Joel Miller has another child who was just a couple of years old when everything went haywire. Follow their journey as Joel tries to keep her alive during the apocolypse. Which is hard considering she has asthma.
(TJ's P.O.V.) I was awoken by the aching of my muscle and the feeling of a dry throat. It felt like sandpaper whenever I tried to breath. The days prior now began to truly catch onto me. From nearly dying in a landromat, to getting swarmed by 100's of clickers whilst escaping from Kathleen and her soldiers and then eventually getting a severe asthma attack. But the last thing I remember was dad picking me up before taking off. I tried to stretch the ache out of my muscles but I was far to stiff to work it out fully. So instead, I just sat upright, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before looking around. It seemed to me, that I was in some abandoned motel room. I heard muffled voices coming from a different room. But it was 100% the voices from my father and Henry. I don't yet now where Ellie and Sam where at. I rose to my feet but got dizzy and my vision got dark. I raised my hand to my head as I sat back down after realising I might have stood up to quickly. After regaining my vision, I stood back up. More carefully this time. With exhaustion and sleep, I wandered over to the door that lead to the other room. I had to lean against the walls to keep myself steady, so I would't fall to the ground. I looked up to see Henry and my father watching me with concern written in their eyes. Dad turned to Henry "can you give us a minute?". Henry nodded and got up from his spot beside my father and headed over to a second bedroom, where I believe Sam and Ellie are in. As I watched Henry walk away, I began to have a slight coughing fit and dad waved me over. With a continuing cough I made my way over to the spot where Henry previously was sitting at, and plopped myself down. Dad leaned over and handed me my inhaler, which he retrieved from his pocket. I put the mouthpiece against my lips and took a deep breath in after I pushed the top down. The dry powder and distinct chalky like taste hit my throat and then lungs as I inhaled it. "you okay?" dad asked after I lowered the inhaler . I groan slighty as I swallow but nod none the less "Never better". "How's the wound" dad then asked gesturing to my side where I was shot. As a responce my hand went up to touch it carefully "I'm alive aren't I?" I retored with a half hearted smile, "barely" dad stated matter of factly. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, once more stretching to relief the tension in my muscles "think the asthma will kill me well before a bullet will" I chuckled softly and dad hums along. "So can we go to Wyoming now? To find uncle Tommy? Cause I am sick and tired of Kansas" I admitted, "and here I thought you where warming up to Kansas" dad laughed at me. I let out a fake laugh "Ha. Not in a million years will I ever return to fucking Kansas City". Dad snickered at my passion of hating on Kansas. I leaned back in the chair "So, will it be just us three? Or are we inviting Henry and Sam too?" I questioned my father hopefull. I had grown on the two and enjoyed their company. Ellie did too. "we'll see" dad answered and raised his shoulders.
I watched Ellie sit up again, when Henry had left after telling us to get some sleep. She scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed the comic-book once more. She gestured the book to Sam to which the boy eagerly responded to. Understanding that Ellie wanted to read more. I looked as she moved to sit beside Sam and began reading as if the boy could hear her. "Bingo! Should we knock? I don't see any weird movements. Stiff? Negative. Damage here in sector 153. Stella can you hear me? I read you. Okay from here-" she read with enthusiasm. Sam tapped her arm gaining her attention. Before also motioning for my attention. Both Ellie and I reacted to pay attention to the young boy. I looked at him as he took the self-made etchasketch from his neck and started writing. Sam showed it to Ellie before moving to show it to me. 'are you scared' it read. Before passing it to Ellie, who wrote on it after clearing the sketch 'do we not look scared?'. Sam writes another message after retrieving the board back. 'Never' he shows us. I sit upright and gesture for the sketch board. So, now I could write on it. 'I'm scared all the time'. Sam nodds after reading the message. Ellie snatching the board and I roll my eyes with a laugh. I note how her face became serious as she scribbles on the board. Turning it around so we could read. 'I'm scared of ending up alone'. My face falls slighty. Understanding her fear aswell. Ellie puts down another note as she voices the line out for me "What about you?", before handing the board to Sam. Who lets it sit in his lap for a moment as he reads it. I watch the boy erase the slate and write. Ellie and I share a look in anticipation. I gently take the board from him and Ellie comes to sit back beside me, to read it over my shoulder aswell. 'If you turn into a monster, is it still you insde?'. Both me and Ellie look Sam in the eye. Wonder crossed my mind why a 13 year old could ask this type of question. I watch as Sam pull his jeans up from the bottom of his left leg. My breath catches in my throat as I see the veins snake up his leg from a bloody bite on his ankle. "ah fuck" Ellie breathes out in the same shock I had expierenced. Quickly looking at the door before looking back at the bite on Sam's ankle. She uneasily shuffles beside me. I look at her for a moment before nodding. Silently telling her it was okay. Ellie nods back at me and then to Sam. Rolling up her sleeve to show the healed bitemark on her arm as I scribble down an explaination for Sam. 'Her blood is medicine'. Ellie gets to her knees and grabs her switchblade, opening it. I see Sam grit his teeth upon seeing the blade. Ellie slices a cut in her palm and squeezes out some blood and moves closer to Sam's injured leg. She places her bloody hand on his infected bitemark. Hopefully, Ellie is O-, the universal donor. The bloodtype that can give to anyone regardless of bloodtype. Otherwise let's hope Sam was AB+, the universal recipient. The one that can recieve any bloodtype. Sam whinces as Ellie tenderly holds his leg for a moment. Then eventually removes her hand and softly rubs the blood into the bitemark. Henry takes his pad and writes another message. 'Can you 2 stay awake with me?'. Ellie writes our responce, without even needing to know my asnwer. 'We promise'. Sam smiles and signs the word promise. Which both Ellie and me try to sign back.
I wake up, because of the sun shining through the window into my eyes. I sit up and nudge Ellie awake. We both turn to look at Sam, who sits on the edge of the bed, back turned to us. I stand up as Ellie stretches and I walk over to Sam. I tap his shoulder. Sam's head instantly snaps towards me before lunging towards me, with loud snarls and snapping jaw. A scream leaves me throat as we spill out of the bedroom, into the livingroom and continue to struggle against one another. "Dad!" I scream in a loud panic. From the corner of my eye, I can see him immediatly reach for a gun, but Henry was faster. Snagging it away and firing it at dad's feet to stop him from coming over to me. Dad shoots his hands in the air in surrender as I continue to fight with Sam. Then a gushot fires off and Sam falls away from me. Immediatly I shoot upright as I breath heavily. Blood seeps out from Sam's body as I sit staring at him. My lip was trembling as my heart sunk into a black abyss of despair and pain. "TJ" I hear the soothing voice of my father, snapping me out of my thoughts. As the tears well up in my eyes I turn to face him. "Are you okay?" he asked further, "I-I.. d-don't" I stammer as I begin to choke up, not being able to form a coherent sentence. I look as my father takes a step forward to come and comfort me. But immediatly stops as Hery points the gun at him. Dad put's his hands up, knowing Henry is just in shock and confused. Not knowing any better.
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Dad quickly looks between me and Henry "Easy, easy, easy" He tries to calm Henry down. But it was no use, Henry was breaking down further by the second as realisation of what he had done, came crashing down. "Henry, gimme the gun" Dad told him, pleaded with him. "What did I do? What did I do?" Henry began now asking as the shock made way for reality as he looked at his brother. "Sam" he cried out. "Henry. gimme the gun" dad tried once more, which made the older Burell brother look at him. I watched with horror filled eyes as Henry pushed the barrel against his head and within a second pulled the trigger. "Henry! NO!" dad his scream filled the room, but it was drowned out by the gunshot. An uncontrolled scream of terror leaves mine and Ellie's throats. Never having witnessed something like this before.
In a grassy field, me, Ellie and dad, shovel dirt into two large holes. Graves for both Sam and Henry. As me and Dad pat down the soil to even it out, Ellie had gone back to retrieve our packs. I can see she was holding Sam's magic-pad in her other hand as she put down our stuff. Before meandering over to Sam's grave. She squats down and looks at the freshly placed dirt. The wind is howling around us and in the distant I can hear a crow cawing. Ellie puts the writing-pad ontop of the grave and stares at it for a moment, before getting to her feet to face us. "Which way is West?" she asked with no emotion in her voice. Dad nods his way to our right side, indicating exactly where West is. Without another word, Ellie starts walking that way. I turn to look back at the slate pad to read the message Ellie had written. One last message for Sam.
