Apocalypse [Ellie Williams]

◜chapter eight◞

Cassie begged, that night, to stay beside their side however the pair protested. Infected could change quickly and neither wanted to risk putting their best friend through that. So, they did only what they could think of in that moment and walked the girl back towards the escalators. They walked in silence, Cassie's hands interlocked with both of theirs. She looked a mess, hair sticking up in every way and clothes shredded to pieces.

When they got to the escalators, an unspoken routine followed. Riley stood to the side with Cassie, the pair saying their emotional goodbyes, voices in a hushed whisper as they hugged.

"i love you Riley, your probably the closest thing to family i ever had. Thank you for that" Cassie nodded as she pulled herself (begrudgingly) away from the girl, her hands resting on Riley's shoulders as she leant her forehead against the slightly taller girls forehead

"i love you Cassie, never forget that okay. Ive always fucking loved you" Riley closed her eyes as she grabbed something out of her pocket "i was gonna give you this when i dropped you home but now will have to do" It was a small bracelet, charms with the letter 'R' 'E' and 'C' engraved on them as well as two heat charms. Cassie slipped it on, gulping down a sob as she pulled the girl into another hug. repeating the words 'i love you' and 'im sorry' into her ear.

When it came to Ellie's turn, the two girls only looked at each other before breaking down. Cassie rushed over and flung her arms over Ellie's shoulders, burying her face into the girls shoulder as she choked out sobs. Cassie felt dizzy, the two collapsing to the floor yet never letting go of one another. They stayed in the embrace, both on their knees as they shook with tears.

"Els" Cassie whispered, speaking in between choked sobs "Els look at me" Ellie looked up, green eyes meeting blue "dont think for one second ill ever forget about you"

"i know" Ellie nodded, her hand finding Cassie's as they stood back up. Cassie brought Ellie's hand to her lips, placing a gentle kiss on her bruised knuckled "Cass"

"yeah"

"rule the fucking world okay?" Ellie instructed, her bottom lip wobbled as she tried not to cry

"id do anything for you, you know that" Cassie replied, looking to the floor before looking back at the girl and pulling her into another hug. Soft kisses placed on Ellie's cheek as Cassie repeated the same words she did to Riley. Knowing she had to go not otherwise she wouldnt leave, Cassie quickly pulled back. Looking over her two friends that stood beside one another. Turning away, Cassie started heading towards the escalators only to be stopped by Ellies voice.

"take it, please. you'll freeze out there" Ellie was holding out a hoodie she had packed, it was a simple black hoodie with the solar system printed on the back. It was a gift from Cassie herself, she had stole it from a sale someone had on knowing Ellie would love it. Cassie was quick to grab the fabric and pulled it over her head before pulling her backpack back on.

"ill miss you guys" Cassie sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as more tears welled in her eyes

"we'll miss you too but please promise you wont come back here" Riley replied, Ellie unable to speak between the cries she let out

"i promise" Cassie nodded "fuck, i never thought this would happen to us"

"neither did we Cass, please. get the fuck out of here" Riley instructed, Cassie nodded again and turned on her heel. Walking up the escalators and refusing to look back knowing her two friends would be watching her leave. Cassie pushed through the same double doors they entered in and collapsed onto the ground. Her body violently shaking with sobs.

Ellie and Riley where slowly walking back to the Halloween store when they heard possible the most heart breaking sound.

"fuck!" they heard cassie scream, yelling following soon after along with a loud crash. Neither knew what was going on but both desperately wanted too. They couldn't go and see her, none of them would let each other go if they did. So, they ignored it and just walked back to their store where they stayed.

It took cassie twenty minutes to drag herself out of the mall. Her heart sank as she jumped ledge to ledge, building to building, knowing she was getting further away from her friends. When she landed on the last building, the girl sat down on the ledge and looked around at the dark city that had been created.

She then looked down, cursing herself for even thinking the thoughts that where flowing through her head. Riley said not to take the easy way out, to keep living and she had promised Ellie to rule the world but looking down, it all felt so tempting. She could shuffle a few inches forward and the heartbreak would be over.

"why us" Cassie mumbled, tracing patterns in the stone ledge. Her eyes still flickering to the ground below. The girl was unsure on how long she was sat there for, it felt like decades but the sun still wasnt up so it could have only been ten minutes.

"dont do it kid, its not worth it" An unknown voice made the girl jump slightly. She turned around, a kind looking lady stood about a meter away. When she didn't get a reply, the lady made her way over and took a seat beside the girl "your Riley's friend"

"how do you know that?" Cassie asked, her voice weak

"she spoke about you a lot. What are you doing here?"

"what are you doing here" Cassie snapped

"im Marlene, i was just going to check on Riley before sun up" the lady told her

"i wouldnt go in there if i were you" Cassie then explained the situation, she wasnt sure why it was so easy to open up to a lady she didn't know. She supposed it was because Riley trusted her and Riley had good gut instincts "they're my only family, you know, that's why i was here and not back at mine"

"they were good kids" Marlene's voice was comforting "how about i walk you back home"

"i need to make a stop first but i could do with not being alone right now"

the fact i wrote this with blurry eyesight is kind of mental (i was crying the entire time)
also the edit ideas i have for this fic are incredible but i can't edit for the life of me