𝕺𝖜𝖓 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕰𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖞

- CHAPTER FOUR -
NEWFOUND RESPECT

"THIS WAY." TESS pointed to the skyscraper in front of them. Part of it had collapsed, resulting in the whole thing leaning against another building like the leaning tower of pisa. "If we cut through through downtown, we can hit the capitol building by sunrise."

"We hope." Joel added, ever the pessimist. Seriously, Kathy might have to slap him if he kept being such a downer.

The quartet went under the fallen bridge and climbed up the part that had fallen down. It was pouring down with rain and Kathy wished that she had a coat with her because she was fucking freezing.

"Holy moley." Ellie gasped when she was helped up the incline by her aunt. "I guess this is what these buildings look like up close. They're so damn tall!"

"They're skyscrapers. Back in the day, people used to work in the offices. There'd be more than a thousand people in them at one time and most of them were dicks." Kathy informed her, reminiscing.

Ellie smile at the new information, "So what happened here?"

"They bombed the hell out of the surrounding areas to the quarantine zones, hoping to kill as much of the infected as possible." Tess answered, "It worked...for a little while."

Thunder bellowed from the dark, cloudy sky, followed by the shrilling cry of screaming infected in the distance.

"Uh, what the hell was that?" Ellie questioned with wide eyes.

"Tess, did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Sounded pretty far away though."

"Fuck, those things are loud." Kathy cursed, her eyes darting around in precaution.

"Are we safe?"

"For now. Come one." Tess replied, jogging up the broken walkway to where it just ended, like a cliff. Ellie and Tess stood right on the edge, looking down at all the destruction.

"Damn, that's quite a drop." The fourteen year old surveyed, making sure she didn't lean too far.

"Well there's the capitol building." Joel commented and they followed his gaze to the right. It was stood proud a long distance away, but easy to spot with the gold roof.

Kathy reminded him, "We need to get around this mess first."

"This was the downtown area?" Ellie asked as she and the two women walked behind Joel, who climbed through a gap and came out the other side next to the fallen skyscraper.

"It was. Now it's a giant wasteland."

"Over here!" Joel told them and they went through the gap as well. He was still a little bit away from them when he asked, "You find anything over there?"

"No!"

"Keep looking."

Ellie looked over at him, "Should I do anything?"

"You just stay close to Tess and Kathy for now." He replied, picking up a brick. Once he was done searching, he returned to them and they ventured into the skyscraper through missing wall on the side.

"Hey, Tess!" Joel called them over to a dead soldier who's blood was splattered all across the wall inside.

"Comin'!"

"He's been ripped apart." Kathy observed, getting a closer look. "It's pretty fresh, we should be careful."

"Is that bad?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, might be." Tess disclosed, "Let's not stick around."

They jogged up the stairwell, coming across another dead soldier. This one was sat slumped against the wall with handgun bullets and a note beside him.

"Another one. Shit."

Joel bent down by the body and read the note, "Looks like these guys died waiting for back up."

He stood up and they climbed another level of stairs. They were now on the 5th floor. A dead clicker had crusted against the door they needed to go through.

"Goddammit. Clicker." The male smuggler swore, grabbing onto it and pulling it off the door.

"Geez. What's wrong with its face?" Ellie chimed in. (A/N Haven't you people ever heard of...closing the god damn door. Sorry I had to. I don't usually do this. How are you guys?)

"That's what years of infection will do to you."

"There are four stages, Runner, Stalker, Clicker and Bloater. Each one is more dangerous than the last. This one was a Clicker." Kathy explained as she pulled the body away so that Joel could bash the door open.

"So what, are they blind?"

"Sort of. They see using sound." Tess added.

"Like bats?"

"Like bats. If you hear one clicking, you gotta hide. That's how they spot you."

"I don't know, I prefer to throw a molotov at them." Kathy disagreed, but turned to Ellie quickly, "But don't you ever do that. Unless the situation calls for it."

"The whole building feels like it's about to fall apart." Joel commented as he picked up some random supplies from the shelves around them, then squatting down to go under one that had fallen into an old office. "Watch your head."

Everything in the large open office was slanted like the building, some desks and chairs had slid down over the years until they were pressed against the wide windows.

Ellie let out a breath of awe as they approached a white door that would take them further into the building, "Totally cool. Everything is totally cool." 

Joe tried the knob, but the door was stuck. He turned to Tess for help, "Gimme a hand with this."

Together, he and Tess shoved it open, jumping momentarily when the desk that had been blocking it fell into the abyss. Kathy shouted Joel's name when a click tackled him to the ground, coming out of nowhere.

She acted quickly and kicked it off him, shooting it twice in the face as she held it down with her foot. The brunette offered her hand to help him up and he took it, having a newfound respect for the woman who had just saved his life.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Holy shit, Kathy! You were awesome!" Ellie exclaimed, clearly her throat awkwardly when Joel sent her a look. "You alright?"

"It's nothin'."

"Let's search for supplies." Tess suggested and Kathy nodded, going into the opposite room that Joel had went in. She had hit the motherload, some scissors, a glass bottle and most importantly a medkit.

"Shit! Oh that was intense!" Ellie gasped when Kathy came back to them.

"You said it, kiddo." Kathy grinned, patting the girl's shoulder as she passed. She walked over to Joel and handed him the health kit, "Here, patch yourself up and don't say I never did anythin' for you."

Once they were done searching the area, they found another way up to the next floor. The stairs had been blocked off after the fifth level. There was a balcony with caution tape dangling down from the railings as well as another dead soldier.

"C'mon. Let's get the hell outta here." Joel voiced, all patched up and ready to go. "Oh, boy..."

"Up there. Look!" Tess pointed out the balcony.

Ellie cringed at the condition of the soldier, he hanging upside down by one of his ankles, "Yeesh..."

Joel got into a boosting position by the wall, his hands locked together, "Just see if there's a way through."

Tess went first, using him as leverage to jump up to the next level. She looked around and told them it was clear and then stretched out her arm to help Kathy up, who then helped pull up Joel and Ellie.

A noise alerted them of an unfriendly presence, "Clickers?"

"Fuck! Ellie, go, go, go." Kathy whispered, pulling her niece into a hiding spot behind a desk with Tess and Joel just as a Clicker entered the same room.

Kathy slowly retrieved the glass bottle she found earlier and threw it the opposite direction they wanted to go, the smashing f the glass caused the Clicker to frenzy and in in that direction. With it distracted, the quartet snuck around and escaped by climbing over the scaffolding. Kathy really fucking hated those things.

❝IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ME, I AM MY OWN WORST ENEMY❞