Gunshots rang out across the frosty plain, as you Ellie and Joel crouched down behind a log taking turns aiming at a target Joel had set up
"Wide right. You're flinchin"
Joel critiqued,
teaching You and Ellie how to handle his rifle.
"The target's too small."
Ellie complained
"I made it bigger than I should've. Eject the cartridge."
Ellie pulled back the lever ejecting the cartridge
"And I'm not flinching. The rifle just sucks."
"Gimme a go" you suggested, holding your hands out for the rifle
"Let's see if you can do better job than El"
Joel chuckled
"A slow breath in, slow breath out." He instructed.
"You squeeze the trigger like you love it."
You did as Joel said, giggling at his choice of wording, focusing in on the target
"Gentle. Steady. Nice and slow."
"You gonna shoot this thing or get it pregnant?"
Ellie quipped
"Shhh"
you hushed your girlfriend with a smile
"It isn't gonna work. It doesn't aim right."
Ellie raised the binoculars to her eyes and you took the shot.
"What?!!" Ellie's jaw dropped,
You'd hit the target square in the middle
"YES I DID IT!" you exclaimed, giving Joel a high-five
—————————————
Later you all got Back on the horse, and continued your journey
"So, the way they ran stuff in Jackson was that how things used to be?" Ellie asked
"No. The country was too big for that. Back then, there were basically two main ways of lookin' at things. Some people wanted to own everything. And some people didn't want anyone to own anything at all."
"Which one were you?"
you asked
"Neither. I just did my job."
"Which was... building?"
"That's right. Houses, stores, that kinda thing. We were called contractors"
"The Contractor."
Ellie said in a dramatic deep voice. "That's pretty cool."
"Yeah"
you agreed chuckling
"Yeah. We were cool. Everybody loved contractors."
"Nice." you rested your head against Ellie's back wrapping your arms around her waist as you continued through the woods
————————-
5 days later
"Okay, so, if you mess up your fourth down, then you give the ball to the other team?"
You and Ellie had been trying to work out the rules of football for the past twenty minutes and Joel was doing his best to explain.
"Right. It's called a turnover"
"Turnover." Ellie repeated.
"But if you make it to ten yards then you're back to first down?"
"Yep."
"So, basically just moving in one direction."
you concurred
"Basically... but violent."
"Oh, well. There's that."
Up ahead, was the sign for the I-25 Tommy told Joel to look out for.
"Well, how 'bout that? Made it in five days."
"Easy days. I don't know what Tommy was so afraid of."
You noted
"Still time to find out."
Joel said gruffly
