GLOWING (Joel Miller)

12 | The Hike

I didn't follow Joel immediately. Instead, I turned around, placing my hands on the trunk of a nearby tree to steady myself. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I tried to calm myself down. Trying to get Joel to understand the gravity of the situation was proving to be impossible. He just didn't get it.

Yes, it would work—his current plan—but what did Bill and Frank know about any of it? I didn't trust them, and I sure as hell wasn't travelling the two-thousand-mile journey to Boulder with them; not with Ellie.

After a few minutes I let out an indignant huff, before turning and heading in the direction Joel had gone. About fifty metres later, I emerged in the clearing. Ellie was still sitting in her spot, though this time, she had Joel's jacket laid over her knees. She must have taken it from his bag. Joel didn't seem bothered, though he may have already mentioned it while I was gone.

As soon as I emerged into his view, Joel glared over at me, taking a bite of jerky from his bag. He ate only one piece, before he wrapped it back up and put it in his bag. He paused for a moment, staring down at his hands, before picking up the wrapped food and tossing it in Ellie's direction, not acknowledging her at all. It landed at her feet and she immediately picked it up and unwrapped it, shoving a piece into her mouth.

"I've never been in the woods," Ellie explained brightly. I shot a her small smile as I bent down to gather my own belongings. "More bugs than I thought."

I chuckled under my breath as Joel didn't respond. The tension was quickly becoming awkward and I knew Ellie had noticed it, for she glanced suspiciously between Joel and I.

"Look," she began, louder this time. "I've been thinking about—"

"—I don't want your sorry's."

I looked up. Joel was on his feet, glaring down at Ellie, where she sat, under the tree. I stood up, causing him to divert his gaze to me. "She has nothing to apologise for."

Joel's glare hardened, but I held his gaze. Our eye line didn't break until Ellie spoke up again. "Anyway," she continued exasperatedly. "I wasn't gonna to say I'm sorry. I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened." Joel looked down at her, impatience, clear as day on his face. "Nobody made you or Tess take us." She gestured over to me. "Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery, or whatever and you made a choice.  So don't blame us for something that isn't our fault."

I looked over at Joel through my periphery, trying to gauge his reaction. But he didn't move. He just stared at Ellie silently, before nodding ever-so-slightly. Ellie seemed to be satisfied, though. She pushed herself to her feet and meandered over to Joel as he bent down to pick up his rifle. She stopped in front of him, extending her arm out, with his jacket in hand. He took it from her and I slowly approached as Ellie slung her backpack over her shoulder. "How much longer?"

"Five hour hike," Joel responded, glancing over at me with knitted eyebrows. I could tell something was troubling him, so I sent him a nod, letting him know that I wasn't upset. He was trying to be civil around Ellie, at least.

From beside me, Ellie shrugged her shoulder, looking up at me with a slight sparkle in her eyes. "We can manage that."

Without another word, Joel turned around and started in the other direction. I gestured for Ellie to go in front of me, before bringing up the rear. Only five hours to go.

***

We walked in silence for almost two hours, before Ellie spoke up. "You've gone this way a lot?" She asked, looking up at Joel who was a few paces ahead. I didn't pay much attention. I just took in the surrounding scenery as the forest opened into wide plains. "No infected?