Don't let go: Joel Miller x OC

Holding It Together

There was a gentleness to the early morning mist that swaddled the surrounding plains of grassland. It delicately swirled around the idle trees, weightless and ethereal. The glare of the mornings first sunlight reflecting straight off its poltergeist-white, creating an opaque barrier floating just above the ground. Intricate beads of dew that adorned the individual blades of lush grass twinkled beneath the rays that had begun to beat down. It was a strange thing, the world. Such a ghastly place and yet it was capable of producing such spectacles... Mother Nature at its finest...

They hadn't stopped since recalibrating at the highway, not once. Joel was adamant to keep pushing forward, covering as much distance as possible in as little time. They had traveled through the darkness of night and now into the morning, the coverage of forest now in the distance.

Tess had kept her place at Ava's side. Light conversation and comfortable silences as the boys rode up on in front... not much conversation could be seen from their end either, bar the odd light hearted comment that Tommy would attempt, which was usually followed up with Joel barking yet another order at someone.

"Can't see fuckin' shit." Tommy grumbled whilst squinting into the distance, vision sufficiently obscured by the milky white sheet that lay before them.

"Least there won't be any infected this far out..." Joel almost grunted as a response whilst shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun.

The younger brother snorted as he shortened his reins, "Be fucked if there were."

The older man exhaled deeply. Exhaustion beginning to take over but his body fighting it from every angle. The layer of mist stretched on for as far as the naked eye could see, the occasional tree top poking through its surface. A pretty scene but a complete ball ache for trying to establish where they were.

"Ave, map." He called over his shoulder.

The blonde deposited her reins into one hand before using the other to fish the map stashed within the pocket of her leather jacket. He didn't even give her a beat before barking back at her, "Ava!"

She took in a deep breath, her jaw taut. Patience skating along very thin ice by this point but doing everything in her goddamn power not to snap back, "I'm getting it, Joel."

She allowed the intake of oxygen escape out her lips as her tired eyes scanned the map. It was hard to pin point the exact location but she had a rough idea... "Not far from Hoback now, I think."

"You think?" He snapped.

Her teeth now gritting together as her knuckles whitened from her tight grip on the precious sheet of paper, "I know."

Another grunt was heard as his attention tuned back out to the horizon. As soon as his back was turned, she allowed the frustrated huff to release itself from her lungs, grabbing Tess's attention.

The older woman glanced to her side. Watching as her younger counterpart gazed down and fiddled with the gold band that decorated her ring finger, "You good?"

Ava's lips folded into a tight line as she dragged her gaze up from her hands, a sigh escaping her "Yeah..."

A half smile twitched to Tess's lips as she mumbled just loud enough for the younger woman to hear, "You're a better woman than I am. Would've ripped him a new asshole by now..."

The blonde lightly snorted. In any other circumstance she would have but not now... she couldn't. Only one of them was allowed to loose their shit at a time and right now, it wasn't her turn. "If we were at home, I'd have kicked his ass all the way to Tommy's..."

It earned her a small chuckle before she continued, a more pointed expression to her face as she chanced a glance at him, "It's best if I just stay quiet... Think he might just murder one of us if I start fighting back... You've known him long enough to know what he's like..."