Collision

Chapter Sixteen

~ Chapter Sixteen ~

Ellie's P.O.V.

The sun had barely rose when I heard the sound of footsteps around me. Muffled voices crowded the store, noise barely audible considering the fact that they were whispering.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wake them up?"

"No. I don't want to alarm them. This might just be a small animal making it's way through the woods."

"That was a gunshot, Rick. I know what I heard."

At this, my eyes shot open and I slowly stood up, regaining my consciousness. It had been a good night's rest, but it unfortunately came to a close. Carl was still laying softly on the ground, quiet and undisturbed.

"What's happening?" I asked, causing them to turn their heads toward me. "Where's Finn and Lia?"

As I looked around the room, the man and the little girl were nowhere to be found. His daughter, Kenzie, was nestled in Michonne's arms, still sound asleep. Rick and Daryl were crouched behind the window, as if watching closely at the empty forest.

"Get down Ellie," Daryl urged while turning his back to the wall. "Finn went out to help the girl with her business, but it's been almost half an hour and they haven't come back."

"I'm pretty sure there's more to it than what you just told me," I insisted, pressing them to tell me about the so called 'gunshot.'

Rick and Daryl exchanged a glance and a nod, "We heard a gunshot not too far away from here. Michonne thinks it might've been only two miles away, but we're not sure. We don't know if something happened to Finn, but we don't want to risk our exposure by trying to find them."

"We can't just leave the two of them out there. They're weaponless," I said, trying to tone my voice down. We couldn't afford to lose any more people. 

 "What's going on?" Carl asked, his voice croaking since he just woke up. He rubbed his eyes and looked back and forth between Rick, Michonne, Daryl and I.

"Carl, I think we're going to have to get moving again," Rick stated, his voice firm and demanding. Beside me, Carl stood up and nodded quietly, grabbing his sheriff hat from the ground.

As we headed out of the store, Carl interlocked his hand with mine, and as I opened my mouth to question his actions, he leaned in to whisper in my ear, "We'll get through everything together. We haven't gone through much yet, but I know that if I have you to keep me sane, I'll be here to do the same for you."

I'd never felt anything so deep for a boy in my entire life, and neither did I want to. But Carl was something else. He made me feel. And as we walked side by side, hand in hand, I felt like I could conquer everything that came in my way.

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It wasn't shortly after our walk when we heard yet another gunshot roaring through the lonely trees. We had yet to come across a body, dead or alive.

"It's getting closer, isn't it?" Carl asked, taking a quick glance over his shoulder, checking if there were any sign of life behind us.

"Because of the echos, I can't tell the distance or the location of the gun. We should try finding higher ground; that way, we'll have the advantage of knowing where to go," Michonne informed, and we all agreed. 

There was only one mountain we spotted, and the hike was dreadful. Pain shot through every nerve of my body. My muscles felt like they couldn't be used anymore, and my legs felt like they were about to break off. As sweat dripped down from my forehead to my nose, I wiped it off with one swift move and climbed another rock.

It wasn't as steep as we'd thought, but it was slippery. All the grass was wet from the morning precipitation which made it hard for us just to stand without falling. 

 "I can see some trees swaying not far from here," Michonne informed. She was already at the top, not having any trouble at all with breathing. I, on the other hand, could not do much without having to breathe like a maniac. Everything exhausted me nowadays, I didn't know if it was just a symptom of fatigue, or something that had to do with my bite.

"I'm guessing it's not the wind?" Daryl asked, making his way to her. Michonne shook her head in reply and stared out into the distance.

"What else can you see up there?" Rick's voice boomed from behind us. He was the one who had to take care of Kenzie, the toddler, and so we strapped her to his back with caution.

"Two bodies. I can't tell if they're male or female, I can barely see their faces."

As I reached the top of the mountain, I put my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"Are you alright?" Carl asked, making his way towards me with concerned eyes. I stood up straight with a smile and nodded my head, lips pursed in a straight line.

I walked to where Michonne was standing and focused my attention to where they were looking. Down ahead, it was a collection of pine trees. All I could see was the jade green colour of the trees combined with the bushes and the grass. When my brain had difficulty watching for motion, I suddenly got hit with a memory.

"I have binoculars!" I yelled, stopping Rick, Daryl and Michonne from their conversation. They patiently waited with urge as I dug through my backpack and took out the camouflage binoculars I found in an abandoned hunting store. I handed them over to Michonne who quickly used it to get a closer look at the two people.

"Well, what do you see?" Carl asked, trying to figure out the area she was focusing on.

"I can't believe this," Michonne breathed, clutching the binoculars tightly. The four of us waited for her response, "It's Joel and Harvey."