No Matter What... | The Last of Us | Joel Miller x Oc

Chapter 7: Stuck

The snow crackles under my feet as I am walking between the trees of the forest. I inhale the chilling air deeply, trying to keep myself warm with the control of my breathing as all of my clothes are damping wet now. Even if they weren't, the only jacket I own is my suede one and that is definitely not made for winter.

I walk through the clouds of my own puffing breaths, keeping my hands on my bow and arrow, ready to shoot any animal - or infected - on sight immediately, but so far, I haven't had much luck. All I could kill was one single pheasant-hen, a smaller one of its kind. The snow hasn't stopped falling for two days now, sometimes growing into a teeth-rattling blizzard, other times falling silently just like now. It is almost knee high already, and judging by the cold greyness of the sky above me, it will be higher very soon. And that is bad. We are already halfway through, but now we're stuck here...

We've left Jackson behind more than two months ago, along with Birmingham and Atlanta. Both places have left deep scarres on my naively hoping soul as in Birmingham we met another group of people exactly like the Hunters were back in Austin, and saw no signs of FEDRA (or just simply life) in Atlanta anymore.

It was quite depressing to see such a huge city as a complete ghost town, only infected waiting for you on every corner... But to be honest, I don't even know which one was worse - seeing the amount of people who are not just okay with murdering people for a pair of shoes - or nothing - only, but even enjoying it, or seeing how even FEDRA alongside with the government is falling apart throughout the country. I don't know what smaller groups and individuals can even hope for in the future if such a huge power is so easily to be diminished...

The fact that Anderson Mill is probably one of the very few places where FEDRA can still operate is scaring me pretty much. Since I've left my little bubble of safety and peace back in Anderson Mill, everything I see is slowly making me question if this apocalypse is really the end of the world, or it simply just unleashed the true nature of humanity, that had to be restricted for so long before...

We are now staying in - yes, I know, funny - in Charlotte. Waiting for this sudden strike of snow and blizzards to pass as we would freeze to our death quite soon if we'd have to travel in wet clothes for god knows how long until we find another shelter to rest in. It was Tommy who led us here, thinking that, since I share the name with this city, we definitely have to go through here.

I shiver runs through my numb body, as even the seams on my worn-down boots have given themselves in long ago as well and my socks have been dripping wet for hours now. The pain has already faded and I can barely even feel my toes anymore. I can just hope they are not too frost bitten yet and they will heal up from this.

I decide to head back. The snow crunching loudly under every step of mine is giving away my position, making it almost impossible for me to hunt this way. I should place some traps, but I still don't know how to make one - that is working - properly. It is Tommy's expertise. He'd already tried to teach me, and I sort of know the basics, but none of my traps has ever caught anything yet.

But I feel like I really can't handle the cold anymore. I have been out for long hours now and I feel like even my mind is frozen for now and that I am just torturing myself unnecessarily as the snow is really making my job impossible.

We are staying in a small hut, close to Lake Norman. That way we both have water and the weekend huts are also providing shelter for us. It is almost cozy. How sad that even in that place, one of us always has to stay up and keep a guard until the next morning arrives...

I tried not wander more than a mile away on my hunting trip, still my frozen limbs and rattling teeth makes my way back feel much longer than it really is. I am silently praying to be able to get back as soon as possible and my heart beats up happily when finally, I see the building in the distance.