Lacy; The Last of Us

002. DVD Menu

Silence never used to bother Lacy, in fact, she welcomed it with open arms. It gave her exactly what she needed to get a read on her surroundings, whether it was the quiet whistle of the wind or the muffled growl of the dead.

It was different inside the walls of Jackson, there was always a quiet chatter of the citizens of Jackson. It was uncommon to experience a moment of silence behind the walls, especially when she and Jesse were together.

That's why the current silence was so off-putting to Lacy.

A knot formed in her gut as she went through the motions of tacking up her horse. Lacy couldn't help the feeling of dread that washed over her. She peeked over at Jesse from behind her horse, he stood his eyebrows knitted together in thought as he lifted the saddle onto his horse.

Jesse must have felt Lacy's eyes on him, as he finally spoke up, "Do you think Ellie and Dina will be here soon?"

Lacy shrugged in response, her eyes dropping away from his. Knowing her friends, she was sure that Dina and Ellie were in the middle of a snowball fight with the kids. The silence resurfaced between them as they waited for the other two to show up.

A few minutes passed before either of the girls made it to the stables. Lacy almost sighed in relief as the deafening silence was finally broken.

"Oh, look who decided to show up," Jesse noted, a hint of a humorous tone in his voice.

Ellie shook her head, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Jesse approached the two of them, weapons in hand, "One for you."

Ellie accepted the weapon, hanging the strap of the gun over her shoulder, and Jesse then turned to his ex-girlfriend, "And one for you."

Lacy watched him spin on his heel towards the main gate, "Open it up!"

The Miller girl turned to her friend, gently nudging her shoulder, "You've got a little snow on you. Those kids get a few good hits in?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, "Maybe. Little shits." 

The second part fell much quieter but still got a laugh out of Lacy. Jesse turned to the crew, clearly ready to throw out some instructions.

"Alright, you all know the drill," he started, "Run your routes, mark your log books, clear any infected you see. You run into anything you can't handle, you come back. Be smart about it. Alright, get going."

Lacy hoisted herself onto the horse and glanced at Jesse, "You ready for this?"

The ghost of a smile crossed over his face, "Always."

The words that they exchanged were almost ritualistic to the two of them. Every time that they went out on a patrol together it started with the same exchange of words. It always brought her some form of comfort. Even when she felt as though everything could fall apart at any moment.

Typically the second that main gate opened, Lacy would be on high alert. Always listening and looking for any sort of issues that could arise. That was her job after all. Though today, she was a bit distracted, her mind stuck on the silence between her and Jesse.

The horse hooves collided with the powdery snow in a repetitive pattern, until Lacy sped up a bit in order to reach Jesse's side.

"Are you mad at me or something?" 

A quiet scoff escaped Jesse's lips, "I'm not mad at you Lacy."

She bit down on her lip, her eyes remaining on Jesse who wouldn't look at her. They never really fought, so she wasn't exactly used to receiving the near-silent treatment from her friend. She just wanted him to speak to her.