WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD ✸ Joel Miller

xiv. Raging Fires

[ CHAPTER FOURTEEN ! ]

raging fires

HAYDEN'S CHEST IS HEAVING up and down and her eyes are so big her eyes might as well pop out. Her gasps are crooked and broken my her sobs and her hands shake as she brings them up to her chest. Shit.

I ignore the pounding pain in my head as I stand up and rush to her aid. "It's okay," I whisper, my voice steady and soft as I gently grab her hands and give them a tight squeeze. "I'm here. We're safe."

"We have to keep moving. It's getting dark." Joel calls from the opposite side of the room.

"Would you give me a fucking minute?" I snap back, my breath short and my entire body drained. This startles Hayden even more and my head drops. I'm mentally cursing myself as my daughter's cries start to pick up even faster. "Just go. We'll catch up with you."

He doesn't even hesitate. He just responds. "I'm not leaving you."

I don't know how to respond to this, I just pinch the bridge of my nose. "Real fucking cute," I find myself muttering before returning to face Hayden. I bring my thumb up to swipe the wet tears off her cheek, "Baby, we're okay. We're going to go find somewhere to sleep, have some food. We're going to be okay."

She looks over my features, trying to find comfort in them, I can tell. Her cries are slowly silenced as she takes a deep breath. Her hands are still shaking inside of mine, but not with as much intensity.

"Okay?"

She nods and I manage a smile. A small, attempt of a smile.

"Take a few deep breaths, and then we'll go."

"SO... WE'RE NOT GOING TO talk about it?" Ellie quips, her head low as we walk through the dark alleyway.

"Talk about what?" I respond with utter confusion, toggling my flashlight.

She shrugged. "You know..."

I let out a dry laugh. She was clearly trying to get to something that was sensitive at it's roots. "No, I don't."

She almost smiled. Then pointed between me and Joel with dancing eyebrows.

I roll my eyes, completely fed up with this. "Not again."

Joel glanced back at Ellie with furrowed eyebrows, then toward me, with the same question in his eyes that I had. I shrugged in response, and Ellie nudged my shoulder.

I shoved her with a small grin. "Go worry about your own love life!"

She parted her lips and gave me a 'are you serious?' look. "Uh... we're in the middle of the apocalypse. I don't necessarily have any options here."

I could hear a change in Hayden's breath when Ellie said this, her head dropped as her shoulder slumped. I inch closer to her and whisper. "You okay?"

She quickly snapped out of whatever was going on inside of her mind. She glanced up at me with a confused gaze definite in her eyes. "Hm?"

Though, I'm not able to repeat my question due to Joel speaking before I get the chance to. "Here." Joel says blankly, coming to a stop as he looks up at the small hole in the wall, right next to the door of the building we need to get into.

He crouched down slightly, holding his hands at level with Ellie so she's able to get onto them easier. She sighs with annoyance and hesitates slightly, but ultimately, places her foot in between his hands but as he's about to boost her up, she nearly falls. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," she curses over and over as Joel struggled beneath her.

"Just... straighten up! I got you." He sputters, trying to keep her held steady. And just when I'm about to offer my help, she manages to get boosted up and crawl through the small hole.

My lips break out into a grin without being able to help it. "You need to get into shape, old man."

He shoots a glare my way as his nostrils flare bigger, than smaller, than bigger again. I can tell he's trying to not to show how heavily he's breathing right now.

Then, the door opens and we're met with Ellie on the opposite side. "Good luck. There are about 30 flights of stairs." She warns, walking backward to the center of the hall, pointing upward, and when I did the same, I saw... about 30 flights of stairs up ahead. "I hope your old bodies are in shape." 

 "Middle-aged." I correct, my eyes narrowing into a glare. She raises her eyebrows with a devilish grin as she puts her arms up in defense, causing me to roll my eyes. Then, I look back up at the stairs above. "Fuck." 

"GUYS!" IT'S A QUIET YET stern voice, breaking me from my slumber. I look up, slowly, to see Ellie with her arms raised and her jaw set. "Guys!" This time it's louder, like a warning. And to both of my sides, Hayden and Joel begin to wake. 

I'm quick to sit up, but as soon as I do, something in Ellie's face twitches and there's a loud clicking of a gun so close to my ear. I slowly follow the noise with only my eyes, and I'm met with a teenage girl with a pistol pressed right against the side of my head. As my eyes meet hers, her lips curl into a smirk and she waves at me with her free hand. "Hi."

a/n 

surprise! meet parker!