tw - abandonment, blood, wounds
and my sister.
What?
"TE ESTAMOS LLEVANDO A un lugar hermoso" Aitana's mother spoke from the front seat of an old, white, rusty car. Small Aitana sat in the backseat next to her sister with her hand in her mouth, nibbling at her already short nails.
"¿Dónde?" The child asked as she peaked her head out the window. Dina sat beside her and picked at the broken seats of the car, her head leaned against the car door as she nodded off into a deep sleep.
Aitana watched as they passed piles and piles of rubble on passageways. Next to the rubble were cars upon cars, crashed buildings, and overgrown towns. The greenery added a pop of color to the dull and beige buildings that either stood tall, or were half disintegrated. "Estamos cerca." Her dad said as he turned.
The car slowed to a stop in front of a large building. Dina's head popped up, suddenly awake with her eyes widened. "¿Estamos aquí?" She yelped, caught off guard.
Aitana's mom got out of the car and opened the door for her newly five-year-old daughter who hopped out with a smile, the four-year-old following in foot. "¡Aquí!" Her mom motioned to the building in front of them. Aitana slightly frowned as she looked at the sight, confused about what could be so special and beautiful about the run-down building. Her dad walked forwards and pried the doors open, there she was greeted by a room with toys upon toys of every kind.
Aitana's five-year-old heart raced when seeing all the things there were to do. Dina's tired face instantly disappeared, and a surge of energy traveled through her at the sight.
Legos, a small slide, action figures, stuffed animals, and drawings sat on walls and there were pallets of dried paint scattered near, what seemed to be, an art corner. She looked back at her parents with a large smile, "sigue. Es todo para ti mi corazón. Feliz cumpleaños." Her dad motioned to the large room ahead of them. Aitana smiled as took Dina took her hand and pulled her into the store to find something that would entice them.
Her parents watched from afar, talking in hushed voices. The two girls played with dolls and action figures, making them argue, laugh, and cry. Aitana made up small voices for the characters she created in her head, as any girl her age would do with Barbies. Dina's voice was the same for everyone, the men barbies having unusually high-pitched voices. But it was okay, it added character. They made dramatic stories and events.
"Estoy cansado," Dina whined as she stood, Aitana didn't pay attention to the girl, assuming she was going to complain to their parents and continued playing. She had gotten so caught up in playing, she didn't notice Dina falling fast asleep in her moms arms, or hear the door of the toy shop open, or close, or an engine starting, or a car driving away. She just continued to rotate through the activities in the toy store, until she noticed the quietness and her sister's absence.
After a while, Aitana traveled towards the front door where she had thought her parents were, but there was no sign of them. She peaked her head out of the room to see the once bright streets now dim and dark, and no car in sight. Her heart dropped, and as much as she wanted to scream and cry, she didn't. The faint sound of groaning made her shut the door gently as she took in a deep breath, realizing her parents were long gone, and most likely not coming back.
What a birthday.
The young child pulled the small slide from the corner over to the front door to block it off, it scraped against the hard floor making it squeal as she dragged it, not being strong enough to lift it. Aitana then covered the back door with a shelf that was, surprisingly, super light. The child added books and nicknacks to make it heavier, but then again that probably wouldn't hold back any type of human, maybe a runner or two, but not anything more.. it was slightly pointless.
And with that, she sat in the middle of the toy store quietly, curled in a ball as she shook and shivered, her hunger eating her from the inside. Her stomach burned every time she moved. That night she didn't sleep, the sounds of the night kept her up. Shuffling that traveled past the doors that separated her from the zombie-infested world was the main concern in the night. She hadn't moved, she refused to move, scared that if she did a whole army of Clickers, or Runners would attack.
Until, one day, she estimated two nights after she was left to die, the faint shuffling became louder and the sound of someone banging their body against a door was heard from behind her, coming from the back door. Finally, the shelf fell and Aitana quickly ran and crouched under a small kiddie table in the corner of the room as the door was slammed open to reveal a woman and a man who looked to be in their forties. Aitana stayed quiet as they looked around the room, their words sounding like bubbles to her.
Then, as she tried to move from a squatting position to her knees, the back of her heel hit a chair making it squeal as it dragged across the dirty floor. The couple went quiet and the woman marched over to Aitana, going to pull her up from behind the table. The young child quickly ducked away and ran to the other side of the table. The woman said something to her, but she didn't understand anything. "¿Qué?" She asked quietly. The man rolled his eyes, saying something along the lines of 'She only speaks Spanish' or 'She won't understand us.' It was a fifty-fifty chance really.
The woman walked over to Aitana and pulled out a chair, shoving her in it before turning to the man who was shaking his head, covering his mouth with his hand. They went off in a duo, having a hushed conversation which made Aitana think of two nights ago when her parents sat in the same corner, having the same hushed conversation.
"No me dejes. No me dejes." She begged quietly while clasping her hand together. Her eyes were shut tightly as she prayed, prayed this random duo wouldn't leave her, prayed they saw her weak, skinny, tired figure.
A hand placed itself on her back making her turn around, grabbing the person's arm, "cálmate." The man ordered. Her eyes widened as she slowly
let go of his arm, shoving his hand off of her. "¿Dónde están mis padres?" She asked, looking between the two.
They stayed quiet, not quite understanding what she was saying. The man only understood a little, and that little was enough. At the quietness, Aitana felt her eyes fill. She looked away from them as she cried.
And the next this she knew, she was sitting in the corner of a run-down apartment, with two adults she had just met two hours ago sitting in front of her with chairs, interrogating her.
And that was the start of everything. That was the start of absolute hell.
•••
THE COLD GROUND OF an abandoned basement was felt even through the thick jeans the teens wore. The two girls huddled over Joel's wounded body, Ellie ripping a rag and pushing it onto Joel's stab wound.
The man took a deep, wheezing breath. His hand grabbed onto Ellie's tightly as she put pressure on it. "Maria took my stuff, joder." Aitana whispered under her breath, not seeing any of her bandages or stitching materials.
"Come on, you gotta help us. Come on." Ellie begged as Joel groaned. "Leave. Leave." He ordered as Aitana walked back over, leaning over the man much like Ellie did. "Joel, be quiet." She ordered, taking over for Ellie and trying to calm the blood that poured from Joel's opened wound. "Take the gun," he tried to tear Aitana's hand away from him.
"Joel, shut up!" She yelled. Joel grabbed her shirt, pulling her over and making the girl look at him, "you take Ellie and you go. You go. You go north. You go to Tommy." He said, out of breath. "You go." With that, he threw Aitana, and the girl fell to the hard, cement floor making Ellie quickly fall to her side to help her up.
"I'm fine," Aitana said as she stood, Ellie helping her anyways. "I said I'm fine!" Aitana pushed herself away from Ellie. Ellie looked at her, slightly surprised. Aitana loomed over Joel with an emotionless face. Ellie looked down at the man and grabbed his leather jacket, covering him up.
With that, Aitana turned and left the basement, marching up the stairs. "Fucking Joel...." she muttered as she got to the door. "Aitana," Ellie tried to reach out for her, "he just wants us to leave him? Para pudrirse?" She asked the younger teen as she got to the door that separates the basement and the first floor. Ellie stood still for a moment, catching Aitana's eye.
"Ellie?" She asked. Ellie seemed to have zoned out, her mind going elsewhere. "Ellie?" Aitana's tone turned from normal to worried, she walked down a few steps and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. Ellie's head snapped up to look at Aitana before bolting past her and throwing open the door.
It took Aitana a couple of seconds, but she soon ran after the Williams girl, watching her throw open broken cabinets, and mirrors. She looked in shelves and hiding spots. "Ellie! What is wrong?!" Aitana yelled as the girl moved into the kitchen, beginning to yank at a drawer that wouldn't budge. The girl didn't reply and continued to yank at it, desperately as images and scenes ran through her head. Ellie's eyes watered, desperately yanking at the kitchen drawer.
Aitana walked forwards and put her hands on Ellie's face, forcefully turning her head so they could meet eye to eye. "Ellie." She whispered in a comforting tone. Ellie's breathing evened as she focused on Aitana's eyes, the eyes she had never been able to pass through. People said that eyes were the key to the soul, they said everything, but how could Aitana's say nothing? But the longer Ellie focused on them, the calmer they became. "Please, I'm sorry for... yelling, pero cálmate."
Ellie nodded. Aitana's hands slowly dropped from Ellie's face as she took a hold of the drawer's small handle. And with one big yank, it came out of its nook and fell to the floor. With it, a sewing needle and green string. Aitana quickly picked it up and showed it to Ellie. "Gracias Dios por esto. He's gonna be okay." She muttered in a promising tone.
The two girls hurried back down the stairs into the basement and tore the jacket off of Joel's body. Ellie held on tight to Joel's hand, looking at his face which was pale and cold. Soon enough his fingers weakly tightened themselves around hers. Aitana pulled his shirt up to see the stab wound, removing the cloth which was soaked in blood. She did her best to wipe away the red liquid before untangling the string.
She's done this before, to herself and to Tess, only once or twice. She kept repeating 'I got this' in her head as she looked at the wound. "You got this," Ellie whispered, seeing the girl's hesitation.
"Querido Dios, por favor deja que esto vaya bien. No dejes que Joel muere. Amén." The older teen mumbled before focusing on the wound, and beginning to stitch Joel up. He let out pained sounds as the girl began, looking away. Aitana's fingers shook as she continued.
Ellie leaned her head on Aitana's shoulder while Joel kept tightening his grip on Ellie's hand whenever there was pain. And they got through it, they did it together.
•••
ELLIE AND AITANA SAT in a corner of the basement, their backs against the wall. Aitana let her head fall against the stone wall, she turned her gaze to Ellie who was zoned out, staring at Joel's sleeping body.
"He's okay," Aitana whispers to the Williams girl. "I know." She responded in a mummer, but her leg bobbing up and down said otherwise to Aitana. The older teen hesitated before placing a hand on Ellie's knee, "look at me, Ellie." She said. Ellie turned her head, her eyes delayed but followed soon after. "¿Qué pasa? What are you thinking?"
Ellie felt tears well in her eyes as she remembered the night. The night she snuck out with Riley who showed her the four... five wonders. The night they were attacked, they were bit, and Ellie was the one that made it out, alone.
"Uhm... I was just.." Ellie looked away from Aitana, knowing if she looked any longer she would cry. Aitana took Ellie's chin in her hand and gently turned her face back toward her, so gently, acting as if Ellie was glass and one wrong move would make her shatter. "It's okay, Ellie. It's okay." She comforted.
The immune girl took a deep breath, "the night I got bit, I wasn't... I wasn't alone. My friend, Riley, she took me to the abandoned mall." She began, her voice slightly wavered as she explained, "and.. it was going good until a Runner came out of nowhere, and just..." her eyes turned teary and her chest became heavy as she tried to hold in the tears and the real feelings, the pain of losing her first love had been eating her from the inside. "ruined every fuckin' thing."
Aitana looked at Ellie's face as she explained, never taking her eyes away from the girl. "Riley, she was my first... everything." Ellie looked up at Aitana, who looked slightly confused. Then, it dawned, "oh.. oh." She whispered, looking away from Ellie which made the Williams girl regret her words, "and I guess it just, I didn't want to lose you guys too." At that moment, Ellie's voice broke and so had her wall. She fell into Aitana's comforting hold and cried.
"It's okay, Mi amada. It'll be okay." She whispered in a comforting tone, "Joel isn't leaving. " She held Ellie close to her, Ellie's head in her chest as she cried, staining her long sleeve with wet spots. Aitana rested her head on Ellie's, "I won't either."
At this small sentence, a small smile slipped onto Ellie's face, a new feeling erupting in her stomach. The feeling of someone tickling her from the inside. And unlike Aitana, she knew the ticklish feeling all too well.
•••
"WOULD YOU HAVE LEFT?" Ellie suddenly spoke making Aitana look up. They sat on opposite sides of the basement, trying to somehow get sleep but the cold was nipping at their skin, and the faint sounds of the wild kept them up.
Aitana let her eyes adjust to the darkness, watching as Ellie's figure shaped out and her features became alive again. "No." She whispered. "I... I would've turned around. Came back." Her eyes drifted over to Joel who lay asleep on the dirty mattress.
"If I had left... me habría killed myself." Her tone was blunt, but behind the bluntness, you could hear the small pitch in her voice. Ellie stood and walked over to Aitana, sitting beside her. "Why... why were you going to?" Ellie whispered. The older teen assumed she was talking about that night before they left. Aitana took a deep breath in, "it was a mix of things, mis padres, Joel, you, Tess, Bill and Frank, Sam and Henry." She explained,
Ellie turned, "your parents?" She asked. "They're in Jackson, where Tommy was. Maria found out, de algún modo, that we were related. Introduced us, and I told them to go to hell." She explained, "it all happened after you stormed away." Ellie physically deflated at the new information, "and I lost them, and then Joel, and then you. Todo se vino abajo, and I didn't think it through," Aitana gave a single shrug, harboring her head in het hands. "After every loss, the weight in my head got heavier and then it just all," the teen made a crumbling motion with her hands to try and explain.
She was quite surprised she hadn't cried while explaining. She figured she had cried it all out over the past couple days. "But, they abandoned you, don't you hate them?" At that question, Aitana nodded, staying quiet and trying to think of an answer. "If you love someone, you can never truly hate them." She began, "and as much as I hate them, I can't help but love them, even though I don't want to." The girl admitted, letting her head fall back against the stone wall. "And I hate that I do, but I can't help it. They literalmente made me."
Ellie let quietness linger for a second, "you wouldn't have lost me." She suddenly spoke. This sentence made Aitana turn to look at Ellie, "I like you too much to let you lose me," the immune girl smiled, "and even though you won't admit it, I know you like me too," Aitana rolled her eyes and looked away from Ellie before returning her gaze to the girl with a small smile on her lips. "Doofus." The older teen whispered.
"You like this doofus." Ellie shrugged as she looked away from Aitana. "I do," she admitted before adding, "sadly." Ellie hit her arm, "asshole." She grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. Aitana only gave a sickeningly sweet smile to the girl before looking away again, unaware of the eyes of Ellie still lingering on her,
admiring her almost.
"and," Aitana stopped herself. What she was about to say she had never told anyone, not even Joel knew about this. She took a deep breath, "and my sister." Her voice cracked as she spoke. Ellie's thoughts trailed from how pretty Aitana was, to a new thought about her sister. "What?" Ellie laughed, thinking she was joking. The face she had, however, let the Williams girl know she wasn't. "She's a year younger than me."
"Shit. Is.." she trailed off, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "She's alive. Se la llevaron, the night they left me. But now, knowing they're in Jackson... quiero verla." She explained, "she was... the best."
Ellie reached up and wiped a tear from the girl's cheek and then leaned her head on her shoulder,
taking Aitana's hand in hers. She was never good about the whole comforting thing, but she tried. In Aitana's opinion, it worked.
marley speaks !
don't we love a little backstory and sister reveal
also next chapter i love love love but hate hate hate and my girls are separated for the first time😔