TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 279: Ellie Fights Back (Patreon)

Was this... was this guy even human?

Ellie was starting to question everything she knew.

“Tsk.”

Luke clicked his tongue and gave his wrist a slight flick.

“Snap!”

The ballpoint pen flew from Ellie’s hand and slammed into the wall, its tip burying itself in the whiteboard. The force also sent Ellie tumbling to the side.

In the end, she was still just a young girl.

Against someone as inhumanly strong as Luke, resisting him was hopeless.

Ellie lifted her head in disarray.

Her eyes darted toward the door.

Run!

She couldn’t beat him. There was no way!

But in the next instant, her vision blurred.

The man who had been sitting in his chair a moment ago suddenly appeared in front of the door like a ghost.

He had blocked her only way out.

“Trying to run? You really are a troublesome little thing.”

Luke casually gave her a shove.

Ellie flew backward and crashed heavily into the chair, nearly toppling over along with it.

She flailed for a moment before barely managing to steady herself.

On the other end of the radio, Ada heard the commotion. Furniture banging around, a girl panting...

What the hell was that bastard doing now?

“What are you doing over there? It sounds pretty lively.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I have no intention of getting tied to a pole and electrocuted. That incredibly valuable girl is standing right in front of me.”

Luke glanced at Ellie. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were full of fear.

“Though she seems convinced I’m the bad guy... Well, it’s not like I’m exactly a good person either.”

The sound of splashing water came through the radio.

Ada rose from the bathtub, casually revealing her impressive figure, though unfortunately there was no one around to appreciate it.

“All right, my mistake. Just don’t take things too far. If she really is immune, then she’s incredibly valuable.”

A creepy guy was bad enough. Now there was a creepy woman too?

Ellie sank even deeper into despair.

A legendary girl trapped in a death sentence. What was she supposed to do now?

Luke ended the call.

Damn it. Ada wasn’t willing to wait for him.

He wanted a bath too.

The office fell quiet again.

Ellie stared hard at Luke.

He leisurely walked back behind his desk and sat down again while she desperately searched for another chance to escape.

The door was out.

The window!

She could jump out!

“I’d advise you not to.”

Luke seemed to read her mind again. “This is the fifth floor. Even Superman would be half-crippled after a fall from here. You don’t want to break your arms and legs and spend the rest of your life stuck in a hospital bed, do you?”

He gave a cold laugh. “Besides, my people are all down there. Even if you pulled off a leap of faith and landed without a scratch, do you really think you could escape everyone else?”

“What do you think this is, Assassin’s Creed?”

Luke’s words crushed what little hope Ellie had left.

There really was no way out.

Luke crossed one leg over the other. “Giving up already? Fine, I’ll give you a chance. You want to fight back, don’t you? Then come at me. If you can kill me, I’ll let you leave.”

Ellie hesitated.

She clearly didn’t believe she had any real chance of fighting back.

But if she was going to die either way, she might as well try.

Anything was better than sitting around waiting for it.

Her eyes landed on the metal coat rack in the corner.

“Hey!”

Ellie grabbed it, swung it with both hands, and smashed it straight toward Luke’s head.

This girl really was strong!

Luke tilted his head.

The coat rack swept past his ear and slammed into the desk, knocking the pen holder and everything inside it onto the floor.

Ellie refused to give up. She spun around and swept the coat rack toward his ribs.

Luke planted his feet and leaned sharply backward.

Her attack missed again.

For the next several minutes, a ridiculous chase unfolded inside the office.

Ellie swung the coat rack left and right, going for his eyes, his groin, and every other vulnerable spot she could think of. She threw everything she had at him, every strike aimed somewhere vital.

A few of them were vicious enough that even Luke thought she was taking things a little far.

Yet from beginning to end, Luke barely strayed from the area around his chair. He moved with absurd ease, while Ellie’s attacks looked no more threatening than a kitten swiping its paws.

It was practically an adult playing with a child.

By the time she was done, the office was a complete mess.

Vases, files, chairs... anything that had been sitting on or around the desk had been knocked everywhere.

Ellie was gasping for breath.

Luke, meanwhile, hadn’t even broken rhythm.

She leaned against the bent and battered coat rack, sucking in huge breaths. Sweat ran down her freckled face and dripped onto the floor.

Her arms were so sore and weak that she could barely lift them anymore.

Luke turned to the small refrigerator and pulled out two cans of ice-cold Coke.

“Pathetic, kid. That all you’ve got, and you still want to act like a wolf?” Luke shook one of the cans. “Want one?”

Ellie didn’t answer.

She was starting to feel like this man was just messing with her.

Luke didn’t care. He walked over, set one can on the floor beside her, then opened his own right in front of her and took a long drink.

“Time-out, kid. I’m not going to poison a Coke just to kill some helpless little girl.”

Ellie stubbornly raised her chin. “I’m not helpless! Fuck you!”

Luke: “...”

His expression darkened.

“Kid, even in the apocalypse, you should watch your language. Otherwise, I’ll hand you over to Uncle Negan.” Luke lightly tapped Ellie on the forehead. “Uncle Negan is great with kids.”

Ellie didn’t even react in time.

Luke was terrifyingly fast. If he truly wanted to hurt her, he could have snapped her neck in an instant.

By the time Ellie registered what had happened, Luke was already back in his seat.

Her eyes drifted uncontrollably toward the ice-cold can of Coke beside her feet.

Condensation covered the can, and faint wisps of cold air seemed to rise from it.

It looked unbelievably tempting.

Throughout their journey across the apocalypse, they had survived on boiled dirty water, bland wild game, mashed roadside berries, and expired packaged food.

An ice-cold Coke?

It might as well have been a delicacy from heaven.

Ellie swallowed.

For all she had been through, she was still a kid, not an adult.

Even so, her stubborn little face remained tense, and she refused to give in.

“Hmph.”

She turned her head away and pretended not to care. “When can I see Joel?”

“Joel? It’s not that simple, kid.”

“The Commonwealth has rules.”

“You’re still a child, so people will naturally give you more leeway.”

Luke looked at her. “But adults are different. Joel is dangerous, and you know that.”

“We’ll take in anyone who genuinely wants to live here. But first, we have to eliminate any potential threats before we can safely let them live in the Commonwealth.”

Ellie’s expression changed.

Eliminate threats?

In her mind, those words could only mean one thing.

They were going to kill Joel!

“If you dare touch Joel...” Ellie snapped her head up. “I’ll kill you even if it costs me my life!”

To Ellie, Joel was the only family she had left in the world.

He was the light that had kept her going through the apocalypse.

Anyone who tried to hurt Joel would have to go through her.