PetrA

Chapter twenty-three: Ellie

Ellie raced up the stairs, she then jumped a couple of times and pulled down the stairs to the attic. She crawled up and moved carefully, she had no wish to fall through the floor. She had noticed Gordon behind her, but he knew the attic well, maybe better than she did. But when Henrik and Daniel crawled up after her she looked over her shoulder and almost fell through one of the holes. "Be careful, you can fall through the floor." She said and then forged towards the window. She peered outside and almost let out a strangled cry, outside Aiden was staggering around, a long gash down his face that had already started to rot. Gordon stared with huge eyes, Henrik squeezed in between them. "Aiden..." He muttered sadly. Ellie watched Veronica crack his skull open with a woodsman axe. Ellie felt sick, but she couldn't dwell on it, Aiden must have fallen in the woods. But what struck Ellie the most was how much weight Veronica seemed to have lost since the last time she had seen her. She was no longer a round overweight girl, but rather thin and pale.

Her super thick and curly hair was pulled up in a bun to keep it out of her eyes. As if she could feel somebody stare at her, she looked up at the window. She flashed a quick smile and then disappeared deeper in-between the houses. From downstairs, something crashed and a scream tore the air. They hurried out of the attic and down the stairs where they found the source of the scream. Lesley was on the floor screaming as a newly dead clawed his face. Daniel brained it so it fell over Lesley's body. He twitched and withered as the infection spread in his body. The wounds on his face turned a sickly green and the light in his eyes died. Gemma let out a yelp as Cody approached her in the corner of the living room. They all stared at the dead body of Jeremy lying over Lesley. Ellie hauled the body off Lesley. He stared up at them, "Lights out..." He said as a lame attempt of a last joke, then his whole body shuddered, and he was still. Daniel grabbed the same object he had brained Jeremy with and sent it through Lesley's eyes just as he started to wake up again.

Ellie frowned and turned over Jeremy, she couldn't see anything visible that would have changed him. Scowling she started to pull up his sleeves, a horrible stench filled her nose as his shoulders was exposed. The fabric of his clothes stuck to a large open wound. "We're getting out of here." Daniel said. Ellie turned to him, "We are, but first I'll need to leave a message for Timothy, and we'll have to find our bikes again." Ellie left the body of Jeremy on the floor and started to rummage through drawers in the living room. She pulled out a pad of paper and several pens trying them out until she found one that worked.

Timmy. Jeremy turned, large open wound on his shoulder. He killed Lesley. We'll throw them out on the porch to keep the stench out of the house. Gordon is coming with us, and I'll do everything to keep him alive. Also the kid that's between Mr. Boggs and Mrs. Jasmine's house is Aiden, burn his body along with the rest. Do not bury them.

Ellie.

She pinned the hastily written note on the fridge, and then if as a thought occurred to her. She added.

If you see this meet us, the last place we all gathered. we've left you some supplies. Sorry for the raid. Bye now! =>

None of the others knew what it meant, but it must have been something important. "Why'd you leave a note?" Daniel asked maybe a tad too harshly. Ellie gave him a hard look, and the glassy look in them surprised him. "It's my brother, wouldn't you do the same if were your brother?" She asked and then threw aside two heavy curtains revealing a terrace and a glass door. "Help me get them out here. Quick." Ellie snapped. They all gathered to get them outside on the grassy hill just below the house. Ellie felt a little sad that she would never be able to return here. Once they had bolted the doors shut, again she turned to her friends. "Okay, we'll need blankets, not heavy ones." She said opening a very old chest. "Cody, there's four tents down in the basement, take three of them. They should be big enough for us to sleep in. Henrik, go get water bottles. They're in the top cabinet opposite of the stove, left side." She gave them orders as if she was born to lead. "Gordon go with Joachim, find our storage, you know what to take. Gemma come with me, we're going to find whatever else we can find, and Daniel there's bikes down in the garages. If you can't find keys short wire them, and we also have a car." Ellie ripped down a set of keys and threw them to Daniel. "Kim you can come with Gemma and I."

No one questioned Ellie and they all set to work. "Gemma look through the attic when we go upstairs. You might fall through the roof if you're not careful with where you step." Ellie hurried up the stairs and flung open closets, Kim helped as Gemma crawled up into the attic. In less than fifteen minutes, they had stocked up on everything, and Ellie had found all of her old school bags and handed them out, some of them mortally embarrassing, but they were better than nothing. "We'll have to use torches, until we find something better." She said. Ellie looked out of the window and down towards the garages. Daniel had found the car, and the bikes. She tossed the extra bag to Joachim. "Let's get going then." Ellie could just have said that they'd go back to where they have parked everything else, but they'd have to scout the area first. "There's only two bikes right now, and then the rest will have to squeeze into the car." She glanced at Joachim and said, "You'll take the second bike with Gordon." She paused and looked at Gordon for a second. "Hurt him and I'll cut off your dick, and Cody you'll ride with Daniel." Then she opened the front door slightly holding the fast made weapon ready, but it was quiet.

She waved them forwards and they hurried around the house and down the hill. Daniel had already started the car and bikes. "Daniel you'll be driving behind the car with Cody, Joachim and Gordon will be our scouts." Daniel raised his eyebrows but didn't complain. Even if she didn't like Joachim she let her baby brother ride with him, what was she thinking? Ellie took a deep breath and made sure that she'd told Gordon to be safe and all that, she must have looked like a mother fuzzing over her child, but she couldn't have cared less and she gave Joachim several warnings about what she would do if Gordon was hurt. "Henrik, can you drive?" She asked. He nodded and took the driver's seat. Gemma took the passenger seat, while Ellie climbed in back with Kim. She felt horrible for Lesley's death, but she could do nothing about it now, it was too late. The best was to try to move past it.

She hated that she'd put Gordon up front, but she had hardly thought about it when she said it. It was as if her mind worked by itself. She just called out orders. She glanced back at the house as they drove away. In a way she would actually miss this god's forsaken town she called home. After a while, Ellie wondered where they were going, until she recognised the small forest trail up to where they first arrived. Daniel and Cody passed the car and probably went to scout the area. Ellie's first instinct was to storm out of the car and make sure Gordon was alright, but she fought it. He could handle himself. He's more than capable of taking care of himself, she replayed Timothy's words in her head trying to convince herself of it. He's nine. A voice said in her head, Ellie gritted her teeth and stayed in the car. Gemma looked at her through rear mirror. "Did you swallow a lemon?" She asked jokingly. Ellie hadn't even realised that she'd been making a sour face. "I don't even have a lemon, although it would have been better." She answered crossly looking through the front window trying to see Gordon. She really regretted that she'd let him ride with Joachim. They stopped in the clearing that was quiet, Joachim stood by his bike, with Gordon looking around.

Ellie couldn't hear anything, but she had a feeling in her gut that they weren't far away. "Let's do this fast. Cody and Gemma you take Gordon with you, and if anything happens alert me." Gordon started to protest, but one look, from Ellie made him shut up. They now had six bikes, but neither Ellie nor Gemma could ride a bike. Ellie eyed one nervously, she had no clue about how it worked, but maybe it was time for her to learn.

Daniel was busy with checking out his own bike for potential damage, Ellie approached Henrik and Kim slowly. She could feel the heat rise in her face. She's not used to have to ask for help. "You need help?" Henrik asked grinning at her. It made Ellie's face and ears redder as she nodded. "Um yeah..." They helped her onto the bike, sitting on it as the felt strange to Ellie.