On your way through the door, Ellie snatched up one of the old man's white rabbits
"You don't seriously believe them." She scoffed,
Trudging through the thick snow beside you
"They've lived here a long time. Put that back."
"They don't know anything." She swung the rabbit over her shoulder, ignoring Joel
"They haven't even heard of the Fireflies," you added,
putting your cold hands into your coat pockets.
As Joel reached the fencing that surrounded the house he froze. feeling a sudden sharp pain in his chest, he grabbed the fence for support as he began to find it difficult to breathe
"Joel? Joel?"
"Joel, are you okay? Joel?"
You and Ellie both asked in concern as you approached him
"Shut up."
"Holy shit, are you dying?" Ellie exclaimed
"I'm okay. I'm fine."
he said trying to reassure you both,
"Okay, are you okay?" No, but are you? Because just a reminder that if you're dead, we're fucked."
Ellie was starting to panic
"I said, I'm fine."
he snapped, as his breath slowly returned and the pain subsided
"Okay."
Ellie backed off
"It's just the... cold air all of a sudden."
"You sure?" you asked,
taking a step towards him
"Yes, I'm sure."
"All right, uh, so let's go and find Tommy and the Fireflies."
Ellie clambered through a hole in the white fence,
"It's gonna be easy. All we have to do is cross the River of Death."
You followed after her,
stumbling a bit, as you emerged on the other side,
Before joining her up on the snowy hill that overlooked the white landscape
After a while of following Joel through the snow, you finally reached the river.
"The River of Death. Scary." Ellie said sarcastically,
as she spotted a large river she assumed was the one the old man had warned them about
"Don't start. It's too close to dark. There's some caves along the river. We'll set up camp there, cross in the mornin'." Joel decided,
"Good. I'm starving."
Ellie groaned
"Should've stolen two rabbits." you joked,
nudging Ellie with your elbow
"We can get our own rabbits." Joel turned to you
"You gonna teach us how?" Ellie grinned
You felt your face heat up at the sight of Ellie's eyes lighting up with excitement
'She's so cute' you thought
"Just keep movin'."
Joel said, not answering Ellies question ushering the two of you along.
—--------------------------------------
You all helped build a fire for warmth, and set up your 'camp' for the night
By the fire, Joel was attempting to repair his boot with a roll of tape,
While you and Ellie stood high on a rock admiring the green light that danced in the night sky, standing in a comfortable silence.
Joel whistled grabbing your and Ellies attention
"Come down from there. You're both gonna break your necks."
He instructed
You both took a final look at the lights in the sky before returning to where Joel was, You sat across from Joel, and began warming your hands by the fire,
Ellie sat next to you and copied your action of warming yourself up
Joel took a sip from his hip flask, gaining Ellies attention
"Ahh... Can I have some?" Ellie chirped
"No."
"What? Just to warm up? C'mon."
Joel gave in and handed her the flask, Ellie leaned across and took it from him excitedly, She took a swig and grimaced.
"Yep... still gross."
She handed it back to him gagging at the taste
You burst out into laughter at her reaction, earning a small smile from Joel
"Hey!"
Ellie knocked into your side playfully
"Sorry sorry"
you giggled, placing your head on her shoulder, watching as the fire slowly crackled
"So, I've been thinking. Let's say we find the Fireflies, it all works, they draw my blood and put it through some of their fancy machines and make a cure."
Ellie said, breaking the silence
"Okay."
"Then what? Like, what do we do?"
"Oh, it's we?"
"Okay, fine. Whatever. You. You can do anything you want. Where are you going? What are you doing?"
she asked
"It's never been an option. Maybe... an old farmhouse, some land, a ranch."
"Cool. What kind?"
you questioned
"Sheep. I would raise sheep."
"Sheep."
Ellie repeated.
"They're quiet... do what they're told."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay. So, just you and a buncha sheep. Romantic."
Ellie grinned,
as you stifled a chuckle
"what about you? Where are you two gonna go?"
Joel asked, surprising you both
"Uh..i..dunno" you shrugged
"I haven't thought that far ahead, How about you El?"
"Well...It's probably because I grew up in the QZ. Behind you, there's ocean, in front of you there's a wall. Nowhere else to look but up. I read everything I could in the school library. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell. But you know who my favorite is?"
"Sally Ride." you answered, having been subject to all of Ellie's Space rants,
Not that you minded
"Sally fuckin' Ride! "Best astronaut name ever."
she grinned
Quickly excitement faded in her eyes as her mind lingered on a question
"It's work, right? The vaccine?"
"It's a little late to start wonderin'."
Joel crossed his arms
"I tried, with Sam."
Ellie looked down at her hands.
Starting at the healed cut on her palm that she had kept hidden from Joel.
You felt a pang of pain in your chest hearing his name..
Slowly you leaned closer towards Ellie seeking comfort
"Tried what?"
"I knew he was Infected."
She confessed. "I rubbed some of my blood into his bite.
I know, I know, it was stupid. But I... I wanted to save him."
"Well, I reckon it's a lot more complicated than that. Marlene, she's a lotta things, but she's no fool. If she says they can do it, they can do it."
He took another swig from his flask.
"You wanna take first watch or second?"
Ellie asked, sitting up straight
Immediately missing your warmth
"I'll do both. Get some sleep. Dream of sheep ranches on the moon."
"I will," Ellie said quietly as she helped you unpack your bedroll.
"See ya in the morning"
you smiled,
Settling into your sleeping bag beside Ellie
"Night" she whispered,
snuggling up to your sleeping bag
