bullet boy • joel miller

three • trust

Joel stormed through the door, eyes shifting between the other two in the room. His eyes bore into Theo for an uncomfortable amount of time before he faced Ellie with a deep sigh. "Show me your arm."

Fear flickered over her face as she glanced over at Theo. "With him here?"

"Ignore him, show me your arm." She hesitated, fingers playing with the edge of her sleeve. "I'm gonna give him a choice after you show me your arm."

She rolled her eyes as she stood, yanking up her sleeve. She was bitten.

Theo stumbled back with a gasp. His heart pounded in his chest, fear inching its way into his veins. "You're infected? Are you, fuck, are you guys insane?" His mind reeled, replaying each moment he'd been near her, how close he'd been to being infected himself. "What the hell is wrong with you people? You want us to die or something? Man, what the–"

Joel raised his hand to silence him. "Shut up."

"Don't tell me what to do, man."

"I'll do as I damn well please. Now shut the hell up and listen. She's immune."

"Yeah, right."

"I am fully aware of how stupid it sounds, believe me, but she's been bitten twice now–one that I saw happen with my own two eyes–and she still hasn't turned."

Theo laughed yet it was devoid of humour. "You're insane."

"He's not lying, man," Ellie joined in. "I'm immune. If you can't trust him, then trust me."

"Trust the girl who's infected? Yeah, you're definitely insane. Bet that's the Cordyceps talking."

"No, dude, trust the girl who saved your fucking life. If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead. Do you think I'd have bothered to do that if I thought I was gonna die?"

There was nothing for him to say.

"She's immune," Joel repeated. "I'm taking her to someone who can make a cure."

Theo seethed, trembling hands clenching into nervous fists. "How am I supposed to believe you?"

"You've been with us for, what, a couple of hours now? Have you noticed anything off about her?" Joel shook his head with a scoff. "Other than that she's a really weird kid."

"She could still turn."

"She hasn't in the days I've known her. You gotta trust me on this, man."

"Trust you? You were ready to let me rot back down in that hole!"

"And I didn't. Because of her." He jabbed his thumb toward Ellie. "I'm gonna give you a choice here, both of you, and you're gonna think it through, okay?"

Theo shrugged with a look of disbelief. "Whatever, man."

Joel shot him one last glare before turning to Ellie. "I have a brother out in Wyoming. He's in some kinda trouble, and I'm heading out there to find him. He used to be a Firefly. And my guess is he knows where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is."

Ellie nodded. "Okay."

"Now that's where you come in, Theo. You can come with us, make the journey easier, or we can part ways right here and right now."

"What happened to 'you ain't joining us full-time'?" Ellie couldn't help but snicker at his impression of Joel. "What changed?"

"Bill and Frank are dead, that's what changed. I figure your best chance is staying here–you'll have everything you need–but you might be useful. So, if you're willing to pull your weight–"