Don't Let Me Go

The Last of Us

Cry, Minx, and Ohm lie on the ground, using the bodies of the deceased infected to hide themselves from those still moving through the yard. Minx lies there, holding her breath, her eyes shut tightly as she trembles. Ohm keeps his eyes on Minx, on the blades of grass beside him, on anything but the sick shambling around them. Cry watches the infected, counting each one that passes him. He grips his knife tightly, holding his breath for the moment when the infected realize their there.

To his relief, after an agonizing hour, the infected move on down the street. There's still a few left nearby, but not enough to endanger them quite as much as the horde does. Cry is the first to move, slowly pushing the dead woman off him so he can get up. He keeps his eyes on the infected nearby as he helps Ohm up. Ohm stands and brushes himself off, shaking. Cry hands Ohm his knife, "Watch our back."

Ohm nods, taking the knife with a shaky hand. Cry pulls the dead guy off Minx, but she's still lying there with her eyes shut, shaking horribly. Cry puts a hand on her shoulder and she gasps, punching him. She opens her eyes when Cry grabs her fist. He smiles softly at her, whispering, "Are you hurt?"

She stares at him for a moment before shaking her head. Ohm taps Cry's shoulder, "We got company."

Cry looks up and frowns, seeing a few infected coming towards them. He grabs Minx and pulls her to his feet, "Get back in the house!"

Ohm takes off towards the front door and Minx just stands by Cry almost in a daze. Cry shoves her towards the door and she runs after Ohm then. Cry groans, backing up towards the door slowly. Minx and Ohm have the only weapons, since Minx's was knocked away. He looks around the yard, trying to locate it, but he can't. He looks back at the infected and they're closing in on him fast, and Minx isn't at the door yet. 

Cry sucks air in between his teeth and starts shouting and waving his arms as he turns towards the alleyway. Minx looks back at him with wide eyes. Ohm had already shut the door, and Minx was still a yard away. She quickly moves and follows Cry. He glares at her as they both sprint down the alleyway. He whisper shouts at her, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"Helping you because you don't have a weapon!" she whisper shouts back.

They cut into the neighbors back yard by throwing themselves over the fence, ever aware of the infected following them, and looking out for any that might be around as well. They quickly hide inside a child's outdoor playhouse. They crouch down inside, trying to avoid being seen through the many open windows. Minx groans, "This is a horrible idea, we're going to die."

"Shh!" Cry hisses, peeking through one of the windows. They almost lie on the ground to avoid being seen as around ten infected fill the yard. Minx shivers, whispering, "What should we do?"

Cry looks around slowly. He tilts his head, picking up an empty glass bottle. He grins, "Let's hope this works."

"What?" Minx frowns, looking confused.

Cry moves and then throws the bottle as hard as he can across the yard. The bottle hits the fence and shatters, gaining the attention of the infected. All of them turn and shamble towards the fence. Cry blinks, grinning wider, "Holy shit, that worked. It's just like The Last of Us."

Minx tries to glare, "Seriously?"

Cry pushes the playhouse door open, gesturing for her to follow. They take off across the yard, away from the infected staring stupidly at the fence. They get into the neighbor's house through the backdoor and they look around in the darkness. Minx hands Cry the knife, smirking, "Lead the way, Joel."

Cry chuckles, "Damn right."

They venture through the house, slowly and Minx frowns, "Should we look for supplies while we're in here?"

"And carry them in what?" Cry sighs, "We didn't bring anything to carry extra stuff in."

She shrugs, "You're right, and I'm sure whoever lives here wouldn't like us stealing their stuff anyway."

Cry nods, "Let's just get back to Ohm and Krism."

"I'm definitely okay with that." Minx replies.

"Stay close, and be careful," Cry says, "We don't know what else is in here with us."

"Or who else," Minx shivers, hugging herself as she follows Cry down the hallway. 

The house is silent, the only sounds Minx and Cry can hear is the faint groaning of the infected their leaving behind, and their own breathing. Still, they move through slowly, passing many doors as their eyes wander through the darkness. Something could pop out of the darkness at any moment, and one wrong move will lead to someone's death. With that that in their heads, their breathing picks up as their nerves sky rocket with the possibilities in the darkness that's smothering them. 

They finally leave the hallway, coming into a kitchen. There's a flickering light there, allowing them to see the carnage. The counters, cabinets, and floor are covered in blood and what could be guts or some kind of meat. Minx shivers, staring at the blood as she moves even slower, trying not to step in it. She feels like she's going to throw up, and not having a weapon on her is making her start to panic. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying to make herself calm down. 

Cry notices she stopped and he turns back to her. He reaches out for her but stops when she opens her eyes. She meets his gaze and nods slightly. He nods back and they continue on. The pass into the living room and there's more blood there, but no bodies. Cry keeps his eyes on the front door, gripping his knife tightly. They leave the house and both breathe out a sigh of relief. Finding the street mostly empty, they make a beeline for Minx's front door. 

Cry stops at the car, pulling the keys from his pocket, "Get Ohm and Krism, once everyone's in the car, we're getting out of here."

Minx nods and runs into the house. She looks around then runs upstairs. She opens the door and opens her mouth to relay Cry's message, but her words get caught in her throat as her eyes widen at what she sees in front of her. Ohm gasps, turning to her, "Minx! I-I had to!"

He's still holding the knife that Cry gave him, and there's fresh blood on it. Minx looks at the floor at his feet, where her wife lay, face down on the carpet, blood pooling out from beneath her. Minx slowly walks over and kneels by Krism. She slowly turns the woman over, staring at the woman's eyes. One is completely gray, and the other is destroyed, blood running down her face, soaking her hair. Minx looks back at Ohm and she blinks slowly. Ohm shakes his head, tears running down his face, "I had to! I had to!"