As if a dog had scented blood, the clicker jerked its head round. Spores trickled from the orange-brown fungus that had spread over its eyes and skull.

Growling and clicking, it rushed in your direction, as if it knew exactly from which direction, how high up the sound had come.

The beating of your heart made the blood rush in your ears. Inhaling sharply, you gripped the rifle and tried to aim at the onrushing infected. Goose bumps ran down your arms as your finger placed itself on the trigger.

The creature was fast. So fast that you could only guess whether a shot would hit or not. If it did, it was bloody lucky. And if not, it meant the clicker could definitely guess your position. And as fast as it was, you'd be dead before you could get off the ground.

"Shit...", you whispered to yourself, gritting your teeth and closing one eye to aim better. "Shit, shit!"

The clicker jumped over one of the artificial hedges, disappearing behind benches. Your heart hammered in your throat.

Where had the creature gone?

It couldn't have just vanished into thin air. Holding your breath, you lay motionless and listened. Not only was this kind of infected fast, it was also damn quiet. Just the sounds it made gave you an idea of where it might have come from.

However, the mall echoed as if it were a cave. Panic rose inside you. Maybe that hadn't been such a good idea to create a distraction after all.

Your eyes briefly flicked to Ellie. She was still crouched in her hiding place, her bow ready to nock an arrow.

Hope rose in you that she could see where the infected had gone from her position. But the wrinkles on her forehead told a different story. Her eyes darted around hastily, searching for the same target.

No, that couldn't be. You couldn't have lost the infected.

"Shit...", you gasped.

Your eyes met and for a second you could see fear on Ellie's face. She was afraid of what she couldn't see.

Or was it something else?

She seemed so tough that it was hard to imagine that she had never killed an infected before. Or a human. She was battle-hardened.

So why was there so much worry in her eyes when she looked at you?

Why did she look like she was remembering something she didn't want to be reminded of?

Your lips moved, forming silent words.

"What is it?", you asked into the silence between you, without a sound being formed in your throat.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line, she shook her head slightly, strands of her short hair falling over her bony shoulders. Suddenly you wondered what she looked like when she wasn't emaciated.

Could you snuggle up to her to steal some warmth on a cold night?

Briefly she held your gaze, allowing the green of her irises to get lost in yours (E/C). It lasted barely more than a moment but somehow it was enough to calm your nerves.

Trembling, you exhaled, took another deep breath and swallowed hard.

She was there. You were not alone. And if you were to die alongside a stranger today, at least the last thing you saw would be the face of a human being.

A woman. A rather pretty woman.

Hastily, her gaze broke away from yours, green eyes once again skipping over every surface, searching in every shadow, around every corner.

Nothing.

Nothing and nothing again.

Even the noises had stopped. It was so quiet that you thought you could hear the dust falling. Like burnt snowflakes. Messengers of death and destruction.

The little hairs all over your body stood up. You weren't crazy. This cursed infected was like being swallowed by the ground.

Hesitantly, you forced your head to turn around, first over your right shoulder, then over your left.

Nothing. Not a sound. No clicking and not even the scratching of spores in the air.

And yet.

Something in the back of your head was screaming and scratching, wanting your legs to kick up and run. It was an instinct you had to fight. There was something there, you were sure of it.

Your mind didn't play tricks. Not at times like this.

Once again, you found yourself looking for Ellie in the hope that she could give you reassurance. But when your eyes fell on the wall where she had been standing, your heart skipped a beat.

She had disappeared, slipped away unnoticed under your nose and vanished. She had left you. Something tightened your throat.

No, that couldn't be. You had saved her life. She owed you something.

But did she really?

In the end, she had made it more than clear that she hadn't asked for help. If there was a good moment to get over, this was it.

But was she capable of just leaving you to your fate?

Don't make a fool of yourself, you thought mockingly. Maybe she's not a good person. There's no reason to think she would help you.

Ellie didn't owe you anything. Not even a warning.

Suddenly, alarm bells started ringing in the back of your head. Goosebumps made their way across the back of your neck, down your spine and into your feet where they caused a paralysing tingling sensation.

There was something there. But you didn't dare look back over your shoulder. Your fingers clawed at the wooden handle of the rifle.

It was too late. You wouldn't be quick enough to turn round and take a well-aimed shot. Or to shoot yourself.

So that was it.

The end.

Stumbling footsteps reached your ears from not too far away. Somehow, with more luck than sense, the clicker had made it to the roof of the small shop.

Arms dangling at his sides, staggering and twitching, the infected raised his head as if trying to pick up a scent. Saliva dripped from the tattered corners of his mouth. Skin had turned into something wood-like, with small fungi growing on it.

Clicking and cracking, it came closer and closer. The infected hadn't noticed you yet. But as close as it was now, even the slightest sound would be enough to give away where the prey was hiding.

Sweat beaded from your forehead. Stale air burned in your lungs. You had to breathe. It was unbearable.