averno, tlou

twenty two

chapter twenty two: delusional
november 24th-25th, 2023

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"Shh..."

That only made Ellie and Alejandra laugh harder, the cold air keeping them huddled under their sleeping bags that were tugged to their chins and praying that their body heat would keep them alive for the night. Joel had his back facing the two girls, with Ellie in the middle of them. "Can I have a gun?" Ellie whispered through quiet laughter, "no" was answered by both adults. The girl keeping her smile hidden and secret kept while she tugged her backpack under her head to use it as a pillow.

"No fun" she huffed dramatically, rolling onto her side to face the woman while the girl pulled the flashlight from her sleeping bag and shone it in Alejandra's face by mistake. "Ay, really?" She asked, squeezing her eyes shut while Ellie read the sentence in the joke book. She clicked off the light and sighed, turning to lay on her back while glancing to Joel. Alejandra rubbed her lips together while waiting for the teen to call his name, knowing she would.

"Joel" she whispered just above a breath and he kept quiet, "fucker, you're awake." Alejandra told the man while she lifted up on her elbow. "How can you tell?" Ellie asked, seeing the shadows of the woman's face contort. "I know his breathing." Alejandra whispered, feeling awkward if she spoke any louder in the silent forest. "Joel!" Ellie whispered louder, as if she tried to scream-whisper.

He turned quickly, "what?"

"Can I ask you a serious question?" Alejandra's face fell, not knowing if she was being truthful or not. "Yeah." Joel's answer made Alejandra's face blush as he shifted his body more to hear Ellie better. Serious concern coming from him, "why did the scarecrow get an award?" Alejandra laid back down, a wide smile on her chapped lips while she giggled under her breath. She slowly shook her head, turning to see Joel whose head was turned all the way to see Ellie.

"Because he was outstanding in his field." Both, Joel and Alejandra answered in sync making Ellie shift her head back and forth from the two adults. "You dick!" Ellie sat up, resting her weight on her elbow while facing him. "Did you read this?" Alejandra could hear the smile on his face as he answered, "no. Now go to sleep, both of you." The man told the two girls while Alejandra groaned.

"But dad!" She spoke in a high tone, hearing Ellie laugh loudly. "Yeah, dad..." Alejandra rolled over, slapping her hand on the ground playfully. "Go to bed" she could hear the smile.

"Go to sleep" Alejandra held her hand out, lightly slapping Ellie's sleeping bag while she nodded her head in response. Staring up to the sky through the tree's while the woman to her left felt her body relax the best it could into sleep. Ellie released a quiet breath, "those people you said..." Alejandra jumped from Ellie's voice once sleep started to take over her body in such a short amount of time.

"There's no way anyone knows we're here, right?" Ellie asked, slightly turning to look to Joel. "No one's gonna find us." Alejandra rose her eyebrows while keeping her eyes shut. She hummed while taking a breath, "no one's gonna find us." Joel told Ellie while Alejandra held her hand out again, letting it rest on top of the sleeping bag. "You're okay, honey..." Alejandra hummed half asleep, "okay" Ellie whispered, lifting up the sleeping bag so she could turn on her side to face Alejandra.

The woman woke out of her sleep hours into the night, glancing past Ellie who had slowly turned in her sleep to find a different position. Alejandra pushed up on her elbow, eyes squinted to try and see in the dark while not seeing Joel where she left him. She sat up quickly and Joel turned once hearing the sleeping bag rustle, his eyebrows rose while the woman released a breath she was holding once seeing him stood with the shot gun.