Me, You, Us

*

Up ahead, she spots a large road sign for Hillcrest overgrown with ground ivy. Another mile or so, probably.

"Fucking finally…" Ellie mutters.

No patrols in sight.

The area's clear.

Even so, she's itching to blast a couple of shit-for-brains soldiers who wanna fuck around and find out—or so Jesse called it one time.

(Man, they're real good about the finding out part.)

She left a troop of guys earlier in 'nine' (numbered by the areas of Seattle—Ellie has heard it before from her enemies on transmissions coming in).

They're dead and rotting.

She caved a skull in with a lead pipe, watching his brain-fluid trickle out of one of his ears… another one, a hunting knife jammed his trachea spasming, bleeding over his vest… Ellie ripped down, slicing him, exposing the fluttering muscle… and another, screaming on fire…

Her life happens to be full of violence, yes.

But… 

Ellie isn't hoping for violence. Someone might hope for rain, or for warm food, or for their missing loved one to come back. Normal stuff. Hoping for hope when everything feels like it's been hopeless… all of this time. That's closer to what she's familiar with. 
 
There's a cement-lined arch bridge ahead. Fog obscures Ellie's view.

She crosses it.

Halfway in, Ellie grasps frantically at her head, yelling out. Like a baseball bat struck her.

Her ears ring deafeningly.

Pain overcomes her.

Ellie's lungs heave, up, up. Nausea, too.

The warm smear of a stranger's blood on Ellie's neck quickly turns blinding-hot.

"Fuck…"

A croak escapes her, rather than Ellie's panicky voice.

Underneath her, the world shifts, rumbles, heaves—it's the only way Ellie can describe it. It's like walking over a thunderous quicksand. She finishes the crossing, landing onto her ass where the pavement of a new street meets. Ellie gasps, blinking rapidly, crawling.

She makes it onto her knees, sitting up, before noticing another girl suddenly appearing a few feet from Ellie. 

The fog thins.

Ellie yanks out a pistol on her hip-holster, at the same time as the girl and her weapon does, leveling it.

"Put it down!" Ellie orders, sternly raising her voice.

"You put it the FUCK down!" The girl, maybe only fourteen or fifteen years old if Ellie had to guess, yells back to Ellie. Her teeth ferociously bare. Ellie squints her eyes, unable to see much more of her. "Do it! Or you're gonna be getting one put between the eyes!"

Ellie tenses, her clear green eyes widening.

She's never heard anyone else use that threat… besides her and Joel…

Joel…

An echo of grief strums inside her.

Maybe… maybe that's why Ellie places down her weapon, holding up her other hand, signaling there's nothing. The other girl lowers hers.

"You're not working with the WLF soldiers, are you?"

"The fuck is WLF supposed to be?"

Ellie clarifies, "Washington Liberation Front," and only receives more hostile confusion.

"This isn't Washington."

"Washington, the state of Washington?" Ellie asks, now mirroring the confusion. Her brows furrow. "Is this Hillcrest?"

"Are you drunk?"

Ellie knows she got thrown around a little, fighting off Abby's people. Knocked her head. Mild concussion if anything. That doesn't explain why she's not in Seattle, Washington when Ellie just was walking the streets of it. How can that be it? Where did Ellie get lost?

"Hey, you got a name?" Ellie calls out, watching the fog thin more. 

The girl looks right at a kneeling Ellie, eyeing her, and then she gestures rudely.

Ellie can't help letting out a snort.

"Charming. You remind me of me when I was a kid," she admits, and the girl sneers close-mouthed. "Thought I could take on anything."

"Fuck you, asshole. We're not alike at all."

Ellie curiously looks her over. Brown hair, dark eyes. Narrower features. Sure, they're not identical.

"I'm Ellie," she says helpfully.

The girl frowns, but Ellie catches her startled for a moment.

"No, you're not."

"Huh?"

"That's my name," Other-Ellie snaps. Then, she looks away with her rifle lowered and curses under her breath. Ellie gets it. One of those things they tell you not to do—letting strange and untrustworthy people know your name you go by with people you do trust.  

Ellie offers a shrug. "I'm sure a lot of people were named Ellie, before and after Outbreak Day. Were you born in April, too?"

"Leave me alone."

She stands when she's sure that Other-Ellie won't shoot her. Or mostly sure. Ellie dares to take a step, keeping a hand up. Other-Ellie glares, her hands tightening. "We kinda sound the same, don't we…" Ellie points out softly. "I'm not gonna pretend like I understand why."

It's not like Ellie is trying to scare her. It's…

None of this makes sense.

Why is Ellie here… instead of the road leading to where she can find Abby, find her vengeance…

Close enough to her, Ellie notices Other-Ellie's scar bisecting her right eyebrow. Ellie's own scar. Ellie exhales, mesmerized. Not thinking over her decision, she grabs onto Other-Ellie's arm, pushing up the sleeve. It's too fast for Other-Ellie to stop her.

"No!"

Other-Ellie howls, terrified. She struggles.

Ellie drops her arm immediately, lifting her own sleeve, despite the rifle being pointed at her. "No, no—Ellie, look at this," she reassures her, exposing the tattoo Cat did. Ellie's fingertips drag over the softened, ridged and Infected flesh beneath the dark ink. 

"Here, right here… doesn't it look familiar?"

For a moment, Other-Ellie hesitates. Her little chest rising, falling, rising…

She reaches out. 

She's not thinking over what she's doing either, Ellie supposes. Other-Ellie's fingers visibly tremble, sweeping over Ellie's arm, tracing what's left of the bite-mark wound. Ellie gazes at Other-Ellie's one. It's not as healed. Of course there's no tattoo covering it. 

"Holy shit," Other-Ellie breathes, lurching away when it registers.

Ellie starts grinning, open-mouthed.

"Am I… you? Or are you gonna be me one day?" Ellie speculates, voicing this aloud. 

Other-Ellie gulps. 

"This is too fucking weird for me, man. You gotta go." She motions with the rifle, non-threatening. "Joel is gonna be back any second—"

Joel.

The realization is like plunging breathless into deep, churning water. 

Ellie's face breaks.

"Where is he?" Ellie says hoarsely, and Other-Ellie backs up from her, unnerved. Tears slide down Ellie's freckled cheeks. "I just—I need to tell him something. I didn't—I didn't mean to say the things I said to him when I was angry, and then, I couldn't say sorry. I wasn't thinking about what would happen. I went home and he meant to come back. I know he did. Please, please, Ellie—I need to know where Joel is now—"

"I'm not telling you jackshit."

"Ellie—"

Other-Ellie shakes her head, looking at Ellie like she's fucking insane. 

"I said—FUCK! LOOK OUT!" Other-Ellie hollers, staring frightened at what's running towards Ellie's back. 

Ellie turns at the last couple of seconds, having taken Other-Ellie's rifle into her own hands and aiming up. She fires. A bullet pops through a Stalker's mutated, fungus-encrusted head, spewing rot into the fog. That goddamn-fucking odor… it's hell. It's always hell.

What's left twitches, shrieking and clawing at nothing, before falling over.

Ellie tosses back the rifle, into Other-Ellie's hands, getting out her own pistol and firing into another Stalker. And another. And three more coming out of the fog thickening again. Where the FUCK are they all coming from like this? Ellie snatches onto one of the Stalkers lunging at her, its decaying jaws wide-open. The flesh peels off like a slickened sludge. A disgusted Ellie manages to lose her grip before knifing it.

"You gotta run, Ellie! The bridge!"

Other-Ellie doesn't question her, going ahead. 

She follows Other-Ellie after taking care of the Stalkers that didn't vanish. God, where the FUCK are they?

In the distance, getting closer and closer as Ellie runs, comes a scream.

"Motherfucker—" Ellie determinedly whispers, panting.

By some of the bridge's railing still remaining, Other-Ellie fights off a Stalker attempting to rip her nose off with its fungus-rotted teeth. She's so small compared to the Infected. And, god, Ellie's not close enough. Other-Ellie, blocking herself with her rifle, plants a foot onto the Stalker's torso. She kicks it off her, and Ellie fires, killing the Stalker. The force of Other-Ellie moving jerkily against the old, rusted railing… 

Her expression drops.

"Fuck! Fuck, no—!" Ellie shouts, unable to grab onto Other-Ellie before the bridge's railing gives.

It sends her into the water below.

Ellie dives in, and she knows it's stupid. So, so stupid. Ellie searches blindly for her, then presses on her miniature light-lamp. The murkiness shines dark green. Easily, she swims to Other-Ellie's limp form, clasping her middle and getting them up to the surface. 

"You're okay, you're okay…" Ellie repeats, frantic, when rolling Other-Ellie on her side doesn't clear her airway. "You gotta be okay…"

This is…

Her.

"You gotta wake up, Ellie. Wake up. Wake the hell up."

She slaps her cheek lightly. 

No response.

"Okay, not waking up and not breathing, so… you know what to do…" Ellie murmurs to herself and arranges Other-Ellie onto her back. Drowning victim means… CPR, yeah. Joel did that for her, long ago. He taught Ellie to perform CPR for others afterwards. It's only right.

Ellie puts the heels of her hands against the center of Other-Ellie's chest, interlocking her fingers. 

With arms straight, she compresses. 

Thirty compressions. Two compresses per second, got that? Ellie knows the memory of Joel's voice beside her, deep and familiarly affectionate— That's it, baby girl. One-third of the way. You're doing good. She aches, inside, as much as Ellie's hands do— Keep going.

"C'MON, ELLIE!"

She sobs this out and tilts Other-Ellie's head back, lifting the chin. Ellie takes a deep breath, calming herself, preparing. Taking another deep breath, Ellie seals her mouth over another pair of lips and firmly pinches the nose. She blows steadily into Other-Ellie.

Her chest, rising, falling…

Ellie does another set of compressions, and blows into her airway, and waits. Other-Ellie's mouth slack. Wet and warm.

Rising…

Rising?

She cries out, relieved, as Other-Ellie's dark eyes flutter open.

Her hand weakly clenches onto Ellie's wrist.

"El…llie?"

Ellie glances to Dina's hamsa bracelet shifting under Other-Ellie's fingers, and she beams. "You have a lot of good waiting for you," Ellie mutters, to her, to herself, leaning over Other-Ellie. Strands of Ellie's auburn hair dangle. "You just have to keep going, okay?"

When Other-Ellie nods, wheezing out, Ellie leans in further to hold her and messily kiss her forehead.

Other-Ellie's cheeks redden.

"The…fuck?"

Ellie smiles, completely at a loss.

Ellie…

Ellie… …

"Ellie, wake up…"

Dina touches her face, concerned.

"Ellie…"

"Mm?"

"Thank goodness," she mumbles, helping Ellie sit up off the dirtied ground. "You hit hard. I think you're bleeding."

Ellie touches where everything's throbbing, discovering a film of crimson.

Her lips still smiling.

*