SAFE AND SOUND, Ellie Williams (1)

(10) Double Whammy ☀️

TEN. DOUBLE WHAMMY

KATHERINE GRUNTED AS SHE PUSHED THE LAST HUNTER OFF OF ELLIE, punching him in the face and watching as Joel shot him in the head. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed loudly. "My god," she breathed out. "That's kinda gross." Joel shot her a look and she just grinned innocently at him.

"Man," Ellie muttered. "Endure and survive," she said to herself. Katherine smiled slightly.

"What? Oh, right...the comic book thing," Joel nodded.

Ellie and Katherine both winced as they came across a trail of bodies that were leaned against the wall. "Well then..." Katherine trailed off.

Ellie sighed. "Geez. I guess this is how it ended for this zone," She added on.

"Well, every battle's got a losing side," Joel told the two teenagers.

Ellie tilted her head. "What if they had families?" she asked solemnly.

Joel sighed. "Everyone has a family. Best not to dwell on it," he informed the two of them.

"How can you not?" Ellie asked. Joel didn't answer her question and instead opted to help her knock down the fire escape ladder so they could climb up.

"We're almost there," Joel informed the duo as they looked around the overgrown area in slight awe. Joel lead them down near a preparatory school.

Ellie hummed. "I stayed at a place like this. Back in the Boston QZ," she commented.

Joel stared at the large sign in front of it. "'Military Preparatory School.'" he read, glancing back at Ellie.

Ellie snorted. "Yeah, nice way of saying orphanage. I wonder what happened to all these kids," she inferred, tilting her head slightly as she stared at the wore down and abandoned building.

"This place has been out for a good stretch. They ain't kids no more," Joel responded.

Katherine sighed. "Meaning they're either hunters trying to kill us, or they're dead," she stated bluntly.

Joel, ever the optimist (sarcasm noted), shrugged. "Or they got away," he said.

Ellie glanced over at him. "But you don't believe that?" Ellie asked, well, more like stated. Joel was getting easier to read by the day. Soon enough, they would be able to tell the difference between a lie and the truth when it came to him.

"I believe in getting out of this city," Joel responded irritatedly. "Come on."

They walked in silence for about five minutes, that's what Katheirne estimated, before Ellie spoke again. "There's another one," she nudged Katherine, nodding over at the movie poster that was on the wall. "These posters are everywhere," Ellie said, glancing back at Joel.

"Dawn of the Wolf. Sounds scary," Katherine said.

Joel shook his head. "Ain't scary. I saw this right before the outbreak," he said.

"This is the last movie you watched?" "You did? Did he totally gut her by the end?"

Ellie and Katherine had very different questions. Joel sighed. "Nobody gets gutted. It's a dumb teen movie. And yes, this is the last movie I've watched, judgy," he grumbled.

"I'm not judgy," Katherine frowned, looking over at Ellie. "Am I judgy?"

Ellie deflected her question by looking over at Joel. "Who dragged you to see it then?" she asked. Katherine crossed her arms.