Chapter Five
Just in case
The silence that had radiated over the group of five upon leaving the hotel was deafening. Tess and Joel sharing a silent conversation with looks that Fran was half convinced would lead to her death. She didn't feel bad about slapping Joel around the face - to go from offering sympathy to being an asshole was slap worthy in her opinion.
Ellie was only silent because Fran, in her expert opinion, was being weird. Too bubbly for normal Fran, the whole 'everything is fine! Sunshine and rainbows!' approach not really getting the best reaction. She knew Joel had to have said something to make her act that way, she wasn't too sure what.
It was also painfully obvious that she didn't mean it, because she'd snap on a smile, say a happy line, and her face would instantly go back to brooding. She was a terrible actor.
When they arrived to the front of the museum, a gorgeous building surrounded by rubble reclaimed by nature, Ellie wasn't too excited by what she was seeing. The bottom windows were boarded up with breaking wood. The whole thing didn't look too stable.
"You've gotta be fսck¡ng kidding me." Ellie voiced her distaste, staring at the door that was covered in blue and orange fungus. It was a death trap.
"Well, there's a way across from the top floor," Tess reasoned with the girl, staring at it with just as much distaste, but knowing they were running out of options.
"It will be absolutely fine," Fran said with a smile that was clearly only there to spite the only remaining silent member of the group - said member rolled his eyes at her tone. "We will be fine!"
"We used to take it all the time," Tess said, sending a look over to Fran that showed she didn't exactly appreciate the spitefulness. This was not a time to joke, especially when Fran was the weakest link out of the four.
"Okay," Ellie breathed, not believing either Tess or Fran.
"Look, it was fine," Tess tried to reason as Joel walked ahead, reaching down to the fungus to see if it was still alive. Upon it not moving, he jabbed his gun into it, a crunching noise being heard as the girls stayed silent.
"It's bone dry," Joel said, looking back at Tess, "It could mean they're all finally dead in there."
They shared another silent conversation; before Tess nodded her head and they both began to look in their bags for a torch.
"Oh, man," Ellie shook her head as Fran watched the two silently. She wasn't about to voice any concern she had, not when she was apparent dead weight and needed to step up. Truth was, her legs were already shaking, and the idea of seeing one of those things up close was enough to make her spiral.
"It will be fine," Fran mumbled as she reached into her own back so kindly packed by Tess. She assumed whatever they were looking for would also be in hers.
"Marlene pack you one of these or just sandwiches?" She heard Joel ask Ellie, making her look up and see the torch in his hand. She looked in her own bag then, grabbing the dark object; only to pull out a gun.
She gulped, staring at the thing as if it was going to bite her, before laying it carefully on the ground. She'd never held a gun, let alone used one.
"Yeah," Ellie responded to Joel, but her eyes were on the gun Fran had placed on the floor. Fran noticed this, and picked it up carefully, putting it in her pocket.
"Fran, with me a second," Tess spoke then, walking away from the museum, Fran shared a confused look with Ellie, before following the woman.
"What's-" Fran started to say as they turned a corner, now out of view of Joel and Ellie.
"Get the gun out," Tess ordered, making Fran pause for a second, Tess gestures to the girls pocket and she slowly got it out.
Tess had a similar gun on her hand. And held it up in Fran's direction, instantly making the younger woman take a step back.
"Relax, safety's on. You need to know how to shoot-" Tess began to explain, but Fran cut her off quickly.
"I really don't think it's necessary-"
"It's only in case something goes south, if Joel and I are compromised," Tess told her.
"What happened to it being fine?" Fran argued, much like a child.
"Just in case," Tess repeated, "two hands, one thumb locked over the other so you don't drop it." She said, doing it herself so Fran could copy - she did, just apprehensively.
"Safety's up here," Tess pointed with her finger, "take that off, and pull the trigger to shoot. It will knock you back a little, but keep your feet shoulder width apart and you'll catch yourself easily."
"Okay-" Fran stared at the gun in between our hands.
"Good," Tess said, beginning to walk back to Joel and Ellie, she didn't hear Fran following, so quickly turned to give some last minute encouragement, "we're gonna be fine. That is only a precaution. The gun can be in your pocket, just take a deep breath."
Fran nodded, putting the gun in her pocket.
"And remember, they're not people anymore." Tess added to her statement, something that was supposed to comfort just making her feel worse.
All she could think was 'But they were at some point.'
"Okay, so... more ground rules." Tess spoke now collectively to both Ellie and Fran, Joel picking up on the fact that Fran was two times paler than she had been minutes ago. He knew what Tess had shown her off the fact she was shaking like a leaf.
"We're gonna go slowly. If we come up against anything, you get behind us and you stay there, okay?" Tess said specifically to Ellie.
"Yes." Ellie nodded her head.
"You know the last resort," Tess then says to Fran, getting a weak nod in return.
Tess' own gun then gets crossed over her light, reminding Fran of swat team operations she used to see in the movies. It all felt very real once again.
"I have a spare hand." Ellie offered, wanting her own gun, but even Fran shook her head at that.
"Congratulations." Joel responded and Fran fought to keep a smile off her face. He was not going to make her smile, not after being a dick.
Joel headed up to the door first, the rest staying back as he poked his head round the door, before looking back and nodding as if to say 'it's safe.'
Tess looked to Ellie then, gesturing for her to go, which she did. Fran half expected to be the at the back, considering the whole dead weight thing, but Tess nodded at her, telling her to go.
"We'll be fine," She assured, making Fran send her a weak smile before following after Ellie.
It was pitch black on the inside, the only light coming from the flashlights in the groups hands. Fran hated the dark, the unknown of what was around any corner being a very big fear and threat. She shone her torch around quickly, following behind Ellie as they followed Joel.
There was a creak of a floorboard, and Fran quickly moved her torch into the way, only to see a little mouse run across a display case.
Ellie stopped in front of her as they turned into the gift shop, and fran looked forward to where her flashlight was shining.
A gasp left her throat at the sight of all the fungus growing off of what used to be a person. It was horrid, and made her stomach twist uncomfortably as her free hand moved to Ellie's shoulder. Ellie was transfixed on the gruesome sight.
"Yeah... cooked," Joel spoke quietly back to Tess, who had yet to see the sight. Still checking around them.
"Oh, finally, some fսck¡n' luck." Tess spoke then, clear relief in her voice. Fran didn't know if she'd call all of this luck, the poor man in front of her now dead didn't deserve that end - no one did.
"I guess we should've gone this way in the first place." Joel responded to Tess. And Fran turned away, she didn't understand how the two were completely unaffected by it.
Upon turning away, her flashlight caught a splash of red. Curiosity got the best of her as she panned the light down, seeing a man who was freshly dead, the blood still light. The sight made her gasp, stepping back and bumping Ellie, who turned to see what had her spooked.
"Oh shit!" Ellie gasped at the sight, "What the fսck did that?"
The man didn't look bitten, he looked like he'd been ripped apart.
Fran turned away from it then, blocking Ellie from seeing it in turn as she looked between Tess and Joel, not liking the look of panic on Tess' face.
"Maybe... maybe he was attacked outside," Tess tried to reason to Joel, her voice was soft, but it didn't calm down Fran's racing heart as Ellie tried to peek around her, "and crawled through the doors. The door was open."
Fran grabbed Ellie by the shoulders, and turned her so her back was too her front, Ellie now having to look at Joel and Tess instead of the body.
"Could've been him. I don't hear anything." Tess continued to Joel, now peaking Ellie's interest.
"Who would you hear?" Ellie asked in her normal voice, it echoing around the room as Fran cringed.
Both Joel and Tess gestured her to keep her voice down, clear alarm in their movements.
"Quieter, scimmietta," Fran whispered to the girl then, comfortingly squeezing the girls shoulder. The two other adults weren't making Ellie feel any better, so any comfort that Fran could give, she would.
"Who would you hear?" Ellie then asked in a whisper, "Are you saying an Infected did that?"
"Shh." Tess whispered then; both of them clearly trying to listen for something else in the building.
"Because I've been attacked by one and it wasn't like that." Ellie continued to ramble quietly; trying to look back at the body, but Fran stopped her, her eyes on Joel.
It was clear by their faces that they knew more than they let on, and the fact they weren't voicing it was making her more nervous by the second.
"Okay, from this point forward, we are silent,"
Joel said in a whisper so quiet Fran had to strain to hear him, "Not quiet. Silent."
While she agreed with him, she wanted to know what they knew, what they were being so secretive about.
"What-" Fran started.
"No." Joel cut her off, sending her a strict look, "No questions. Just do it."
He turned then, knowing if there was a response he didn't want to hear it, and started walking as quietly as possible out of the gift shop.
Ellie looked up at Fran, who nodded her head for her to go, and followed after her as she left. The whole place now ten times more eerie.
Joel started up the stairs, each floorboard creaking as the girls all followed. It felt like any second something was going to pop out.
Fran almost jumped ten feet in the air when a crash was heard, part of a higher level caving in. Now terrified of where to even stand, let alone what could be there with them. The whole place was a breath trap.
Ellie looked over her shoulder at Fran then, her past words of encouragement that Ellie had thought were weird were now all she wanted to hear. Fran sent her a small smile, and that would have to be enough.
Joel continued on. His light now showing a floor covered in corpses, a layer of dead fungus on top acting as a shallow grave. The sight of it made Fran freeze in her spot, sick to her stomach.
What shocked her more was when he started to walk over them, finding small patches of floor untouched by a dead limb.
A hand on the small of her back made her turn quickly, only to see Tess there with a concerned look on her face. Fran looked from her then, to the sea of dead, shaking her head.
She looked back at Tess, who simply mouthed, 'you'll be fine' and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before following Ellie once again.
A loud crunch was heard, Ellie having stepped on someone's hand, and everyone froze. Joel turned to the girl with baited breath, half expecting a screech to be heard, but there was silence.
They continued on; Fran carefully stepping where Ellie and Joel had, thankful to be away from it when they got to the top floor.
Joel headed through the door first, and Ellie followed quickly. The room looked untouched by any infection, no mushrooms on the walls, just a thick layer of dust on every surface.
All Fran could think is that the room looked like a nightmare to clean.
Someone pushing on Fran's back broke her out of her trance, stumbling into Ellie as Tess fell into the room, the ceiling above the stairs completely caving in and creating even more dust.
Fran turned from where she stood, looking in shock at Tess on the floor, before offering the woman a hand up. Tess quickly took it, getting to her feet as Ellie huddled to Fran's side, spooked.
There was a weird screech from Fran's right that made all of them turn that way quickly. The noise chilling her to the core as Ellie held onto her tighter, before a clicking sound was heard.
Joel's gun was raised in that direction, his hand softly moving Fran's shoulder so she was completely out of the firing line. Last thing he needed was her making a noise at a sudden contact.
She shuffled away silently, Ellie following from her close proximity.
There were more clicks that didn't sound like a regular infected. Tess silently looked at them, gesturing her head backwards so that everyone would slowly move away from the noise.
They got slightly around the corner when the thing reared it's head through the door, Fran tightly holding onto Ellie at the sight of it. It's limbs contorted in weird ways, but it hadn't seen them - it couldn't see at all from all the fungus on its face.
Another click was heard from a different area now, Fran turning to the noise quickly. Ellie let go of her then, scared the fast movement would make her fall, and Fran subconsciously moved closer to Joel.
He had the big gun, he could kill it, that was the only reason.
There was more screeching and clicking, the suspense killing her inside as they edged further into the room, when it came around the corner. The group only just managed to get behind the glass display case, the view of the infected being distorted through the musty glass.
It turned in the room, walking in front of the display as it growled and screeched loudly. Fran closed her eyes at the noise, it sending a shock through her as she cringed.
She breathed out a shaky breath in fear, Joel instantly looking down at her and raising a finger to his lips. It wasn't as harsh as his earlier demand, it was clear he understood her fear. He felt it too.
It continued to click and screech, walking around the display case and straight into view, barely three steps away from them.
Ellie let out a shocked breath, and that's all it took.
The thing turned towards the light and screeched. It's mouth was the only thing visible from under the crown of fungus. It had no eyes, no soul.
Joel instantly began shooting it as Fran reached behind her for Ellie, moving the girl back as it lunged for Joel's gun.
"Run!" The man yelled as the gun went off again, and Fran didn't think twice before grabbing Ellie's arm and making a dash for the room
behind them. Tess was quick to follow, shooting at another one that had entered the room.
Fran looked to her right as they ran, watching Joel loose his gun as it fell to the floor and Fran froze.
"Fran!" Ellie whispered, but Tess had already grabbed the girls arm and ran.
Francesca felt for the gun in her pocket, Tess' earlier words ringing out as she watched Joel try and fight the murderous thing in front of him.
Just in case.
Just in case.
Just in case.
She grabbed her flashlight instead. And quickly threw it at the clicker. She couldn't think straight, let alone try to hold a gun straight, or actually aim for that matter.
Glass shattered behind it from the impact of the object, making it pause its attacks at Joel, the man sparing a glance at her before running off, the clicker close behind.
Fran went to follow, when she was suddenly pushed to the ground, a scream leaving her lips as her arms went out.
"Fran!" She heard a yell, the voice clearly being Ellie as she cried out; trying to get the cloud of blue and orange off of her. It screeched in her face as a gun sounded again.
The monster fell like dead weight on top of her, Fran struggling to push it off as she stood, Ellie running to make sure she was okay, when a new screech was heard.
Another one rounded the corner, gunning straight for them and Fran grabbed Ellie quickly, running as fast as she could. Tess was with them. Gun still raised from killing the last one.
"Run, run!" Tess yelled as Fran pushed Ellie down a different route, both of them falling.
They watched it run past, focused on Tess, and Ellie sighed out.
"Go!" Fran whisper shouted at the younger girl, fresh blood covering her face from where the clicker had been shot right above her. Fran didn't want to think about it as she pushed Ellie on, the girl army crawling through the sounds of the shrieks and gunshots.
"Where's Tess?" Ellie whispered back at her, to which Fran shook her head, "and Joel?"
"I don't know," Fran whispered back, hearing nothing but silence after the sound of glass breaking.
"What are we-"
"Shush!" Fran covered Ellie's mouth with her hand, watching a clicker run by in front of them. She didn't want to be pushy with Ellie, but in this situation she was absolutely terrified, and would rather Ellie be upset with her than Ellie be dead.
Fran looked to her left at the sound of movement, seeing Joel slowly making his way towards them. The sight of him alone filled her with relief, he knew more about these things, he had more chance of helping Ellie than she did.
He slowly made his way over, all of them now crouched behind a very expensive looking table.
Fran heard another click and saw the clicker on the other side of the table, her eyes widening before feeling a tap on her knee. She looked to Joel then, who gestured behind him, making her eyes widen.
The clicker began to move around the table, Joel mirroring its movements so they were opposite, and Fran quickly followed behind, Ellie staying close. The random clicks across the table a constant reminder of the looming danger they were in.
The sound of cracking was heard. Joel freezing and looking down to his shoe, where debris of glass snapped under his feet. Fran froze at the sight.
A shriek was heard above as all three were suddenly tackled to the floor. Fran, without thinking, shoved Ellie away, the girl scampering across the floor and behind a seperate display as Joel and Fran remained under the clicker.
Joel's arm held it up as Fran's own shaking hands quickly started to push on it's chest. It was snarling in Joel's face, mostly focused on him as Fran desperately pushed against it. Joel's flashlight managed to stay on its face, and the gruesome sight, close up, with light, looked absolutely horrifying.
She felt a hand on her side as tears stared to fall from her face, aware that she was most likely dead any second, and wondered if this was death itself giving her a small amount of comfort.
She felt her coat get pulled as she pushed against the thing, and then heard very loud gunshots, as the thing jumped off of them and held onto its abdomen.
Still in shock, it was Joel who had to grab her and pull her to a stand, continuously shooting the clicker until it was dead on the floor. She realised then that the feeling on her coat had been him. He's grabbed her gun and saved them.
She was panting as Ellie ran and hugged her tightly, her own arms holding the girl back. There was not a thought in her head as she stared at the dead monster on the floor.
She was only back when Joel pushed on her side, another clicker running towards them, but before any of the three could do anything, Tess appeared with an axe, slamming it into the side of its face.
Tess quickly went to hide as the things arms flailed, looking for whoever did the damage, and Joel was quick to grab a gun on the floor and take aim. Shooting the final one dead.
There were no clicks, no shrieks, just the heavy panting of the four who survived.
"You all right?" Joel was the first to break the silence, looking to Tess who looked just as out of breath as them.
"Twisted ankle, but... yeah." She nodded her head, and if Fran was in the right frame of mind, she would've known that to be false, "You all right?"
The question Tess asked was aimed at both Fran and Ellie, the younger girl appearing much more okay than the older.
Fran was stood silently staring at the dead clicker, blood splatted across her face, with a pale complexion and shaking hands. The stare behind her eyes went on for miles, clearly now realising all that had happened in the span of just a few minutes.
"Well, I didn't shit my pants, so," Ellie's voice sounded out, before she realised she'd been bit again, "You fսcking kidding me? I mean, if it was gonna happen to one of us..."
"Hey... let's get the fսck outta here." Tess' voice was harsher now as she looked to Joel, the older man nodding as Tess walked off, looking for the window that led to the best exit.
Ellie followed quickly, still staring at her arm in annoyance at the new bite.
Joel however stayed put, staring at Fran who had yet to realise the other two had left the room, still staring at the body on the floor.
He carefully moved to stand in front of the dead creature, Fran's gaze still unmoving. He didn't really know what to say.
She had saved his life without even realising. Throwing the light and distracting the clicker not only gave him time to run, but made him remember that loud sounds could be distracting. She had helped him more than he would let her know.
"Are you bit?" Was the question he settled on, the tone harsher than he realised, but it didn't matter, Fran didn't answer, still staring off.
He moved closer then, a firm hand going onto her shoulder. The contact made her jump, looking up at him in alarm, "I said, are you hurt?"
"No," She shook her head, looking down again, "a little bruising, but I am okay."
He nodded once then, before nodding his head in the direction Tess and Ellie went, and Fran got the message.
She slowly followed behind him, the dead clicker on the floor now just a memory, and a reminder of the danger ahead.