This is Not the Last of Us

Chapter 23

After using a cable to support their entire weight and pull themselves up onto the roof, Ellie was starting to feel like Dina was the worst person to go on routes with. She just did things without really thinking about them; which is exactly what Ellie did. The two of them needed people to keep them in line and prevent them from doing stupid shit.

In Ellie's case, her girlfriend. In Dina's case, Jesse. Without them, the two were too reckless to be trusted. And while it was pretty cool to scale a vent to get onto a rooftop, Ellie was certain it wasn't the safest way to go about things.

Dina had warned her it was windy, and it really was. The first wind that caught Ellie nearly blew her over. The sky had turned into a much darker and foreboding gray, and it seemed like it was only going to get worse. They needed to get to the next base, and fast.

The two girls slid off the roof and hurried to their horses.

"How far are we from the next lookout?" Ellie asked loudly to be heard over the wind.

"It's just past the next town. If we're fast enough we should make it before the storm gets any worse!"

"Then we should get going! You lead; I'll follow. We'll call out to one another if there's a whiteout!"

"Good idea!" Dina shouted in agreement.

The horses probably weren't really excited to be running in the snow, and the wind was whipping in all of their faces. It was hard to breathe, almost as if they were inhaling nothing but ice particles.

"We're not going to make it, it's getting too bad! Should we turn back?" Ellie shouted.

"We wouldn't make it to town! It's only a bit further!"

Ellie lost Dina in the storm. For a moment, she panicked. She remembered how Ace had taught her to track, and tried desperately to follow suit. Dina's tracks were faint, but they were there. If Ellie really tried, she could make them out. Dina was sitting in between some trees to shield herself from the wind when Ellie caught her.

"Oh, thank god." Dina sighed in relief. "Change of plans, we're not going to the lookout! There's a closer place that Eugene showed me once, just follow me!"

Ellie didn't hesitate to follow her, and was slightly surprised when they pulled up to a library. It had seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere, but maybe it was really on the outskirts of town? Ellie decided not to question it and instead let herself in.

They both got their horses inside. As soon as they were in, Dina slammed the doors shut against one another and exhaled.

"That should hold against the wind," Dina announced and started wiping the snow off the horses, "I've never actually been in here before. Eugene and I rode past it a few times, and he told me to come here if I was ever really in a bind."

"Seems like the old fart knew what he was talking about," Ellie said, she moved away from the horses and started to scope the place out, "I'm going to make sure it's clear."

"Good idea." Dina said, "I'm going to make sure the horses are okay. Maybe get them something to eat. They're probably exhausted."

It was just a quick jog around, and Ellie could tell that it was clear. It didn't hurt to fully double check though, and Ellie understood that.

There was a door that was locked– kept separate from the rest of the library. It either meant that there were good supplies in there, or an infected that hid itself from the world in an effort to starve itself and die.

Ellie sighed and stared at the windows before loudly announcing for Dina's sake that she was going to break the window. Ellie brought a brick to it quickly and used her jacket's sleeve to clear the debris as Ace had taught her to.