Silver ||Joel Miller||

a five hour hike

LAURA

2023

Laura woke to Joel and Ellie mid-argument and her head threatening to split in two.

"Jesus..." she whispered as she slowly sat up, sticks and leaves stuck to her clothes as she did so. She really had just collapsed in a heap last night without a care for where she landed.

They'd made it ten miles from Boston, and when Joel said they were at a safe distance, she fell to the ground and went to sleep without a second thought. It was probably the wrong thing to do with a severe concussion, but she hadn't slept the night before because of the fear that Joel might have shot Ellie so...

But at least she woke up again, so that was a positive.

"So don't blame me for something that isn't my fault," Ellie said. Laura squinted to help her eyes adjust to the sunlight. She had to see what was going on because she had clearly missed the start of the conversation. She didn't hear a response from Joel, and when she could finally see again, the only things she could focus on were the grave look on his face and the brief nod he gave.

"Are you okay?" Joel asked, his voice relatively quiet even for him. His dark eyes were locked on her and her alone, with an emotion behind them she didn't want to delve into.

"I don't know yet. My head feels like it might explode, but I don't feel nauseous like I did yesterday," she answered, and she ignored the look of concern in his eyes.

"You should eat something..." Ellie said, opening her bag. "Here, I saved this bit for you." She handed Laura a piece of her sandwich, which sparked a smile on Laura's face.

"Thanks, but I think the chicken might be a little too far gone, kiddo," Laura responded as she pushed the sandwich back to Ellie.

"Ah, right."

"You didn't pack food?" Joel asked, and Laura stood up to look him in the eyes from a higher position.

"I assumed I would travel across the country with the Fireflies and wouldn't need to pack food. Stupid assumption to make, I know, but now I don't have extra clothes, I don't have food and I'm out of water. I only packed a sleeping bag because I'm typically picky about where I sleep. So, apologies if I seem a little unprepared to trek across the continent by foot, because that wasn't my plan," she said, before she picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder. "I've gone days without food before. I'll be fine until we find something."

She walked away, assuming they were heading the same direction they'd headed in the day before. She only slowed because Joel's voice reached her ears again.

"Here," he said, walking next to her with his hand out.

"Is that the last of your food?" She asked, hearing Ellie's footsteps behind them.

"Yeah, but you need it more than I do," he said, and Laura shook her head.

"I can't take that-" he shoved the wrapped food into her hands before he sped up his pace and ended up a few paces in front of her. "Thank you," she said loud enough for him to hear, but he didn't so much as look over his shoulder at her. Without wasting another second, she unwrapped the dried meat and started eating it.

"Yeah, but you need it more than I do." Ellie repeated Joel's words, her voice deepened to mimic his tenor.

"Ellie..." Laura warned the kid between her chewing.

"He still likes you," Ellie whispered, and all Laura could do was shake her head. After what happened between them, after what she did, that wasn't possible. "He watched over you all night, checked you were breathing and stuff. I kept waking up, because sleeping on a tree isn't as comfortable as you might think, and he was always right next to you."