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There was something about hospitals that made Ellie uneasy. Maybe it was from her previous negative experiences, or maybe it was the creepy hallways that stretched too long, or the off-white paint that peeled from the walls. She wasn’t sure. But, she tried to just focus on the mission, focus on Dina. That would keep her hands from shaking.
They were at the end of their second week on Jackson’s big annual supply run. Every autumn, Maria sends out a big group to a new area to gather supplies for the winter. This year, Ellie finally was allowed to go. As much as she liked Jackson, it was good to get away from it for a while. Being in one place for so long was new to her and traveling felt like some odd sense of normalcy.
Quiet humming from across the room broke Ellie from her thoughts. Dina stuffed a handful of sealed syringes into her backpack before throwing it back over her shoulders. With some effort, Ellie tore her gaze away and refocused on digging through the cabinets.
She grabbed what little medicine was left and put the bottles in her bag. Glancing over some old files filled the time, but there wasn’t anything interesting on them. Eventually she just stopped picking them up. The cabinets had nothing left to offer, so Ellie stood up.
“How’ve you been lately?” She asked, crossing her arms. Dina looked up at her with one eyebrow raised. “You know, since you and Jesse broke up.”
“Good. I’m happy, actually.” She smiled as she leaned on the edge of a counter.
Ellie nodded, a little surprised. “You’re a lot better off than Jesse, then. He looks like a kicked puppy every time he sees you.” A smile tugged at her lips. He wasn’t trying to avoid her, either. The past two weeks he’d been staring at Dina longingly from a distance, waiting, hoping. Ellie actually pitied him.
“Of course, who wouldn’t miss this?” Dina joked, flipping her ponytail dramatically over her shoulder. Ellie chuckled.
“Sure,” She smiled, scrunching her nose a bit. Crossing her arms across her chest, she casually leaned against the now closed cabinet doors. “Do you think you’ll get back together?”
Dina scoffed and rolled her eyes, and Ellie almost regretted asking. “I don’t know…” She muttered, meeting Ellie’s eyes again. “Why are you asking?”
Ellie froze. Why was she asking? She bit her lip, because if she was honest, she knew why. But, she wasn’t sure Dina was ready to hear it.
“Just curious.” She landed on, hoping Dina would let it go. Her gaze flickered over Ellie’s body, making her feel exposed.
“Sure.” She replied shortly. It was clear she knew there was more, but she didn’t push. Ellie was grateful.
“Next room?” Ellie fiddled with her fingers, not enjoying the tension she accidentally created.
“Yeah,” Dina started towards the door. Ellie lingered for a second, pretending she wasn’t watching the sway of Dina’s hips as she turned the corner. Then, she followed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
The white walls of the hospital hallway were colored yellow by the rising sun. She figures the white and blue tiles under their feet were shiny once, but now they were impossibly dull, with scratches and cracks littered about. Ellie tried to imagine this place before the outbreak, and found she couldn’t.
Dina had already slipped into the neighboring room before Ellie got there. Just from the doorway, she could see drawers open and papers scattered across the floor. “It really didn’t take you long to make a mess, huh?” She teased.
A look of horror flashed across Dina’s face when she looked over. And then, something whacked Ellie in the head, hard. She was thrown into the wall by the sheer force of it, hitting the other side of her head before crumbling to the floor.
“Ellie!” She barely heard Dina call her over the ringing in her ears. Ellie tried to blink away the shiny spots in her vision. She didn’t know what hit her, but it was metal and it fucking hurt. The room seemed to sway, but Ellie was pretty sure she wasn’t moving. Everything was fuzzy.
Dina cried out, and that got Ellie’s attention. Looking past the stars, she saw a man swinging a metal pipe at Dina. The man missed, twice, but Dina struggled to grab anything that could get him off of her.
With unsteady hands, Ellie pulled out her pistol, aiming for his abdomen and pulling the trigger. He doubled over, which gave Dina the opportunity to take him out. Despite her body’s protests, Ellie pushed herself off the ground, only stumbling a little before grabbing the doorframe to steady her.
“Ellie,” Dina sighed, rushing towards her. Standing up made her dizzy, but the wood she held grounded her. She hoped Dina couldn’t tell. With her vision starting to clear up, Ellie met her worried gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Ellie breathed, hoping to convince both Dina and herself. “You?”
Dina furrowed her brows and grabbed Ellie’s arm. “Yeah, but we gotta get out of here.” She tugged her behind a desk, ducking down and listening.
Shouts came from somewhere down the hall, and then heavy footsteps.
“Ellie, you’re bleeding.” Dina whispered. Bringing her hand up to her hair, Ellie felt the warm liquid soak her fingertips. Quickly, she wiped it on her pants and looked at the woman beside her.
“It’s fine,” She mumbled. “Let’s just get out of here.” More blood dripped from the edge of her temple where she hit the wall. Great, she was bleeding on both sides of her head. That explains why she felt so dizzy.
“In here!” A man shouted as he entered the room. Ellie felt her heart rate spike, and then again when another man followed after the first. Guns ready, they searched the room.
Dina nudged her, pointing to Ellie and then the man on the left. Ellie nodded, ignoring how the room swayed again as she did. Dina moved to the right, and Ellie saw that as her cue to go. She grabbed the man from behind and slit his throat, no hesitation.
Across the room, the other man fell at Dina’s feet. “This way.” Dina whispered, moving slowly towards the door. Ellie felt blood trickling down her neck. They had to get through this.
Dina led them through the hall, hand holding tightly to Ellie’s. The floor they were on seemed clear, evident in the lack of footsteps or yelling. She just hoped the rest of the building would be empty too.
“I wonder if they saw us come in,” Dina mumbled as they approached the stairwell. “How else would they know to be quiet?”
Ellie shrugged, reaching for the door handle. Dina pushed her hand out of the way and grabbed it herself. “Probably. Otherwise that’s a helluva coincidence.” Ellie said. “Or we’re just unlucky.”
“You are, for sure.” Dina teased. Ellie let out a dry chuckle.
“Definitely.”
The stairwell was quiet, only the light tapping of their shoes bounced off the walls. “Wait,” Ellie looked over the edge, seeing the pile of chairs and desks one floor below them. “This one's blocked, remember?”
“Shit, yeah.” Dina grumbled. “We should’ve gone to the other one.” They stood for a moment while Dina came up with something.
“Should we go back up, or just cut across the 4th floor.” Ellie asked, her grip on the railing slowly getting tighter as her head grew foggier.
“Let’s just go back up.” Dina sighed. They walked the few steps back up and slowly opened the door. Before they could step out, a door slammed from somewhere across the building. More shouting filled the empty halls, and Dina silently closed the door again.
“Nevermind.” Ellie muttered, already taking slow steps down the stairs.
“Hold on a sec,” Dina said, rushing past her. “I’m gonna block the door.”
“Good idea.”
Dina quickly ran down to where the blockade was and picked up a chair. She carried it back up to the door and wedged it under the handles. “Hopefully that’ll stop them.”
They made their way down to the 4th floor and listened before cracking the door. Quiet, so far.
“The other stairwell is this way.” Dina nudged her head towards the right, and Ellie reached for her hand. Dina took it wordlessly, and they started making their way across.
As quietly as they could, they sped through the winding halls. They had already been on this floor, yet everything looked the same to Ellie. Familiar, yet she couldn’t tell where they were.
“Search the floor! They’ve gotta be around here somewhere.” A voice came from down the hall. The girls froze, and Ellie’s grip tightened on Dina’s hand.
“Fuck.” Dina whispered, pulling them into the closest room. They ducked behind a bed. Ellie so badly wanted to rest her head against it, just for a moment, if only to clear some of the fogginess. But she didn’t want Dina to see her. Couldn’t bear the thought of Dina thinking she was weak. She had to push through.
A man came into the room, gun ready just like the others. Ellie moved to take him out, but Dina beat her to it. He fell without a fight, blood slowly pooling under him. Cautiously, Dina looked out the door, scanning the hall.
“They passed us, let’s go.” She ushered. Ellie got behind her, close enough to catch her scent. She felt a little guilty for enjoying it so much.
They snuck out into the hall, both on high alert. The stairwell wasn’t far, she could see the big grey doors just a few yards away. But the sound of a gunshot rang in her ears. Dina cried out before quickly slipping behind a cart. Ellie followed.
“They’re right here!”
Dina clutched her left shoulder, blood quickly covering her hand. Ellie’s eyes were drawn right to it, worry overriding her own ailments. When she lifted her hand, they could see the path of the bullet. It cut deep, but was just a graze. A bad one, but at least Dina didn’t have a hole in her, just a deep gash.
Angry, Ellie pulled her gun and stabilized it on the top of the cart. She shot one guy, taking him down, and ducked before the other could shoot her. She heard him walking towards them and recklessly pushed the cart forward in his direction. Ellie didn’t even want to see Dina’s face right now. She would probably be mad at her for not thinking, but they needed to get out.
The guy stumbled, catching the cart against him. He raised his gun, but Ellie was already on his side, knife aimed at his throat. With her left hand, she grabbed his wrist, keeping the gun aimed away from her as she brought her knife down. But he jerked backwards, out of her knife's path.
“Fuck–” Ellie cursed as he slammed her into the cart. The impact made her vision go hazy, black around the edges. Another gunshot rang out, and the man's hands fell away from her. Ellie slumped to the floor, barely sitting upright as the cart started to roll away from her. The man lay dead at her feet and she watched his blood fill the area around his neck. Her body felt so heavy.
She didn’t even know Dina was by her side until she was grabbing her arm and pulling her up. “I don’t hear any more.” Dina said as Ellie stumbled by her side. Quickly, they ran to the stairwell, swinging the door open and heading down.
Ellie could see, mostly, with just a few spots that lingered. Every step became more of a struggle, and it was harder to keep up. Dina ran ahead of her, reloading her gun with her now free hands. When Ellie reached the last step before the platform, an arm wrapped around her neck and pulled her back.
She yelled to get Dina’s attention, something indistinct but effective enough. Then she bit him, feeling the fabric of his shirt tight on her teeth. He cried out and Ellie felt something pierce her side. She bit harder, mostly because of the pain, and the man finally let go of her.
Stumbling forward, she barely caught herself on the railing. Dina shot the man before he could get to her again, and the sound hurt her ears as it echoed through the narrow space.
“Ellie!” Dina exclaimed, bending down to look at her. Ellie stayed hunched over the edge of the railing, breathing hard. “Oh my god.”
The worst of the pain was a little above her hip, but her entire side felt like it was on fire. “Dina, let’s just go.” She got out. Talking hurt. Everything hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut, like if she closed them tight enough the pain would go away.
“Okay,” Dina whispered, standing up and hooking Ellie’s arm around her shoulders. “Okay.”
More cautiously this time, they made their way to the bottom floor. Ellie couldn’t help but imagine every flight like she was one step closer to the end. Trudging down to her own demise. Her head throbbed, dulling her hearing when the wave was really bad.
Once they made it to the bottom, alive, Dina listened before cracking open the door. Slipping out, they hid behind the first thing they could, which happened to be a counter.
Ellie could see the exit across the room, but she could also see four men walking around, practically guarding it. Her shirt and the top of her pants were soaked through. She was running out of time.
“Do you think you can do this?” Dina asked, barely a whisper. Ellie looked at her, confused. “Stealthy, I mean.”
“Do you?” She shot back. Her mouth tasted like iron. If she was being honest, she had no idea how they could possibly sneak out. The door was fully made of glass and was visible from the entire room.
Dina bit her lip. “I don’t know.” She watched the men for a moment, following their patterns. Ellie tried too, hating the idea of going in blindly, but her vision swayed and she had to grab the marble edge of the counter so she didn’t fall over. “Let’s try.”
Another moment passed, and then Dina grabbed her hand and hurried behind a bench a few feet away. A little closer, but still so far from the door. Dina watched, waited, and then they moved again. Every movement became less bearable and Ellie bit down on her lip to keep herself quiet.
“Huh?” Someone’s voice, sounding way too close. Dina whipped her head around at the noise. Her eyes widened, eyes fixed on something on the ground. Ellie followed her gaze, seeing blood trailing across the tile. She looked down at her shoes, watching more blood drip from her side onto the floor. “Oh shit!” The man exclaimed as he spotted them.
Dina hopped up, holding tight to Ellie, and shoved her into a dark room. Ellie almost fell down the stairs that immediately greeted her. Dina came in, shutting the door behind her, gun out. She ushered them down the stairs, further into the dark and damp room. It reeked like that familiar smell of death.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Dina cursed.
Ellie clicked on her flashlight, lighting up the space. Lining every wall were bodies. Skeletons, really. Some in bags, some covered with sheets, but most just rotting out in the open. “What the fuck…” Ellie muttered.
“We don’t have much time.” Dina exclaimed, frantic. Already, voices were shouting outside the door. They were planning.
“Help me get my backpack off.” Ellie said. Dina rushed over, pulling the straps from her shoulders and holding it out for Ellie. She dug around carefully before pulling out a trap mine.
Dina grabbed it from her hand and ran back up the stairs. Ellie watched, leaning on the wall to keep herself upright.
Dina activated it and gently put on the third step from the top. Slowly, she made her way back down, finding Ellie again and pulling her behind the corner away from the staircase. The room spun, and she felt herself getting weaker by the second. But they were so close. They had to get out.
The muffled voices behind the door got louder, like they were arguing. And then, the door swung open. A moment passed, and then the walls shook with the explosion. After the ringing in her ears passed, she heard nothing. No footsteps or shouting. They were clear.
“Okay, let’s go.” Dina grabbed her again, pulling her to her feet. Ellie whimpered, but kept moving. Dina carried Ellie’s backpack in one hand, and had the other wrapped around her, hand on her arm. So much for not looking weak.
They got out of the basement, stepping over the dismembered bodies and headed for the exit. It seemed so far and too bright. Ellie remembered when she did this for Joel a couple years ago. Up until that moment, she’d never been more scared. But, she felt like a real badass for defending him and getting them out. She certainly did not feel like a badass right now.
“Almost there.” Dina said, voice soft and comforting. Ellie hadn't realized she’d been dragging her feet, barely keeping up. Everything hurt. The throbbing pain in her side and pounding in her head made it hard to focus on Dina, but she tried her best.
A couple more steps and Dina stopped. “Stay here, I have to open the door.” She brushed her hand over Ellie’s face, pushing her hair back. Lowering her down to a soft chair, Dina set Ellie’s bag down and ran to the door.
Ellie watched her struggle for a moment, wanting to help. But she didn’t trust herself to stand without any support. The fabric of the chair was already soaked with her blood and the world became a little blurrier.
Dina opened both sets of doors just wide enough for them to fit through, and then ran back over. “Come on,” Dina pulled her up again. “I got you.” She reassured her with so much care. It made Ellie’s heart swell.
Slowly, they squeezed through the doors, and the sun hit their skin. The outside air was crisp, with a light breeze that ruffled the nearby trees. She felt it against her bloodied skin, but the pain wasn’t so bad anymore. “We made it.” Dina exclaimed. Ellie couldn’t respond. She felt her body shutting down, nearly slipping out of Dina’s grasp. “Woah, Ellie.”
Dina’s voice sounded so far away, like she was in a different room. Ellie still felt her hands on her, clutching her shoulders now. But she couldn’t see anything except a vague outline of Dina as she felt her legs give. And then, there was nothing.
¤¤¤
The first thing Ellie noticed was how significantly the pain in her side had gone down. It was just a dull ache now. She was laying on something soft with a thin blanket over her. If she wasn’t quite so worried she might try to stay there longer. But she needed to know where she was and if Dina was okay.
She peeled her eyes open, immediately wincing at the light that spilled into the room. She lifted her hand to block some of the light, noticing how it was no longer covered in blood.
“Ellie!” Joel’s voice came from somewhere in the room. Within seconds, he was at her side with a reluctant grin on his face. “Ellie...” He whispered again, looking so relieved. He placed his hand on hers, lightly, not wanting to cross her boundaries.
“Are we at camp?” She asked, throat dry. He nodded.
“When Dina brought you in she was crying, and then I took one look at ya’ and–” He stopped, choking on his words. “I’m just so glad you pulled through.”
Ellie smiled, forgetting her bitterness towards him. It wasn’t important right now. “Me too.” She said, holding his hand a little tighter. There was a softness to his eyes, something she rarely saw. And, if she looked hard enough, she saw a tear that threatened to fall.
“I’ll go tell the others you’re awake.” He gave her hand one last squeeze before turning and walking out of the room.
Ellie closed her eyes again. She was exhausted, despite being unconscious for who knows how long. Her limbs felt impossibly heavy against the mattress. It must be Joel's, because Ellie only had a sleeping bag.
Dina ran in, face wet with tears, and threw herself over Ellie’s legs. Her shoulder was bandaged, and clearly not bothering her much. A dry chuckle left Ellie’s lips before she spoke. “Dramatic much?”
Dina whipped her head up, glaring at her. “I thought you were going to die,” She states, no mirth in her tone. “I was so scared.” More tears left her eyes. Her glare softened into something more affectionate.
“You did good,” Ellie reached out, placing her hand on Dina’s forearm. “You got us out in one piece.” She tried to be comforting, like Dina always was, but god she sucked at it. Dina pursed her lips into a half smile, standing up and fully grabbing Ellie’s hand.
“Thanks.” She murmured, wiping her cheeks with her fingers.
“Anytime.” She scrunched her nose, a smile coming to her face.
“Yeah.” Dina says, smiling too. And it was sweet, how much Dina seemed to care about her. She knew she felt the same, too, even if she struggled to express it. Ellie would take a knife for her, or a bullet, or a bite from an infected. Whatever, if it meant Dina could be okay.
The dryness of her throat was starting to bother her the more she spoke. Taking a deep breath, she started to sit up, using her arms to help her. But Dina gently pushed her back down.
“Don’t get up just yet,” She said, a firmness in her tone now. “You lost a lot of blood. Like a lot.”
“Right…” Ellie mumbled, accepting that she would have to lay there longer.
“What do you need, I’ll get it.” Dina asked, brushing a strand of hair behind Ellie’s ear. Her fingers were warm against her face. Ellie could feel the calluses on her fingertips against her skin. It was intimate. Ellie liked it.
“Water, please.” She croaked out, throat scratchy now. “Thank you.” She called as Dina walked towards the door, giving her a wink on her way out. Ellie pretended it didn’t make her heart flutter.
Once she was gone, Ellie sighed. Bringing her hand up to her temple, she felt a scab there where it was previously bleeding. Reaching to the other side of her head, she was a little more gentle. Her hair was still a little sticky with blood, but she soon felt stitches protruding slightly from her scalp.
Then, she reached down to lift her shirt, exposing the wound on her side. She hadn’t even seen it, so distracted by the blood and trying to stay alive. That one was stitched up too, a few inches above her left hip. It was clear of blood, even though her shirt wasn’t. Neither were her pants. She’d probably have to throw them out. This amount of blood would be a pain in the ass to get out.
If there was one thing Ellie learned from this whole ordeal, it was that she hated hospitals. And, that she wholeheartedly trusted Dina with her life.