Slater | Nick Goode

2.8

"There it is! Go, go, go!" Cindy shouted. The tree was not out of the ordinary, it looked the same as it did hours prior, old.
The girls neared it, dropping to their knees and without hesitation, began to dig.
"Dig! Dig!" Cindy urged as the both plunged their shovels into the dirt.
"Cindy..." Ellie looked towards the woods surrounding them, a short and stout figure making its way over to them.
"Just keep digging."
"You always hurt, the one you love..."
"Fuck! They're all here!" Ellie yelled, her voice cracking a bit as she looked around.
"Faster!" Cindy yelled.
They were panting heavily, there arms were in pain, but they had to keep going. Until Cindy's shovel hit something hard.
The girls quickly brought it to the surface, wiping off all of the dirt and residue on it.
"The Witch Forever Lives," Cindy read, and Ellie sobbed in defeat.
"It's just a fucking rock," she cried, "where is she? Where's the body?"
"I don't know," Cindy sobbed.
Killers lined the woods around them, all making there way towards the two girls.
"You want your hand? Fucking take it, just let us live! Let us live!" Cindy shouted, throwing the bones right next to the hole they dug.
"Cindy..."
"You bled on the bone," she explained, "they're after you. Get ready to run."
"No, Cindy, no. CINDY," Ellie cried, Cindy started pushing her away.
Tommy was the first to reach the tree. Cindy picked up her shovel, swinging it at his head. She grabbed onto Ellie's hand as they ran.
Cindy stopped again, causing Ellie's hand to lose hers, Tommy had grabbed her and thrown her on the ground.
"Ellie! Run! Fucking run," she roared, trying to block Tommy from hitting her.
"No, NO," Ellie yelled.
Tommy lifted his axe, slamming it down into Cindy's chest.
"NO..." Ellie roared, but she was too late. Blood splattered.
"Take... care... of... Ziggy..." Cindy muttered, Ellie hardly heard her.
But she ran, determined to keep at least one promise she made the younger girl. That was probably the only thing making her keep fighting.
She ran through the woods, several killers chasing her. She sobbed between steps, thinking of Cindy. Thinking of Joan. Of Alice and Gary. Of Tommy.
She reached the lake, locking herself inside of the lifeguard tower. She thought of Nick. Was he dead? If not, where was he? Was he looking for her? Or did he somehow make it on the bus?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the door. Just outside stood two figures, Ruby Lane and Isaac Milton. Ellie knew him as 'The Grifter.' He was freakishly tall, wearing a suit, and a metal face cover.
She sobbed, her entire face becoming damp with salty tears. Her body shook, she was terrified.
"HELP... HELP ME!" She screamed, hoping someone would hear her. It seemed that no one did, as the killers continued to break down the door.
She crawled out of the window, the lake not five feet in front of her, sprinting sideways from the killers, hoping they were far enough away.
They weren't. Ruby grabbed the girl by her hair, and Ellie took out her own switch blade, but Ruby was quick. She pinned Ellie to the ground in a swift motion, hitting the knife out of her hand. It fell just out of reach.
Ruby's gold necklace hung down on Ellie's face as Ruby crawled down her torso, reaching her bare legs. She stuck the razor blade into her skin, carving deep lines. Ellie screamed in pain, successfully kicking Ruby off of her and trying to get up. She landed only two feet away, but it was enough for Ellie to take the time to get up and try to get away.
She failed, once again. Isaac Milton, The Grifter, grabbed her and threw her so far, she almost went in the water. Ellie desperately tried to crawl away, but she was weak from the collision, and he was fast.
He pushed her into the water where Ellie got drenched. The lake, of all places. Ellie was going to die in the lake. She was going to die by her biggest fear, drowning.
The 7 foot tall man jogged over to where Ellie sat, pushing her down into the water by her throat. Ellie kicked and punched, tried anything. She craved the air, like she never had before. She didn't know how much she needed it until now. Because now she was going to die, she was going to drown. Alone. If anyone was watching this scene, the only thing visible of Ellie was her hands, they desperately clung to the man's biceps.
Soon, they slowly fell down and back into the water. There was no more kicking, and Ellie was no longer suffering.
Estella Slater was dead, and so were many more. She was alone, Ruby and Isaac both evaporating into nothingness.
Through the woods and around the corner stood a certain brown haired Sunnyvaler.
"Ellie? Alice?" He yelled, frantically looking around. He opened up the mess hall door, only to be greeted with another dead body.
He had seen many that night, the blood and smell didn't faze him any more.
"Oh shit.. Alice," he said, though he was sure she couldn't hear him.
"Ellie!" He cried out, tears streaming down his face.
Had he really been the only one left?
He ran out of the building and didn't stop. He ran past the cabins, past the outhouses and into the woods. The only thing past these trees was the lake. He knew it was Ellie's least favorite place, but he had already checked everywhere. He checked the open plains area, where Cindy's body laid, he checked the outhouse where Gary's blood stained, the mess hall where he found Alice, he had checked everywhere's but the lake.
"Ellie!" He screamed into the night air, a sob escaping his lips as he ran into the lifeguard tower, "fuck..." The door was completely broken down, and the window was busted, but it was empty.
He ran back out, but stopped suddenly as something glossy caught his eye.
Red gunk, blood undoubtedly, splattered across the grass. Next to the blood, a silver pocket knife. He dropped to his knees, picking up the switchblade and examining it. It was metal with wooden accent marks, and on the inside, 'ELLIE,' was carved in shitty handwriting. He knew it was hers.
He had seen it the first night of camp, when they crossed paths at midnight, he saw it when she admitted to dropping it and sneaking out into science and nature. He saw it today, when it was used against her, his own brother had cut her arm open.
"Ellie!" He let out a blood curdling scream, his veins popping out of his neck and his entire body shaking.
He looked out into the water.
"No..." he muttered to himself. He could see the faint outline of something stringy in the water. It was hair, floating on the very surface.
He didn't give it much thought, it had to be her. He ran into the water, splashing around at he walked over to the hair. He dipped his hand in, they roamed around until they hit something.
He pulled the weight upwards, letting out another sob as he laid the girls head in his lap.
"Ellie... NO," he cried, standing up and pulling the girl to a flat surface. He couldn't be the only one left. She couldn't be dead.
Her skin was cold, her lips were purple, and her face was lifeless.
He started to preform CPR, doing chest compressions and breathing into her mouth.
"Come on, Ellie. Please don't give up," he cried as he pushed up and down on her chest.
He counted to thirty, then opening her mouth slightly, breathing in, and giving her air.
When she didn't show any sign of breathing, he began to push on her chest again.
"The police and ambulances are on their way, we're going to be okay. Okay? Listen to me, we're going to start that book club. We will make this work, I don't care about the reasons. Okay, Ellie?" 14, 15, 16 pushes, he cried, "I know that you can hear me, and if you could speak you'd probably be laughing at me.. but I really fucking like you. You're so goddamn stubborn and annoying but your, like, the coolest and kindest person I've ever met."
30 pushes, he opened her mouth and gave her some more air. He waited a second and pushed on her chest again. Nearing 20 pushes, he swore he saw her hand twitch. So he pushed harder and gave her more air.
Ellie gasped loudly, coughing up water and flipping herself face down.
Nick let out a shaky breath and wiped away his tears. Ellie turned back to him quickly, looking him up and down.
"Nick..." she let out a small sob, and lunged forward, embracing him in her arms.
She let out a cry into his shoulder and he smoothed her hair.
"Everyone else is dead," she whispered, "and it's all my fault."
"Ellie, this is not your fault," he gently grabbed her arm, making her look him in the eyes, "do you hear me? This is not your fault."
He put a gentle hand on her cheek, and rested his forehead on hers, before they heard sirens.
He helped her up, only now noticing her cut up leg, slinging an arm around her shoulder.