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☼ trigger warning: implied pedophilia. ☼

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「 twenty. looking at me through your window
boy, you had your eye out for a little
'I'll cut you up and make you dinner
you've reached the end you are the winner' . 」

THE GLOW OF THE MORNING SHINED THROUGH THE WINDOW, allowing a small ray of silver light to illuminate the melancholy garage of the suburban house.

Like the previous days before, Joel Miller showed little signs of recovery. His skin looked webbed with shadows as his flesh turned a sickeningly pale pigmentation, and he made no move to commune with either of the two girls that sat in the room with him.

Elizabeth Dean couldn't help but wonder how it was possible to miss somebody who was less than four feet away from you. But as she watched over the man, a sense of longing pumped through her heart.

As though the world outside had connected itself to the corrupting illusions her mind had tricked her into believing, the snow had converted to ice and each day felt eternities longer than the last.

Lizzie could only watch quietly as Ellie leaned over Joel, her eyes softening as she looked at the wound that still lingered on his stomach.

Fortunately, Ellie's sowing of Joel's wound seemed to have stopped the excessive amount of blood flow that cascaded in stains over his abdomen. For the time being, he silently lay upon the mattress, both girls being unable to identify wether he was actually sleeping or awake.

Gently, Ellie used the blanket to cover him back up, a rusty make-shift cup in her hands as she asked, "are you thirsty?"

She dipped her fingers into the cup lightly, tapping them gingerly onto Joel's lips so the man wouldn't suffer through dehydration.

Lizzie frowned as she unzipped her backpack, looking at the remains of the food they'd endured over the past few days. It wasn't much considering the supply had near enough run out and the only thing that remained was simply tasteless nuts and berries.

When her eyes fell to the shotgun in the corner of the room, she swallowed harshly. She stood from her spot, accidentally awakening Bellamy who looked at her in confusion.

Ellie watched unsurely as the blonde turned to her, licking her lips before she spoke. "I'll be back soon. You gonna be okay?" She asked.

Ellie creased her eyebrows, standing up from her spot on the floor. "What? You're seriously gonna go out there, alone?"

"Well yeah, and somebody has to stay with Joel." Lizzie nodded, gesturing for the brunette to stay with the man. However, Ellie's clear reluctance consumed her brown eyes as she looked at the blonde.

"Absolutely fuckin' not." Ellie scoffed, walking over to the girl until she stood before her. For being fourteen years of age, both of them lacked the advantage of height, but were able to stand eye-to-eye. "We stick together, remember? If you're going out there, I'm gonna have to go out there with you, firefly."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows at the girl before rolling her eyes. "Alright, fine. Whatever you want, ponytail."

The blonde moved to walk back over to Joel, kneeling beside his mostly unconscious figure. She looked at him for a moment, lowering her head as she softly whispered the words, "we'll be back soon. Bell's gonna keep you safe, cowboy."

She moved backwards, taking one of his hands in her own for a moment. A spiralling sense of hope washed over her like a river of peace as she felt his hand squeeze hers lightly. She sighed, lifting up their hands and placing a tender kiss on the back of his knuckles.

The action was small and he wouldn't most likely take notice, but she wanted him to know she was there. She wanted him to embrace the truth that he was no longer alone as long as she was nearby.

She lowered his hand after a moment, turning towards Bellamy and shaking his golden coat softly before standing.

"Get the gun then, ponytail, come on." The blonde gestured for Ellie to pick up the loaded shotgun, to which she did after a small pause.

The morning air was crisp as it kissed Lizzie's face bitterly, coating her cheeks in a rose-coloured glow. She shivered under her black coat, sinking into it as she walked beside the brunette.

"Which way should we go?" Ellie asked, looking around with an indecisive expression adorning her pink face.

Lizzie clicked her tongue, pointing towards the tower of trees that lied in the near distance. "There. If there's any animals, they'll be in there."

Ellie shivered slightly, shrugging the gun over her shoulder as she stomped over towards the forest, the blonde not even a step behind her. "Perfect. Who doesn't like walking into creepy forests first thing in the fuckin' morning?"

Lizzie chuckled lightly, a small cloud of frost following past her lips as she did so.

The two girls journeyed deeper into the woods, passing through the woods like phantoms of the winter breeze. Snow tainted the bark of the trees, descending off like small wisps of silver that touched the bed of the forest floor.

The few traces of autumn had long died, suffocating the earth in a chilling abyss of ice and cruelty. A world that targeted Lizzie and Ellie as its next victims of torment.

The two trekked over the snowy layout, dodging branches that pointed at them wickedly with their crooked wooden arms.

"Your hunting's getting better." Lizzie commented, helping the brunette over a small dune of snow that lay before them.

Ellie looked at her hopefully, "you really think so?"

Lizzie nodded, "oh, fuck yeah." She smiled, turning away before she could see Ellie look down, smiling to herself like a lovesick schoolgirl. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd give Joel a run for his money."

"That is if he had any money." Ellie corrected, huffing slightly as she jumped over a snow-covered log.

Lizzie chuckled, glancing back to the girl with a sunlit smile. "Who knows?" She shrugged, looking back in front of her and catching sight of the innocent, young bunny that rested before them.

Lizzie raised her arms toward the rabbit, looking at the girl with a challenging twinkle in her mischievous eyes. "Well, feel free to shoot your shot, hotshot."

Ellie rolled her eyes, moving forward only to let out a yelp as she tripped over an idle tree branch. She fell to the floor, successfully submerging herself in a coat of the powdery particles.

Lizzie clapped her hands together, her knees bending slightly as she laughed. She walked over to where the gun lay, picking up the shotgun from the ground as she laughed. "You are something else, ponytail."

The brunette scoffed in return, pushing herself up from the ground and wiping away the snow. "Yeah, laugh it up, hm? Do I have to remind you about how you fell into that river two months ago?"

Lizzie gasped in offence. "You swore you'd never bring that up!"

Ellie shrugged, a playful look passing over her face as she continued to journey forward through the forest. "You wanna join me, or are you just gonna stand there?"

With a playful nudge of the brunette's shoulder, Lizzie and Ellie continued to walk through the forest, following the animal print tracks that littered the floor.

Lizzie looked up, her eyes growing wide at the sight of the majestic deer before her. The thought made her remorseful for a moment—something so beautiful enduring such an agonising fate.

Nevertheless, the two dropped down on the hidden side of a log. Lizzie positioned the gun in the same way Joel had taught her to previously, turning to Ellie with one last amused twinkle of her eyes. Finally, she turned back to the gun, releasing a deep exhale as she pulled the trigger.

A bullet sliced through the morning air, embedding deep into the innocent creature. It faltered for a moment, its eyes pained and startled, before collapsing completely.

"No fuckin' way." Ellie gawked, rising from her space and waiting for the blonde to do the same before they could sprint in the direction of the carcass.

"Guess I'm just that talented, huh?" Ellie watched the blonde's smile turn into a confident smirk as she sprinted through the woods.

"Never doubted you for a second, firefly."

Lizzie and Ellie trailed quickly after the animal, watching it limp away painfully before simply accepting its peaceful demise somewhere beyond their vision.

Somewhere in time, a much older Lizzie looked back at the situation, silently scolding her younger self for being too naive. She wished she could've turned her younger self away, told her to grab Ellie and run like their lives depended on it. But she couldn't—what's done is done.

Had the sight of two men not entered their vision, Lizzie would've thought fate had blessed her for once. The two girls shared a cautious look as they approached behind the two males.

Silently, the two girls shared a nod as a telepathic way of communication. With the gun in her hand, Lizzie gestured for Ellie to retrieve her knife from her pocket in order to defend herself if need be.

After a moment, Lizzie let out a yell. "Hey, back the fuck up, Motherfuckers!" The men froze at her voice, both standing still in anticipation as they finally registered the sound of shuffling behind them.

"Drop your rifles!" Ellie added, her voice loud and thundering like a wave smashing against rocks at sea. "Now!"

When the men didn't move, Lizzie clenched her jaw. "Do what she fuckin' said, bitch, or I'll blow your damn head off."

Slowly, the two men turned. The shorter of the two lowered his shotgun as he turned, followed by the taller one who's fierce glare burnt into them. "Now, turn and face us!"

They complied, turning to look at the two girl's who'd seemed to overpower them. They raised their arms in the air as Lizzie continued to speak. "Any sudden moves and I put one right between your eyes. Ditto for buddy boy over there." she gestured to the taller man.

Like the burn out of a flame, something stirred in the atmosphere.

The more dominant man tilted his head as he looked over them. Lizzie couldn't describe the sensation of trepidation that pierced through her skin in a shiver of goosebumps. The man's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas Day as he allowed his eyes to overpower her innocent blue ones.

The man stared at her for a moment, noticing the shotgun in her hands and assuming it had been her who had shot the creature. "You're quite the little hunters. We didn't even hear you coming."

"Turn around-" Ellie interjected, "-and walk away!"

"Okay—"

Lizzie barked a scoff at the man. "Go! Didn't you hear?" She clutched the shotgun tighter, taking a step forward in an attempt to intimidate the two men.

The man nodded as he looked at her, "okay, all I ask is for ten seconds of your time. I just wanna talk!" His hands raised defencelessly as he stood before the gun.

Ellie's eyes narrowed at the man, the knife in her grasp prominent to their eyes as they flickered their gaze to her for a moment. "We won't say it twice."

"Please, just ten seconds." The man pleaded, releasing a shaky exhale. "My name's David. This is my friend, James." He gestured to the tall man beside him as he continued, "We're from a larger group: women, children, and we're all. . . very, very hungry."

Lizzie scoffed loudly, "we're from a large group, too." She lied. Ellie nodded beside her, "also hungry!" She added.

"Well, even so," David sighed, "ya can't drag this back on your own."

"We're not alone." Lizzie dismissed, aiming the gun higher at the man, "we've got each other."

David allowed his eyes to swallow her whole as he looked at her. Like a predator stalking it's prey. She and ellie were noticeably thin, as though they hadn't eaten in a while, her hair fell over her shoulders in honey-blonde strands, and her height lingered just over five-foot-three. He raised an eyebrow as he noted that she was fascinatingly alluring despite the angered glare that she targeted at him.

"We're not asking for charity." He said after a moment, "We-we can trade you for some of the deer. We have. . . What do you need? We have. . . boots."

"We don't want your fucking b—wait, medicine?" Lizzie's eyes widened at the thought of anything that would relieve Joel of his agony. She stepped closer to the men, only to be pulled back by Ellie as the brunette shook her head. After a moment, Ellie turned to the men. "Like, for infections."

David paused, staring at them silently before nodding his head. "We do." He responded, "Back in our village. You're welcome to follow us."

"I'm not following you anywhere." Ellie barked, looking over to the tall man who stood in silence, "Buddy boy can go get it."

Lizzie continued to stare distastefully at the man. "When he gets back, then you can get half the deer. But if anyone else shows up—"

"You put one right between my eyes." The man finished, pointing the space between his unnerving eyes. Nevertheless, Lizzie nodded to the man. "Yeah, that's right. And if I don't shoot you and you pull anything, my dad's gonna find you and he'll kick the shit out of you, understand?"

The man raised his eyebrows, "understood." He exhaled, turning to James, "All right, go talk to Howard. He's got a case with some penicillin. Bring back two bottles and a syringe." When James gave him a confused stare, David grumbled back, "It's not code, James. Do as I said."

With one last deadly glance at the girls, James turned his back on them, jogging away into the forest and out of Lizzie and Ellie's vision.

When he left, Lizzie noticed the odd way the man seemed to stalk closer to them. Like a predatory lion would to a naive gazelle. "Hey, ten steps back."

David licked his lips, turning to the deer carcass and walking over it before stepping back further as the brunette demanded him to.

Lizzie and Ellie moved closer to the deer, standing before it protectively whilst David asked, "That's your dad's gun? He the one that's sick?"

"It's none of your business, mister." Lizzie spared him a glance, and moving closer to Ellie. "Take the gun." Lizzie gestured to the abandoned shotgun on the floor.

David continued to pester the two with his overbearing need to ask questions. "That's why it's just the two of you?" When they didn't respond, he kicked his lips whilst adding, "Well, look, uh. . . it's a four-mile round trip back to our settlement. It's gonna be. . . a while before James gets back. I have some oil and matches in my pack. We could. . . take shelter, start a fire."

Lizzie and Ellie shared a look, before deciding against the apprehension that swirled in the back of their minds. "Fine. Bring him with us." Ellie gestured to the deer. "Go."

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ORANGE AND AMBER FLAMES FLICKERED AND DANCED BEFORE THE THREE, warming them up from the frigid grasp of the wintertime. The fire sat between two logs, one with David sitting on it, whilst Lizzie and Ellie sat on the other.

After a moment of silence, David decided to voice his thoughts. "You know, you two really shouldn't be out here all on your own." He stated, placing his hands over the roaring flames.

Lizzie exhaled uncomfortably, leaning into Ellie slightly in an attempt keep herself and the brunette warm. "Hmm. Seems like you're the one who shouldn't be out here."

"Fair enough." David shrugged his hands, clicking his tongue as he let his eyes trail over them. "What're your names?"

Lizzie and Ellie shared a moment of disbelief. Noticing their silence, David quickly added on, "It's hard to trust strangers. I know. But I honestly mean you no harm."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow. "Ever heard of something called stranger danger?"

David released a low chuckle, lowering his head slightly before looking back up to them. "All I mean is, there's room for you in our group, if you want."

"You're inviting us to your hunger club?" Ellie scoffed, the man's shotgun resting securely in her grip. "thanks."

David hummed, his hands still warming over the fire. "It's true. We're hungry, but. . . we're still here. I'm a decent man just tryna take care of the people who rely on me."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows at the man. "You're their leader? But yet you can't feed your people?"

David clicked his tongue against the side of his mouth and sighed. "As I said, I'm trying. And it Wasn't my choice. It was theirs. But. . . yes."

"They chose to follow you." Ellie looked at the man unsurely, "Is this some weird cult thing?"

David let an amused chuckle fall from his lips. "Uhh, well, you sorta kinda got me there. I am a preacher, but just pretty standard Bible stuff." Noticing the shake of her head Lizzie carried, he asked, "what?"

"If there was a god out there, why'd he let the world fall into shit?" She inquired, looking at the man with raised eyebrows. "Just seems crazy to me. You and your culties believing that shit."

"I actually started believing after the world ended. Before that, I was a teacher." He admitted, "-Math. Taught kids about your age."

Ellie gave the man a small scoff under her breath as she spoke, "So you went from teacher to preacher because, what? It fuckin' rhymes?"

David grinned, but no matter how many times he smiled or laughed, Lizzie couldn't seem to let go the spooked feeling she'd acquired. "Yeah, exactly. But seriously. Well, I found God. .  after the Apocalypse, which is either the best time or the worst time to find Him, hard to say. But when the Pittsburgh QZ fell in 'seventeen, Fireflies and FEDRA— you're a firefly though, aren't you, blondie?"

Lizzie's head shot up to look at him, raising the shotgun as though she were to kill him had he not defended himself so quickly. "Relax, I can see your medallion." He explained, "such pretty little things." Lizzie watched his eyes rise from her neck to her face, tilting his head as he allowed his eyes to trail over her face.

Lizzie swallowed harshly, shuffling closer to Ellie. "You're a long way from Pittsburg." She grumbled, sparing a glance to the man.

"Yeah, we'd settle somewhere, and then raiders would come, so we'd move again. And as we wandered, we picked up new people along the way until. . . we ended up here." David explained, sinking into his thick jacket as he spoke.

Ellie sighed. "Well, your luck had to run out sooner or later." She commented, earning a hum from the man. "Hm? Luck? There's no such thing as luck. No, I-I believe everything happens for a reason."

When Lizzie smiled faintly, giving the man a shake of her head, he chuckled whilst nodding. "It does! It does. I can prove it to you."

"Okay." The girl remarked, gesturing for him to go into further detail about his theory.

"We didn't expect this winter to be so cruel. Nothing'll grow. Game's been hard to find. So I sent four of our people to a nearby town to-to scavenge what they could-" His voice grew colder, "-only three of them came back. One of them being terribly injured, and the fourth. . .was a father. He had a daughter just like the two of you. And her dad was taken from her."

Lizzie shuddered uncomfortably, clenching her jaw as she recalled the night at the Wyoming university. It sounded all too similar, and Lizzie didn't like it.

"Turns out he had been, uh . . .slaughtered by a crazy man." Joel. "And get this. That crazy man was travelling with two little girls." them.

Once again, David's face sported his unsettling grin as he looked at them. "Everything happens for a reason." His gaze shifted slightly behind them, "James, lower the gun."

Lizzie shot up from her space, the shotgun clutched firmly in her grip as she raised it to her attacker. The man who'd accompanied David, James, had returned.

James sneered at the blonde, his gaze dark and overflowing with malice as he glared at her in disgust. "No fuckin' way. You heard what Felix said! a blonde little girl shot him. He could be dead by now cause of this punk—"

"She didn't kill him. There's a fine line between shooting and killing." David defended, surprising Lizzie for a moment as she obviously hadn't expected David to come to her defence. "Lower the gun."

After a moment, James lowered his weapon unsurely. "Did you bring the medicine?" David asked curiously, to which James nodded. "Yeah, but—"

"Throw it to her." He gestured for the man to throw it to Ellie whilst Lizzie continued to aim her weapon at him. The sickly feeling that engulfed her made her feel like a sheep in a pen full of foxes.

After a moment, James threw the medicine to the floor with a reluctant sigh. "Back away, now." Lizzie ordered, allowing Ellie to move to pick up the medicine whilst she remained threatening.

"I know you're not with a group." David revealed, still sitting at the fire with a nonchalant attitude despite his words. "You won't survive for long out there. I can protect you."

Lizzie gestured for Ellie to begin leaving as she turned back one last time to David and James. "Thanks, but no thanks."

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A THUD AWOKE BELLAMY AS HE LOOKED TO THE GARAGE DOOR, watching as Ellie and Lizzie paced down the stairs and dropped to Joel's side carefully, all whilst stroking his golden fur in gratitude.

"Okay," Lizzie inhaled, looking to Ellie and placing out her hand. "Pass me the medicine, El." Ellie complied, handing the girl the medicine before dropping beside Joel and pulling back the blanket.

His wound appeared better than it had previously been, however, the agony could be seen with the subtle scrunch of his eyebrows or twitch of his lips.

Slowly, Lizzie pulled the syringe back, watching it fill with penicillin. "Wait, where the fuck am I putting it?" Lizzie inquired, unsure of where the most suitable place would he.

Ellie shrugged, her voice quiet as she tried not to alarm or disturb Joel. "I don't know. Just, like, in the middle I think?"

Lizzie decided to take her chances, gently stabbing the syringe into the wound and watching as Joel tensed for a second before relaxing again, much to the girls' relief.

Gently, she removed the syringe after the medicine was supplied, placing it down beside her. She watched as Ellie laid a delicate hand on the man's head, sighing as she did so.

After a couple of moment, the two girl's turned to lay down beside Joel.

Ellie lay beside him, placing a hand over his chest as he turned his head towards her slightly. Besides Ellie, the brunette allowed Lizzie to melt into her side, resting her head between Ellie's neck and head.

Besides Joel's legs, Bellamy moved to sink into the trios embrace, releasing a sigh as he rested his head over Ellie's hand.

The rest of the night remained in an illusion of tranquility and comfort, a state of bliss and family, pleasing them with the tenderness of the soft night, leaving them vulnerable for the day of disgust and terror that would occur after the rise of dawn.

☼

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☼ tw: sexual assault, pedophilia here ! ☼

I'm still speechless about episode eight.

Bella Ramey's screams were so violent and gut-wrenching that I genuinely don't think I've ever heard screams so horrific.

Some of the things David said to Ellie were so disgusting like 'there's no fear in love' or something along those lines as he's on top of her and quite literally goes to sexually assault her. I know it's controversial for the game wether David was a Pedophile and a rapist, but you can't watch that episode and tell me he isn't. His behaviour's disgusting and he got what he deserved.

Not to mention David was a literal teacher before he became a pastor. It's sickening to think about.

But seriously though I had to do an English exam today about Macbeth and all I could think about was the episode—the way Ellie screamed, the 'baby girl' scene, David's death, all of it.

It's definitely the most traumatising but definitely one of the best episodes so far Idc.