Safe and Sound// Ellie Williams

Beginning

"Yara!" I whisper shout as I'm crouching through the grass on patrol. I let out a whistle sound to try and locate Yara, "Come on Yara this isn't funny!" I keep my bow loaded to my side as I'm trying to be quiet, "It's her first time on patrol as a soldier and she's already scaring me." I mutter to myself. I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder and I aim my bow at the sudden touch. I lower it when I see Yara looking at me.

"Sorry." Yara tells me as she steps away from my bow.

I sigh, "It's okay. Just don't run off again. I know you're excited about your first patrol, but we can't split up. You're still only 13."

"You were 13 when you first started."

"And now I'm 16, so you have to listen to me." Yara nods and resumes her position next to me. She's a well trained soldier, but first patrols always get the new recruits excited. It's hard to complain about because I was the same.

"How's Lily's training?" I ask Yara.

"Okay. She's acting weird though. She wants to be a soldier like me, but I'm scared for if they assign her as a wife when her time comes."

"She's only 10, she still has time."

"I know... I just don't understand why she questions our beliefs so much."

"Again, she's 10. Give her time." Yara nods her head, but I can see she is still thinking about it. I understand her concern for Lily because I have the same ones. Sure, I don't understand everything we do and why we do it, but I know better than to question it. If we question it we become an apostate- which is a death sentence. My mother and Yara's and Lily's are some of the most devout women in camp. Neither of them would ever understand any questioning towards our faith. I was lucky that my duty to the Seraphites is to be a soldier. I don't know why I feel like this, but I could never be someones wife. There was never the... desire there. Sometimes I feel things that I know I should not be feeling, like Lily, but I know that I can not act on these feelings. I hope Lily knows this as well.

"Wolves!" Yara shouts and I get into cover to continue fighting this never-ending war.

I gasp up from my bed. It takes a bit to calm down my breathing and realize where I am. I'm not in Seattle anymore; that was just over a year ago; I'm not in the middle of a war. I rub my face and get out of bed. I have patrol this morning so I grab my knife and notebook before heading downstairs. When I get down I see Ian drinking a morning cup of coffee that he must have got from Joel. He made me try it once and I don't understand why he drinks it, it was disgusting. 

"Hey kid, be careful on patrol today. Lot of demons spotted near your route." Ian tells me. I nod at him and appreciate that he uses "demon" when he's talking to me. I've been in Jackson for a few months and am still not used to the different terminology. I remember when I first met Ellie, and that girl swears more in one day than I've heard my whole life.

"Sure. Is Aster and Alaia up yet?"

"No. Aster doesn't have to go to the school today and Alaia doesn't need to go in until later." I nod at Ian and grab my bag before heading out the door, "Bye!" Ian shouts out after me and I give him a small wave on my way out. I start to make my way to the stables. I would grab food, but I'm not too hungry and I hate how Seth always looks at the scars on my face. Most people try to either ignore the scars or just ignore me, but I don't mind, they confuse me a lot anyways. No one really knows that I grew up in a religious cult besides Ian, Alaia and Aster. Ian found me, or rather I found him, and he took me back to Jackson after I was labelled as an apostate. When I get to the stables Jesse's already there and ready to go. 

"Hey." He says to me and I smile as a reply. Jesse is one of my better friends in Jackson since we're patrol partners. His partner passed away right before I got here so when I volunteered for patrols I got put on as his partner. He's also friends with Cat, so I see him a lot even outside of patrols. I see his friend Ellie a lot too, since she's dating Cat, so we're all basically some sort of group. I can tell Dina doesn't like Cat, but I don't know why since she likes Aster and Alaia and they're best friends with Cat. I don't think she minds me, but I've never really tried to talk to her or Ellie.

I grab my bow and arrow and jump on to my horse, Sera. They tried to give me a gun, and I used it fine, but I always preferred my bow and arrow. I have a pistol on me as well, but I only use it as a last resort.

"So we're all hanging at Dina's tonight if you want to come?" Jesse tells me as we get to our first outpost. I turn to Jesse with my eyebrows furrowed.

"Hanging?" I question slowly.

"You know like hanging out. Chilling."

"Chilling?"

"A social gathering." Jesse tells me in a slightly teasing tone.

"Right." I say and I turn back to the log book to record our patrol in.

"So are you going to come?"

"Probably. If Aster and Alaia don't drag me over I'm sure Cat will." I answer Jesse and we start to head down to our horses, "I'm guessing you guys will be drinking?"

"Yeah probably. You know you don't have to though, right?"

"I know. I still haven't had any, so I'm not worried about changing that."

"Okay. Well the invite is there if you want to come."

I nod at Jesse, "Okay. Thanks." We continue our route with little to no difficulties. On our way back we spot some demons, so I take out my bow to take them out. I fire my first arrow and it lands into the demons head, and I quickly reload the second and third arrow and let that fly into the other demons. Jesse shoots the remaining two and I head over to get my arrows back.

Jesse whistles and I flinch slightly at the familiar sound, "Damn. I always forget how good you are with a bow." I shrug my shoulders with a slight smile at Jesse. I look up and see an old store from the old world. I quickly pull out my notebook and make a quick sketch of this Diner  store so I can ask Ian about it when I get home. I would ask Jesse, but I really don't want to after that 'Hanging' and 'Chilling' situation. Jesse and I jump back onto our horses and head back to Jackson. When we get there I hand Sera to Alaia who must have just started work not too long ago.

"Good run?" She asks us with a sweet smile on her face.

"Yeah not too bad. Only ran into a few infected on the way back." Jesse replies to her as he hands his horses reins to her. She nods at his reply.

"Great! Well I'll see you tonight Jesse. Oh and Tate, you'll be there as well. I know where you live!" Alaia jokes with me. Of course she does because I live with her. No one at the Seraphites really joked around, but I'm starting to be able to detect it better now rather than think of everything as so literal

Aster and Alaia were completely nice when I showed up with Ian and started to live with them. They introduced me to Cat, Ellie, Dina and Jesse and have invited me into their family here in Jackson. They remind me a lot of Yara and Lev... they became my family here. I'm a bit closer to Aster, but nevertheless I am still close with Alaia. Other than the two of them I got close with Cat because she taught me how to give tattoos, because one day she saw my artwork and asked me to tattoo her on the places she couldn't reach herself.

I created a new life here in Jackson with people who don't question my scars. Here I can be Tate.

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So I'm writing yet another Ellie book lol. I really thought once I finish up Secure I will be done, but nope I'm just a huge simp for Ellie so I gotta keep going.

Hope you enjoy my new main character, Tate. The first little bit of the story will be her backstory :)