wanting them to witness anything more than they already had.

"Delaney, we don't want him to turn and bite you. Please, let us do this," Joel begged, asking to let him shoot a bullet through Edward's head, but the old lady shook her head.

"This is my husband - if he is going to die, I am dying with him," she whispered, caressing the old man's wrinkled face.

"We can't leave you here, that's not right," I told her.

"Look, I'm thankful for all you've done for me, but this is as far as I will go. I can't imagine living without him, and anyways, my tumour is just about going to kill me. Please, just leave me be. I don't want to be a bother to any of you. I'm grateful that you folks have helped us and kept us alive this long, but I'm afraid it's our time to separate," Delaney pleaded. Her voice was desperate.

The group decided, in about an hour of daylight's time, and we slightly nodded our heads. We left the grocery store soon after that, leaving behind an old couple, and Harvey's cousin -otherwise known as Finn's wife. He didn't say anything, he just simply held the toddler in his arms as if telling her that her mom was gone, and it was only the two of them left.