NO LIGHT. ✹ E.W.

viii.

"Jesse?"

It takes your eyes a moment to focus, trying to determine if they're lying to you or not. Jesse was back in Jackson, he hadn't come along with you to Seattle. Yet there he was, standing by the door with his palms splayed open and trying to bypass Sully - which was not working out well, the dog followed his every move with quick eyes.

You're confused but still call Sully back to you, calmly sliding your hands over his fur in hopes of relaxing the dog. "How did you get here?" You question, pushing yourself up from the floor to meet his gaze. "When did you get here? Have you - " a pause, you sigh. "Have you seen Ellie or Dina?"

Jesse, now permitted inside of the room, steps over a fallen body, ( Sully took care of the other Seraphite while you were out, you figured. ) to stand next to you. He reaches around to his backpack, retrieving an old rag that he gives to you to wipe your face with. "No." He tells you, shaking his head as he speaks. "I didn't even know it was you until I came in the building and saw you." Concern is evident on his facial expression at the thought of something bad happening for you to have been separated from Ellie; he knew you'd never leave her side willingly during all this.

It's almost heartbreaking that he hasn't seen them. All you could think about was Ellie, in her state of mind you needed to be there, and Dina, for god's sake she was pregnant. She didn't need to be out there for so long. "We should get out of here." You tell him, turning by the door. "Sully, c'mon boy."

At first your walk is filled with silence, light questions from Jesse every now and then. His gaze often trails down to the furry companion trotting beside you, the slightest limp noticeable in his strides. But he stays right next to you the whole time, only straying to sniff the occasional building doorways - most of the time it's infected inside, a good indicator to not go in.

After a while of walking, you arrive on a street lined with old homes. In the distance you can hear the sound of vehicles, they're not close yet, but you know you'll have to start making tracks. Jesse's curiosity gets the best of him when you drop a piece of jerky down to Sully. "Where'd you find this big guy?"

You chuckle, turning your focus away from the abandoned coffee shop in front of you. "When I got separated from Ellie and Dina I got stuck in that office building, he was upstairs locked in a room. My guess is that those guys - the dead ones - killed his owner and injured him."

Jesse only nods at your words, still trying to make sense of how you'd gotten separated from Ellie. At this point soft drizzles of rain begun falling around you, trickling into your eyes and your clothes. You wondered if it was always this way in the city, rainy and gloomy, or if the sun shines often. However, the rain seemed to suit the city, and you never minded the weather. An amused smile curls on your lips at the thought of Ellie's reaction to the rain; you could hear her complaining about it now, you'd be sure to ask her about it when you find her.