❝ there's nothing i
can see; darkness
becomes me... ❞
（ story by tommysmiller )
（ until dawn; female oc ）
（ cover by elenafishers_ ）
（ original version ）
˗ˏˋ CHAPTER FIFTEEN ˊˎ˗ o. the crimson sun shall rise
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WHAT HAD COME NEXT WAS BUT A BLUR WITHIN THE MIND OF ELLIE GREENE, the dull colours of reality passing her by. Vaguely could she recall the firm grasp around her body slacken once the agonised screams of Josh Washington had long faded into nothingness; his fate sealed. Mike had crouched before her, speaking soft words that merely fell deaf upon her ears, the veil of grief shielding her from his attempts to get through to her. His attempts resulting in naught, he'd silently stood the girl at her feet, guiding her through the intricate tunnels that create the mines, her legs moving without her brains consent. If it were her choice, she would have remained, left within the darkness to wallow within her guilt, until fate came to greet her also.
Ellie's wits only reform once she's led through the door into the Washington lodge, reality treating her as an enemy. Her mind had yet to fathom that Josh was gone, nor would it ever truly, but the notion that she'd failed him once more causes something to snap within her mind. Any ounce of energy she'd so desperately clung to flee her within an instant, her body crumpling to the floor before any can catch her. She'd thought all her tears had already been shed that night, but as heart-wrenching sobs ripple from her hoarse throat, she is proven horribly wrong. Her crimson-stained hands claw fruitlessly at the hardwood floor, her bitten-off nails scraping against the smooth surface.
Words are lost upon Mike's mind as the thin threads of the girl's will snap before his eyes, for what could he say? In times when a dark void lingers upon them, mere moments away from consuming them once and for all, words grow to be a lost cause. His jaw falls slack as words dance upon the tip of his tongue, but he clenches it shut once more, his will growing chipped at the realisation he couldn't say anything to ease her turmoil. His heart falling within his chest, his legs bend at the knee, the boy moving to take a seat beside her - to stick by her through it as best he can - but he's interrupted by a frantic knocking upon the door. Accompanying the pounding are screams of terror, occupying a voice he knows well; Sam.
Sparing a disheartened glance at the broken girl weeping upon the floor of a house she'd never again call home, Mike rushes to the door. Spotting the figure of his friend, though blurred by the ice conjured upon the window, Mike does not hesitate in yanking the doorway open, slamming it shut once more after she's stepped through. A shaky breath passing by the cracked exterior of her lips, Sam's terror-filled eyes first flicker upon Mike. Relief floods her veins at the mere sight of him, knowing he'd yet to fall victim to the mountain that night. But as her gaze continues to meander, she finds someone to be missing. "Mike, where's..."
Sam needs not finish the sentence, for when her eyes come to meet the tear-glazed ones of Ellie Greene, reality invades her mind. Their gazes meet for only a mere second, but it's enough. Josh was gone. Killed or soon to be, she dare not question; the answer being one better gone unknown. She mutters a small word of apology, if only for the sake of politeness, as there was nothing sorrow could fix. Attempting to shove down the grief that builds within her heart, to stay brave while others break, Sam forces her attention back upon the task of their survival. "What do you think we should do?"
