Secure// Ellie Williams

On the Road

"Are we going to see the biggest ball of twine?" I ask. Ellie and I have been travelling for about 2 weeks now and we are just reaching California. She said we are almost there so I have been trying to guess what it is and Ellie refuses to tell me.

"That's in Minnesota."

"How do you even know that?"

"How do you not know that if you knew what it was?" Ellie retorts back and I shrug at her. I get tired of asking so I just sulk on Ellie's shoulder, "We're almost there, just stop asking about it."

"Have I already guessed it?" I ask. Ellie stays quiet at this, "I have! Okay let's go through the list again."

"No! No, you haven't. Just don't do it again.

"Fine, but only because we are almost there." I tell Ellie and we keep riding. We haven't ran into too much trouble this ride. Only a few herds of infected, but nothing impossible to handle. It's given me the opportunity to practice shooting with one hand, but Ellie usually has to step in to take out the infected because my shot sucks now.

After a few minutes Ellie speaks up again, "Why would you even want to see the biggest ball of twine?"

I shrug, "I don't know. Guess then I could see what all the hypes about?"

"There's hype around it?"

"Well there was. it's a historical landmark."

Ellie scoffs, "Okay."

"It is! I read about it."

"Alright." Ellie chuckles and I huff at her. 

"You're the worst sometimes."

"You love it." Yeah I do. I lean back onto Ellie and look at the forestry that surrounds us. The heat is definitely more prominent in California than it is in Jackson. We already went through Utah and Nevada. Everywhere has so much scenery that is so new and... indescribable. Ellie decided to try and avoid main cities on the journey because it would be too hard for us to fight through it since my fighting skills are, well, terrible. We did go through Salt Lake City though and Ellie told me about her time there with Joel and the fireflies. I asked if she wanted to look around, but she said she'd rather not.

"Wow that's a tall building." I tell Ellie as we're standing in front of the tallest infrastructure I've ever seen.

"Yeah. It's crazy how they built all of this." Ellie tells me and I nod. I continue to just look at the building in complete fascination. I grab Ellie's hand with my good one and keep my eyes on the building. I feel Ellie's eyes on me so I turn to look at her with a soft smile on my face.

"Thank you." I tell Ellie softly and she smiles at me. She leans in and places a soft kiss on my lips.

"Of course."

"Okay. We have just a small walk then we will be there." Ellie tells me and she helps me off of Shimmer. I look around as Ellie ties Shimmer to a nearby tree.

"I don't get it. Where are we going?"

"If you just followed me then you will see." Ellie tells me in a teasing tone. I roll my eyes and motion for her to start moving. We walk through the greenery and I look around for any idea on where we could be heading. I look for signs or just... anything, yet I still find nothing. 

"Are you sure you never got us lost and we are now just wandering in the middle of nowhere?"

Ellie rolls her eyes and grabs my hand to drag me, "I know where I'm going. Just shut up for a second and close your eyes. We're almost there." I sigh, but close my eyes and put my full trust in Ellie to guide me to wherever we're going. We keep walking and I stumble a bit over some branches but Ellie keeps me balanced. I start to hear the sound of running water and my eyebrows furrow in confusion. After we keep walking and the noises get louder Ellie speaks up, "Okay, open your eyes." I open them and am greeted by the most beautiful scene. A ginormous waterfall is in front of me and we are in a private swimming hole. It's an area with no infected, no town, no world. Just me and Ellie.

"Ellie." I start but don't even know what to say.

"It's uh, it's called Mossbrae Falls. I saw it in a brochure once and thought you'd like it." Ellie tells me timidly. I turn to her and she is analyzing my face looking for a reaction. I give her to biggest grin and quickly kiss her.

"I love it." I go over to the water and start to take off my clothes until I'm in my bra and underwear, "Come on!" I tell Ellie as I run into the water. I hear Ellie not too far behind and the splashing of water as she rushes into the water with me. I start to float on the water and Ellie floats next to me. Our heads are next to each other and we just stare at the clear sky, "Thank you Ellie. I really needed this. Everyone wouldn't have left with me, but you did... so thank you."

"Yeah I mean, of course I left with you. I, uh, I-" Ellie stops and I keep looking at her waiting for her to say what she wants to say. I stand up and look at her and Ellie follows my movements, "I love you Lils. Like uh, love love you."

I smile at her and move closer, "I love love you too Ellie." Ellie smiles at me and kisses me. I wrap my legs around her waist and kiss back. For the first time since my accident I don't feel useless or scared.

I feel secure.

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Sorry it's been a hot minute since I've updated this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!