THE NEXT morning, the trio made their way towards the River of Death, as they walked through an empty land of snow and trees. Joel retrieved his map, as Jane crouched down to make a pile of snow in her hands. She smiled, placing a frozen up flower and placing it on the top of the 'mountain'.
Suddenly, Jane was grabbing by Joel protectively, as a swarm of horses rushed towards the trio. Joel held both the girls' hands, trying to run to any escape, though they had been surrounded. Joel guided the children behind him, as they all raised their hands in the air.
"We're not looking for any trouble." Joel explained, "We just passin' through."
A man on a horse insisted, "Drop the gun!" He paused, as Joel did so, before insisting again, "You two! Take five steps back."
Joel questioned, "How about we talk this through?"
"How 'bout you shut the fuck up?" The man retorted, as Ellie took a few steps back. The man demanded, "Take five steps back!"
Joel glanced at Jane, "It'll be okay."
Jane hesitantly stepped back from the two, her hands shaking as she kept them raised above her head. The man asked, "Have you been near infected?"
Joel replied, "There's none out here."
"The hell there ain't." The man nodded, as he whistled towards a women behind him. The women let a dog of the lead, as it barked continuously at Ellie. The man continued, "If you've been infected, he will smell it, and he will rip you up."
The dog rushed towards Joel first, then Jane, both sniffing them gently before heading over to Ellie. Jane's chest tightened as she struggled for air, she found herself tapping her finger tips on her thumb in a '1,2,3,4' pattern. Over and over again. She couldn't even look at Ellie. Jane just closed her eyes tightly and waited for the scream to escape Ellie's mouth.
Joel's voice was muffled, "Jane."
A tear down Jane's cheek, almost icing on her face as the cold winds hit her. She breathed quickly, her chest visibly moving up and down repeatedly. Jane placed a hand on her heart, as she glanced over at Ellie, who was hugging the dog happily. Jane breathed in relief, as she quickly wiped away her tears.
"You brought yourself 10 seconds more time." The man continued, "What are you doing out here?"
"Lookin' for my brother." Joel explained, "Nothing more."
A women spoke up, "Hey. What's your name?"
"Joel."
The three were taken to a guarded settlement within the snowy land on horses, giving them hope that Tommy was staying there. It reminded Jane very much of a QZ, though it looked more free. Jane looked around at the families building snow-mans and people helping each other, when she got distracted by Ellie's hands on her waist.
"Are you okay?" Ellie whispered, as Jane felt her breath on the back of her neck. Jane kept looking forward, her eyes darting around in panic, as she nodded.
The horses stopped, as Joel climbed off, "Tommy!" He shouted to a man helping with the scaffolding. The man, who Jane recognised in an instant, rushed down the ladder, running to Joel quickly. They hugged tightly, as Jane climbed off their horse.
Jane cleared her throat, "Uncle Tommy?"
She walked over to the two men, as Tommy's eyes widened at the sight of her. Tommy chuckled in disbelief, "Now, look at you. Ain't you got all grown up?"
Jane smiled, as she hugged him tightly. She had always been close to Tommy, she considered him family, though they had no blood connections. Ellie stared at them all.
