( starter for @princessbatting )
Ellie sat atop one of the trailers, knees tucked under her chin as she looked out over Hilltop. Her home. In some sense of the word. She knew it had been her dad’s wish, for them to live there. It was something her mom told her time and time again whenever the girl would bring up Alexandria. Before he died, he wanted us all to live here. It’s a good place, Ellie. We have a good life here. The girl huffed, leaning back and stretching her legs out on the hot metal of the trailer. She was right. They did have it good here, her mom’s leadership causing this place to thrive-- even if Ellie didn’t really have much to compare it to. But it was a weird thing, to live someplace because a ghost told them to. Maybe he hadn’t been a ghost then, but to Ellie, that’s what her father had always been. His presence palpable, but gone. And days like these, when the hot sun bore down on the Hilltop and the quiet felt overbearing, she wished for something else. For something more.
WALKERS!
--But maybe not that much more.
Eyes wide, Ellie scrambled to her feet, searching in the direction of the sound. At first, the scream was followed by silence, but then-- There’s been a breech! Below her, she saw the world speed up. Parents shoved children inside, windows were being bolted shut. A whole pack of people, together toting most of Hilltop’s armory, clumped together, making their way in the direction of the breech.
“Ellie! Get down from there and get inside! Now!” Brianna stood below the trailer, a stream of people rushing past her and inside. The girl wanted to argue ( why move? they couldn’t get to her here! ) but the energy of the movement, the adrenaline pumping through her pushed her forward, off the trailer, and to Brianna. “Shit. This one’s full. Come on, we’ll find you a place.” It was clear the older woman was ready to fight-- something Ellie should be ready to do, too, but the moment was too rushed, too chaotic. Her world spinning erratically around her. Every inside was packed with people, the outside emptying of people as the first walkers began their shuffle of death inside the town’s center.
“Shit shit shit shit!”
She couldn’t say how she found the door-- if Brianna had led her there or if she’d gotten there on her own. Looking around, she tried to spot a familiar face through the gathering mass of walking corpses ( Mom? Brianna? Aaron? ) but before she could, a couple of the walkers had noticed her, their lifeless eyes boring into her. And although there was a large part of Ellie that wished to stand her ground, to fight for the Hilltop, she knew she wasn’t ready. Not yet. And so with a loud grunt, Ellie heaved open the heavy door, slipped inside, and pulled it shut behind her.
Breath.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She waited a couple seconds, catching her breath and trying to calm her racing heart. “Okay,” she spoke softly to herself, a hand on the wall to keep her steady. “Calm down. It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re--” As she spoke, Ellie had taken her hand from the walling, standing straight and turning to the inside of the room. That’s when Ellie saw her, shock swallowing up her words at the sight of the other girl. “You! What the hell are you doing here?!”
