Secrets And Hope {The Last Of Us Fanfiction}

VIII

The days slowly went by, slipping into weeks then into months. As autumn began to fade away, the first signs of winter started appearing in the air. The first flakes of snow floating from the sky, finding a home on the bare tree branches that swayed in the cold, bitter wind. The dying leaves crunched under his foot as Joel kneeled by an old fallen tree trunk, he lifted his rifle aiming at the grazing deer that stood a few metres away. Staying as silent as he could, Joel slowed his breath as he narrowed his eye down the scope. As he steadied his shot he pulled the trigger aiming for a kill shot.

"Ugh just shoot already!"

Joel flinched at Nora's sudden outburst causing the bullet to hit a nearby tree. He lowered his gun and sat back, sending her an irritated glare as the deer scampered off.

"Damn it woman, you made me miss!"

Nora smirked as her eyes levelled with Joel's.

"Sure I did... is it my fault you missed that buck a mile back too?

"Alright then why don't you do it!"

"Alright, move over slick."

Joel smiled as he handed Nora the hunting rifle. She tugged the bar back to reload and slowly moved closer to the deer. She lifted the rifle and aimed, effortlessly shooting as a single gunshot echoed as the deer fell to the ground with a thud. Turning back to Joel, Nora smiled as she handed him his gun.

"There. Maybe at this rate we might actually get back before sundown."

"Just get the goddamn deer!"

"Right behind you."

As they approached the deer Nora glanced to Joel with a smile of pride as they looked at the single shot that seemed to have taken it down instantly. Joel nudged the deer with his boot as he folded his arms.

"Huh. Not bad."

"Not bad? Heh I hate to think what it takes to really impress you!"

Joel chuckled as he went to lift the deer over his shoulder.

"Come on, we'd better start heading back. You grab the horses, I'll bring the deer over."

Nora nodded as she turned to walk back. But the eerie screeches and clicks echoing from within the trees caused both her and Joel to freeze.

A single clicker appeared from the nearby forest, stumbling and flinching through its surroundings. Joel stood by the deer and slowly reached for the rifle hanging from his shoulder. He glanced across to Nora as her eyes locked with his. With just glances each knew what the other was thinking as Nora slowly kneeled down to pick up a rock. Each move she made, cautious and silent. With a swing of her arm she threw the rock at the clicker's head as it hissed aggressively, staggering towards her. Joel swiftly aimed his rifle and shot the clicker dead as it fell to the floor.

They both let out a sigh of relief only for it to catch in their throats as more clickers appeared from within the forest. One after the other, each hissing and lashing out for its next catch. The horses' reared and whinnied as the pack of clickers screeched and ran for Nora. Joel aimed to shoot once again but let out a forced breath as more infected appeared. The horses galloped away in fear as some of the clickers quickly follow behind them. The trees erupted to life as more infected staggered from behind them, Joel looked to Nora as she stood outnumbered.

Taking a chance he bolted towards her, taking her hand and pulling her away.

"Nora run!"

Nora and Joel took off through the forest, carefully moving passed the trees as the clickers screeched after them. Coming to a fence, Joel quickly leaped over before helping Nora. They continued through a wide field that was dusted with light snow. After running for as long as they could, their legs began to burn as they stopped gasping for lost breath. Looking around Joel quickly pulled Nora inside an old rundown building. They closed and barricaded the door before glancing through the window.

"Alright we're okay, I think we lose em'."

"Where the hell did they even come from?"

"I don't know. Must've been a nearby town we didn't know about, must've heard the gunshot."

Nora took a second to steady her breathing as she glanced around the building. It looked to be an old abandoned warehouse or factory of some kind. The place was picked clean, only a bare empty room and broken windows to speak of. She rubbed her arms for warmth, only now starting to feel the cold. Joel stepped forward as he checked his rifle was still in working order.

"Guess we're staying the night here huh?"

"Well it's too dark to start heading back now. The horses are gone and we don't got no way of knowing how far from Tommy's we are."

Nora laughed in spite of herself as she let out a deep sigh of defeat.

"Well this is fucking great!"

"Let's take a look around, see if there's any supplies. There's gotta be somethin' here we can use to stay warm for the night."

Nora sighed again as she stepped forward. The placed seemed empty so the chances of finding anything seemed slim. As she walked through the room, her every stepped was echoed.

Joel looked around but found nothing. Scratching his neck he sighed deeply, all he could think about was Ellie being on her own for the night. Sat by the window waiting for him and Nora to come back, he knew she'd be worried and he was worried about her. But knowing he couldn't do anything right now, he tried to stay positive. He knew Tommy and Maria would take care of her should she need looking after. Joel turned back to Nora and watched as she searched around for supplies.

"Find anything?"

"No nothin' yet."

Joel paused when he noticed something shining against Nora's flashlight. A thin wire hanging just above the floor, he quickly raced to Nora's side as her foot caught the tripwire.

"Nora!"

Joel felt the ground shake under him along with the ear-piercing sound that followed, smashing the windows and walls around them. He lost his grip on Nora as they fell through the floor landing with a heavy thud, the roof collapsing down on top of them. The last thing Joel could make out was the shower of wood and glass that fell on top of them before he slipped into darkness.