We'll Have Peace

Joel heard as Ellie jumped on top of the metal train tracks. He turned around to look at her. She walked carefully, balancing every step in front of another without any room between them. Joel continued closely walking on the grass in front of her.

"Joel?" Ellie said, keeping her pace and not looking up from her shoes. Joel turned around and hummed in response.

"What did you even do all the time before this? I was trying to think about what I would do, but I couldn't think of more than one thing." Ellie asked.

"Well, I had different things to worry about back then. Most of the time, I had a job that I worked." Joel responded. He let his gaze drift into the distance. "Or I'd be with Sara."

"I think I would get food right now. There are so many snacks from before that I've never had." Ellie said. Joel smiled as he turned forwards.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Joel asked. Ellie loudly hummed to herself as her footsteps quickened behind Joel.

"Like ice cream or Chick-fil-a," Ellie said.

Joel scoffed. "Chick-fil-a? How do you even know what that is?"

"I don't know. I just heard it was a place you get food." Ellie said, giggling.

Joel adjusted his watch strap as they continued to descend the train track. He suddenly heard Ellie slow her pace and come to a stop.

"It makes me sad sometimes that I never got to see how it was before," Ellie admitted. "I mean, it's so fucking stupid that I can't even remember the world without weird monsters."

Joel sighed and slowed his pace. He turned to look at Ellie, making eye contact with her.

"I think about it a lot. I wonder who I'd be if none of this happened." Ellie said. "I know it doesn't matter, but it's nice to think about."

"I think like that sometimes," Joel admitted.

"Do you?" Ellie said. The curiosity was apparent in her voice. She slipped her backpack off her shoulders and set it on the ground. Using her backpack as a cushion, she sat down on the grass.

Joel hummed. "That and all of my friends and family. But I try to remind myself of all the positive things that came from this."

Ellie scoffs. "I couldn't name a single positive fucking thing in our lives even if I tried."

"Well, we wouldn't know each other," Joel said. Ellie let a smile curl onto her face.

"Okay, I could name one,"

Joel let a smile settle onto his face. Ellie laid her back on the grass, staring into the clouds.

"What was it like?" Ellie asked as her gaze fell back onto Joel.

Joel sighed as he looked at the horizon.

"Simple," Joel muttered.

He dropped his backpack off his shoulders and sat on the grass next to Ellie. The breeze picked up and violently swayed the trees around them. Ellie let her eyes find their way back up into the sky.

"I think it can be like that again," Ellie said, not taking her eyes off the sky. "Don't you?"

Joel sighed as he laid down beside Ellie.

"I do."

Ellie let her eyes drift to Joel. "We could do it. All we need is a quiet place with no people or clickers and some food. It wouldn't be hard to do."

"I wish we could," Joel said, rubbing his face with his hand. He let his eyes slip closed as he rested his hand on top of them. Ellie sat up and brought her knees to her chest, resting her head on them.

"Yesterday, I was thinking," Ellie said, chuckling. "I wonder what all the forest animals think of the clickers. Do you think they think we're the same as them? Monsters with no sense of anything but destruction?"

Joel let her words linger in the air for a moment.

"Maybe." He laughed. "I hope not."

"Do you think we're the same as them?" Ellie said.

Joel's stomach dropped.

"I hope not." The words tasted sour as they left his mouth. He lifted his hand off his eyes and rested it on his forehead, bringing his attention back to Ellie.

"We'll get there one day. We'll have peace." Joel said, coming back to their earlier topic. "I hope."

Joel wished he could, but he knew he was in no position to make promises. They were okay for now, and he planned on keeping it that way.

Ellie smiled at him and laid down, resting her head on his stomach. He let his hand rest on the top of her head.

"Don't let that stuff stress you out too much. I'll be here if you need to talk about it." Joel said.

A comfortable silence eventually settled in the air as the two let themselves enjoy time away from the chaos for a moment.