Lilium || A The Last of Us story.

Night 5 of 5

TW

"I swear, Lily, if you don't stop pacing, that slap will be the least of your worries," Ellie snapped, her frustration palpable. They had found an abandoned suburb, devoid of any signs of life or infected. This was the perfect hiding spot, just as Joel would have wanted. They knew he would come looking for them here.

Ellie couldn't shake the guilt of leaving Joel behind, outnumbered and outgunned. Lily's sobs only made it worse. Slamming her fists down on a dusty shelf, Ellie growled at Lily's weakness. "Enough! You're the adult here, start acting like it."

Lily knew Ellie was right. She was overstimulated by adrenaline, and not the good kind. "What now?" Ellie asked.

Lily took a deep breath. "Ellie, you may be a kid, but I won't write you off as just that. You have more experience than me. We're going to have to work together."

Ellie groaned, but nodded in agreement. She pulled out a fistful of grass and an apple from her pocket, feeding it to the horse. "I guess we wait for Joel," she said.

Lily nodded, pausing for a beat as she tried to hold onto the pain. Ellie took a bite of the apple before holding out her palm. "If Joel is on foot, he'll get here in about a day. Maybe longer if he's injured."

An involuntary whimper escaped Lily's throat. "Oh god," she whispered, unable to bear the thought of Joel being hurt or worse.

"I'm going out to collect some snow to melt for us and Trix," Ellie announced.

Lily looked at her confused. "I'll go outside. Like you said, I'm the adult," she said, shuddering as she slipped out under the garage door.

Lily breathed in the frigid air, feeling it pierce her lungs as tears streamed down her face. How could she possibly protect Ellie? The thought of failing her was unbearable.

As the sun began to set, Lily imagined Joel wandering through the darkness. Would he find shelter in the woods, or had he succumbed to the infected? The image of his lifeless body left to be devoured by the wandering monsters made her shudder. She wailed silently out into the coldness.

But then she remembered the monkeys. Would they harm him, or would they sit with him? Monkeys always seemed like gentle animals to her. The uncertainty was almost too much to bear.

Determined not to give up on Joel, Lily slapped herself across the face and washed away her tears with snow. She embraced the pain as a punishment for losing hope.

In the garage, Ellie had laid out Joel's sleeping bag, the only one they had. The girls had quickly mounted the nearest horse to make a swift escape. Ellie noticed a small camping stove and some matches, wondering if Joel had kept them for emergencies. Was this situation considered an emergency?

Suddenly, Lily's return to the garage caught Ellie's attention. "Found this in Joel's pack, should we use it?" she asked.

Lily nodded, "I'll keep watch tonight. In the morning, we should head out onto the main road. Maybe walk back half a mile or so to see if we can find him."

Ellie let out a sigh of relief and forced a sad smile, agreeing with Lily's plan. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, so they decided to keep watch together.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

"See ya, Lil!" Ellie exclaimed with excitement as she grabbed her brown bag lunch from the kitchen counter.

Lily clicked her fingers and said, "Ah ah ah! Are you forgetting something?" She held out her cheek with a playful grin on her face.

Ellie rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh man." She stomped back towards Lily and planted a kiss on her cheek. She then rubbed her hand along Lily's very pregnant belly.