sunshine // joel miller

SIXTEEN

Chapter Sixteen
Allergies

The next morning was just as cold as the previous; and Fran woke up to Ellie and Joel bickering about who was keeping watch. Turns out Joel had fallen asleep by accident, and Ellie took over without his knowledge.

It had ended in Joel telling her to wake him up next time, and they headed out quickly. The sky was overcast; making everything feel grey from where they were couched down, looking for danger.

The bridge that crossed the river of death was only two hundred feet away, Joel being adamant that they watch for movement before trying to get across - and while he meant well, it was too cold to stay still.

"Still no people," Ellie said for the fourth time in the last ten minutes, feeling the cold seeping through her at that point. Fran understood he was cautious; and didn't want to bother him, but was in agreement with her.

"Fine," Joel finally agreed, standing up to his full height as the girls copied. They made their way to it carefully, Joel in front and gun ready just in case. It was completely silent as they went, any movement alerting them.

The bridge itself was industrial, most likely used for transporting stuff back in the day, and looked quite nice covered in snow. The concrete under their feet however was covered in a thin layer of ice, making walking a big challenge.

While Joel acted like it didn't bother him, not slipping once, Fran was slow with her movements, copying the steps he made. There weren't any new tracks in the snow, letting them know no one had been by in a while.

Making it across was a breath of fresh air, and they continued on their journey with a quicker pace. Joel's gun was now back over his arm instead of pointing in front of them, Fran by his side as they silently walked, Ellie trailing behind them.

Ellie started blowing on something behind her, making Fran look at her a little confused. She looked ridiculous, cheeks puffed as she let a small trail of air leave her mouth, two fingers shoved between her gums.

Joel, at Fran's movement, turned to look too - with the attention of both adults now on Ellie, she decided to explain exactly what it was she was attempting.

"I'm learning how to whistle," She told them, words muffled by the fingers in her mouth.

"You don't know how to whistle?" Joel asked her, earning a deadpan look.

"Does it sound like I know how to whistle?" She asked him.

"No," he answered shortly, earning a small smile from the woman next to him as Ellie moved to be in front, looking back at him.

"Can you whistle?" Ellie asked Fran then; the woman responding by whistling a little tune, the noise enough to make Ellie's eyes roll. "Seriously, though, how the fսck do you do that?"

"Talent," Joel responded shortly.

"Whatever," Ellie mumbled, "You should teach me how to hunt. Maybe then we can have Fluffy's brother for dinner."

Just the name of the dead animal Fran had been taunted with yesterday was enough to have the woman rolling her eyes, while Joel responded with a "Huh."

"Huh? Like," Ellie took a deep breath before going into her very terrible Joel impression, "She's a girl. She can't handle it."