Even When the World Comes Down (Sequel to Always & Forever)

Chapter 50 - Beth

I had managed to find a little bit of food at the places I had looked. There was only so many houses left in the area. Going into town wasn't an option. I made sure to tell Ellie that we wouldn't venture into the town unless we were together. I didn't know who or what lurked there. It was best to stay close to the house we had stumbled upon. Joel still hadn't woken up but I still hoped he would. I got to the house and entered through the garage.

"Ellie?!" I called.

There wasn't an answer.

"Ellie are you back?!" I called again.

Nothing. I sighed. If she wasn't back within the next few minutes, I'd go back out to look for her. It was a cold day and I didn't want her getting stuck outside. I knew she could handle herself but she could have run into trouble nonetheless. Deciding to let her hunt by herself was a huge thing to not only her but to me as well. It was the first time that I decided something where Ellie was concerned without Joel's console. Considering he wasn't conscious at the time, I had to take that into making the decision. How could I not? It was made. Now I just hoped to see her soon enough. I went into the house and to the basement where we had left Joel. I placed my bags near the stairs and went over to kneel next to him. I ran my fingers through his hair ever so gently and kissed his forehead.

"I got us a bit of food. It won't last long but it's something. I'm just waiting on Ellie to make it back so she could have something in her belly. She such a strong little girl, Joel. You'd be proud of how she's taken charge. I know I am. That's why you need to hurry up and get better so you could see for yourself," I said.

I wiped my eyes because looking at him this way hurt more than he'd ever know. I rested my head on his and closed my eyes.

I wasn't sure as to how long I had stayed like that when I heard the garage door open. I stood up and made my way out the basement again. I was met with Ellie halfway and went up to embrace her tightly.

"Are you okay? What took you so long?" I asked when I parted.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. There was...there was just a lot to scavenge through," she said.

"You didn't go into town, did you?" I asked.

"No. Beth. I promise, I didn't go into town. I did find this though," she said holding up two bottles of penicillin and a syringe.

My eyes widened.

"Where'd you get this?" I asked.

"There was uh...this abandoned cabin in the middle of the forest that was pretty well stocked. Oh and here. It won't last very long but it's something," she said holding up a rabbit.

"You did great, kiddo. I'll make a fire and we'll have rabbit tonight. How's that sound?" I asked.

"I'm starving," she said.

"Okay. Let's get that medicine to Joel," I said.

The both of us made our way back down the basement and Ellie went to kneel by Joel.

"Joel? I only managed to get a little bit of food. But...I did get this," she said reaching for the bottle of penicillin.

I handed it to her and started to gather things for the fire. While working to get the fire started, I was startled by the sound of Joel grunting.

"Sorry," Ellie said.

I went over and nudged her elbow.

"Just means that he's still with us. He should be up and about soon enough," I said.

"I hope so. Do you need help with the fire?" she asked. "I've almost got it, sweetie. Thanks. You up for skinning a rabbit?" I asked.

She looked over at me and lit up.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. Come here," I said.

She came to my side, gave me the rabbit she had caught and seemed eager to learn.

"So the easier way for skinning a rabbit is by starting at the neck," I started.

The arrow had pierced it right where I needed to start.

"You got him right where we need to start cutting. Now, turning him over, you're gonna slit its throat and make sure the cut it deep enough," I continued showing her how to handle it.

"Slit its throat. Got it," she said.

"Yeah. Now, this will make it easier to pull off the fur coat. Here, pull the fur in the direction of its feet," I said handing her the rabbit.

She took it and did as I had said. I watched in awe as she was able to skin the fur completely off.

"That's it, Ellie. Good job," I said.

She smiled then handed the rabbit back to me.

"It's the same thing with the head," I said.

I then pulled the fur off the head and we had skinned the rabbit.

"You learned something today," I said with a smile.

"Yeah. Now, how do we cook it?" she asked.

"Well we gotta gut it then clean it. I'll show you and you can try it on another rabbit we find," I said.

"Sounds good," she said.

She watched as I gutted then cleaned it up. I got the fire started and she helped me attach it to a steak fork we found in one of the drawers.

"Dinner time," I said once it was ready to eat.

We ate what we could then decided to put aside some for Joel for whenever it was that he woke up.

"I wish he'd wake up already," Ellie said when we were getting ready to go to bed.

"Me too, sweetie. The medicine should help though. I still can't believe you were able to find that. And in an abandoned cabin? Talk about luck," I said.

"Yeah. It was all luck," she said sounding a little off.

I turned to look at her.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Everything's fine," she said.

"Are you sure? Ever since you came back, I noticed you've been a little shaky. Did you run into something while you were out there?" I asked.

"No. I...well, I uh...I sort of had the chance to bring back a buck," she said.

"Really? Well, what happened?" I asked.

"Um...A pack of wolves came by and well...there was no way of me approaching it without them seeing me as their next target," she said.

"Oh. That sucks. I'm sorry about that, Ellie. If it's any consolation, the rabbit did fill me up better than I would have expected," I said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

I nodded my head.

"Now, we better get some shut eye. We gotta take advantages of it when we can," I said.

The both of us then stood to go on either side of Joel. We laid down and both rested a hand on his chest. I could feel his chest going up and down steadily. He'd come back to us soon enough. In time, I'd be able to get my Joel back. We just needed to wait a little longer. This place seemed secure enough. There was no way of anything going wrong. I closed my eyes with that hope in my heart and let sleep take over.