#henry tlou x reader

[hardbeingcasual]

I read your henry burrell fanic and loved it!! Ibwas wondering if you could do another one but fluffy n stuff? (fem reader)

HOW TO DISAPPEAR henry x fem reader

SUMMARY: After fighting a bunch of infected, you and Henry look after each other to make sure you’re both okay.

WARNINGS: basically fluff with a teensy bit of sadness ? idk. but it’s basically just cutesy, short but cute !

notes: since there is no henry fics AT ALL i’m doing the honours and making them ‼️

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You try your best to scrub the blood off your hands from the infected’s brain you had drove your knife in, but you couldn’t seem to get it off. You let out a frustrated yell as you bring your hands to your head to cover it. Your brain would not stop spiralling. Millions of thoughts going through it at once.

You didn’t notice Henry had came up to you until you feel his hand on your shoulder, you flinch at the contact before then releasing who it was. “It’s just me.” He states as he stares at you with a soft expression. The look he always gives you, love.

“Sorry,” You apologise.

“You need to stop doing that.”

Your eyebrow raises, “Doing what?”

“Apologising.” He answers.

You sigh, “Yeah, I know. Sorry—” You catch yourself, “Shit. Sorr— I done it again. God.” You put your hands to your face in embarrassment but move them when you hear Henry laughing. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Yes.” He answers between chuckles.

“So rude.” You roll your eyes playfully but you were laughing along too.

“Sorry.” He mocks you, with a playful smile on his face.

“Oh you’ve crossed a line now.” You glare playfully at him, “Mocking me? Seriously. So uncool.”

You both hear shuffling of feet, you look up from your position on the floor to see Sam looking at you both with confused looks. “What are you guys talking about?” He signs.

“We’re talking about how much of an idiot your brother is.” You sign back.

“Wow, thats rude.” Henry says but also signs at the same time, for Sam.

“Its true.” Sam signs.

You let out the loudest laugh known to man, “Even your little brother agrees.”

tags

@zndayacc

[the-abyss-of-fandoms]

Me every time Joel reloaded his hunting rifle:

[damn-stark]

Tragedy at the Miller’s

Joel Miller x daughter!fem-reader, Henry x fem!reader

The last of us rewrite

Summary- A simple family in a simple city. Your family may be small but it was a good family. Life was good.

That was until the day of the outbreak, after tragedy strikes, after your older sister Sarah dies everything you once knew dies with her. Now after 20 years the dad you once had is like a stranger, the world you knew is now overrun by infected, and you now have to fight to survive even if any night be your final night alive.

Yet even with the world is shit, you still want to know the world, you still crave to find love…you still crave your fathers love. Will he be everything you want, or will he replace you with the cargo he needs to smuggle across the country.

Song playlist, additional character intros

Season 1

Chapter 1 Beautiful girl

Chapter 2 Butterfly

Chapter 3 I’d make a deal with god

Chapter 4 This charming man

Chapter 5 Where has the time gone?

Chapter 6 Precious girls

Chapter 7 Blood on our hands

In-between season 1 & 2

Chapter 8 In the meadow

Additional scenes

Before dawn (takes place between chapter 1)

[ameagrice]

Genesis

chapter three

summary: you begin the journey across the country with two adults who couldn’t hate you more.

Marlene handed you over to them without hesitation. Take her, she yelled, getting away before FEDRA showed up. Get her there, Joel!

Now, Joel is a man you decide to be in his late forties, with greying hair, and a pissed-off-don’t-talk-to-me look about him. He’d looked at you with nothing but distain the second Marlene hauled off.

Here’s how it went:

“She’s immune, Tess. No—listen! I know what you’re thinking, but I’ve seen it. I’ve watched her for a week. She’s immune.” Those words meant nothing to Tess, a woman near Joel’s age, with also greying, brown hair and a piss-me-off-and-I’ll-kill-you look about her. They’re a team, this Joel and Tess. They’re going to take her across the country and hand her over to them when they arrive, them, being Marlene’s team.

“Do you have a clue what’s out there?” Joel spat, waving his gun around. Slight exaggeration—he waved it. Marlene pressed her hand against her stomach, against the blood bulging out there, breathing deeply.

“Of course I do! But, do this for me, and you can have whatever supplies you want for however long you want. I promise. You’ll have no trouble from us. We’ll help you out—the Fireflies; if you need protection, we will—”

“Yeah, alright, Marlene,” Tess scoffed. She paced the rotting hall, floorboards creaking, all the while the sound of FEDRA got closer. She stopped short and shared a look with Joel. Neither of them had spoken to you, like you were invisible, an imaginary thing they could only talk about. “What are you thinking?”

Marlene huffed. Your head turned like a ping-pong ball, this way and that, between the three adults. “Y’all talk it out, but remember I’m bleeding here!”

The pair talked amongst themselves for a few seconds, in a corner of the hall, voices hushed. Finally, just as the flashing lights arrived through the grimy windows, Tess strolled over, picking up your knife from the floor—you had unsuccessfully tried to stab Joel. Feral, he had called you, you want us to take this feral kid?

“We get all the guns we want,” she declared. “Accommodation when we need it, and food, medication. We get this kid there unharmed, and we have a deal. Agreed?”

“Yes!” Marlene snapped, rolling off her leaning stance against the wall. “Can we go before we’re hanged?”

“What?!” You shrieked. Even now, you remember the way Tess had looked at you: like you were one of the decaying infected out behind the walls. “I’m not going with them! Marlene—!” These people were strangers, and clearly thugs—trading you for guns.

Her eyes pleaded with you, weak, and walking backward to the exit. “I’ll meet you on the other side, alright? Now go!” Cops began yelling outside. “Take her! Get her there, Joel!”

Tess snatched your elbow with a strong grip, fingers digging in hard. She pulled you along, through a gap in the wall you hadn’t seen. “Get down the ladder. Move.”

“Fuckin’ Marlene,” Joel grumbled above you, climbing down after you, marshmallowed between the two adults. “ ‘S exactly what we need. Where now?”

“Back to the apartment,” Tess demands. “We’ll figure it out there.” Tess is strong of tone and sure of herself, and it’s intimidating. Joel is harsh-toned and refuses to look at you, which might be worse. Either way, you’re feeling pretty intimidated by these adults.

Town is crawling with cops, even more than usual. They’re raiding the building and the ones around it forcing people out into the thunderstorm raging overhead, even the kids. The sky is dark, plummets of rain forcing down on everyone’s heads. Tess and Joel crouch by the staircase of which you’ve emerged by, looking left and right before Joel runs across, straight into an alley opposite. He holds against the wall and peers out, before gesturing for Tess to follow. She snatches your wrist and gets to her feet, looking around as you run. Her longer strides yank you along at an impossible speed, and if she wasn’t holding on tight, you would have tripped from the get-go.

They seem to know their way easily. Up the rusty steps of a fire escape stairwell, through that door at the top and round a block of apartments, down, down, down until you’re back on the ground floor. Then it’s across another street, through barbed-wire topped alleyways, until they’re slowing, ducking into an apartment block. The hallways are covered in wilting wallpaper, and dirty hardwood. Some people are home, voices floating through their apartment doors. Tess has long since let you go, so you opt for trailing after them up the stairs to the third floor, all the way to the end of the hallway, to a door on the right. Tess unlocks the beaten door with a set of jingling keys, pushing it open.

“Get in,” she orders, so you trudge between the adults into the apartment, where the door swings shut behind you. Instantly you’re on guard.

“Hey!” You try the handle, giving the door a strong pull, to no avail—someone’s holding it on the other side. You drop your hand and press your ear to the door, trying to listen to them. All you get is muffled words—voices low.

You take the time to look around. It’s small. The wallpaper is floral and faded—not something you’d have imagined people like Tess and Joel to have in their home. A slouchy sofa sits by the window, a side table beside it and a coffee table opposite. In the adjoining kitchen are the typical, worn cupboards in nearly every facility in the Zone, a table and chairs set neatly in the middle. Curtains, a painted butterfly in the window, and a couple of pictures standing on the window ledge: Tess and a little boy. Joel and another man. None of Tess and Joel together, which you think is relatively strange.

The door open jolts you back into the living room. It’s Joel, only Joel, rubbing his forehead like he has a headache.

You hesitate before you speak. “Where’s Tess?”

Joel ignores you, sitting down on the sofa and leaning his head back.

“When are we leaving?”

“I don’t know.” Hm. Progress.

“What are we doing now?”

“Waiting.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

“Figure it out.”

You huff, turning in a circle for something to do. Joel appears to fall asleep, and you wave a hand in front of his face daringly, testing a response. He doesn’t budge.

The shelf holding papers and books looks interesting. You take a slim one from the end, American Woman. At first it’s good enough—new books are always good at first. But it soon proves boring, and you dump it back where you found it. It’s still drizzling outside, and the sky is darkening with nightfall instead of thunderclouds, by the time Joel wakes and Tess returns.

“You got a coat in that pack?” She asks you, and you nod your head. “Good. It’s time to go.”

She and Joel spends a few minutes throwing things into their backpacks, things from the kitchen—rations, bottles of water, the pictures and things from the bedroom and bathroom. You can’t fit your whole life into bags, so when they’re not looking, you take some memorabilia from here, too, to remember your pit stop: the butterfly in the kitchen window, a book. Your own belongings—the small amount of things you own—are in there, too, stolen from your dormitory after Marlene’s group caught you. Your hairbrush, the water bottle from the night, your necessities. There are a couple of tees and leggings, too, and a book of your own, and finally your precious Walkman. The only things you own. Ironically, a Firefly also shoved in your grey hooded jacket, lettered in gold: FEDRA TRAINEE. Because that’s what you are. You don’t doubt they didn’t take it for what you’re training to become, though, and more for warmth. In a few weeks the temperatures will fall even further.

Tess is fumbling around in the bathroom while Joel sits waiting on the sofa, elbows on his knees, silent. He hasn’t looked at you still, and it’s grinding on your anxious nerves. You’re going beyond the walls of the Zone. This won’t be like exploring with Rudy, where your biggest threats are gangs and older men. No, out there, your biggest threat is also the source of all your confusion.

“We’re gonna be okay out there, right?” Your words cut through the silence like a knife. Joel opens his eyes, blinking at the wall next to your head. “I mean, you’ve done this before, haven’t you? So we’re gonna be okay.”

Finally, those empty eyes land on your own. He doesn’t speak for a second, just searching your face. Then he sighs through his nose slowly and nods his head. “Yeah.”

That one word is enough of a prompt to get you to your feet, abandoning the arm of the chair. Thunder cracks and rumbles in the distance; you turn your head to watch at the window.

“Alright,” Tess strolls in. “Time to go.”

You’ve shrugged on your FEDRA trainee jacket and pulled up the hood, laying on the thin black coat Marlene dug up from somewhere for you. There wasn’t much need for proper coats at the school: you never left the walls of the building unless on a guided walk by the guards, and even that was rare. The times you slipped out around the Zone were only because Rudy had the guts to go and drag you with him. In the winter, Rudy’s inquisitive nature was a curse.

Tess leads the way down the apartment block with Joel calling out questions to her, that have no real meaning to you: exit round the back or the slow way? should we drop by the South end first?

FEDRA presence is still very, very strong. They’re storming the streets, even in this awful rainstorm, their radioes blaring directions and muffled tones from the headquarters. Tess stops by the front door and turns her head this way and that before she sets off with a hand to the hood of her jacket. For a second, you watch as the rain bounces off of it like pelts, until Joel shoves you firmly in the back with a strong hand, almost winding you. You trail after Tess with a hammering heart, wishing somebody were here to save you. What would they do, really, if you approached a FEDRA officer and explained you were being smuggled across the country by two random strangers? But then, you would have to explain why you were being smuggled by two random strangers, and it wouldn’t end well.

“Keep your head down,” he mutters, jogging after you. “Follow Tess.”

It’s easier to do as he says, though everything in you is screaming to yell back. Tess is almost a blur of khaki as she zips through streets and people, until you reach a barren area full of wilting, soggy boxes. You don’t ask where you are, and don’t have much chance to, before Tess is crouching and yanking on a drain cover. She looks up to Joel, eyes falling to you, and back again.

“I’ll head down first,” she breathes, ditching the dirty cover. “Get a look at the other end. If I come back, we’re all clear, if I don’t…”

Joel nods his head, expression unclear. Is that the only look he has? He guides you to the wall and you’re pliant, while he stands at the end of the street keeping watch. You’re tempted to follow Tess anyway and avoid being stuck here with Joel any longer, but before you know it, she’s back, lifting herself out of the drain. Joel turns.

“Alright,” she nods. “Let’s go.”

It’s so dark, even with Tess’s flashlight. Joel digs around for one too, in his pack, and you travel between them in the cramped drain. It’s barely big enough to crouch for you, never mind Tess and Joel. But they manage. It smells of shit and drains and dirty water, but it’s surprisingly empty, besides the odd sprinkling of moss and weeds growing. You stop and listen every few yards, before Tess waves you onward. The irrational fear of the drain being filled with water starts to become overwhelming just as you approach the decline and the raising ceiling. It leads out to a small running river, where Joel rises to his feet and stretches his strong arms above his head. His back pops and echoes. You scrunch your nose.

Tess has moss in her tied-up hair by the time she and Joel walk off down the embankment, and you wait a second to see what happens. They don’t turn back around, talking only in hushed voices with a lot of hand movement. You blink, feeling slightly dejected. FEDRA won’t have you back, Marlene passed you off like a broken clock, and now the two people who promised to get you to wherever the Fireflies are, are just walking off without you. Maybe they think you’ll just run after them. After all, it’s dark and you’re without a flashlight in a place you’ve never been before.

And if they thought that, they’d be right.

You sprint after them, slowing by the stream, and begin to panic as their lights disappear, turning the corner. You’re blindly stepping up an incline, beginning to get nervous.

“Tess?” You try, voice echoing. You guess you’re under some sort of tunnel, or bridge. With no answer, your heart speeds up. “Tess?!”

A flashlight appears around the corner, a tall figure looking very pissed off. An annoyed Joel, waiting on you. Although Joel’s presence doesn’t exactly calm your nerves, it calms a section of them, and you scurry to him like a scared kid. Which is definitely not what you are.

“Move it,” he hisses, waving his flashlight on the path. Something twangs in your chest, and you walk with your head down past the man. When you catch up, Tess is kneeling, pulling weeds and brambles away from another tunnel. She grimaces, looking down at her hands. The tunnel looks eery and grim, and you really don’t want to go down there.

“Alright,” she sighs, turning her head to meet your slightly-anxious gaze. “It’s just through here. When we go through here, don’t make a sound. Got it? There’s a lot of FEDRA on the other side tonight. If they catch us, we’re all dead. Understand?”

You nod frantically, mutely. Better to be quiet now. She hums, and holds your gaze for a second before the pair of light eyes move away.

This tunnel is arguably better, but it’s still a tunnel. By the time you’re out, you’re breathless and breathing deep, and your back is aching. You get to your feet and brush off your knees. You’re finally outside of the Zone.

“No fuckin’ way!” You laugh. Tess shushes you, but doesn’t look angry. The three of you walk in silence, sneaking around the debris scattered here, until you turn the corner. There’s a bit of light coming from the wall by the Zone’s entrance and a car engine rumbles, but so far, there are no guards this far out.

Until Tess slams to a stop, holding her arm out to stop you, too. Joel steps back, tilting his head slightly. They share a look, some form of silent communication, and then Joel nods his head, stepping out quietly. You and Tess follow him.

“Hey—hey! Stop! Fucking stop where you are!”

You freeze on the spot, gaze falling to the guard who’s fumbling for his gun laying against the wall. Tess sighs heavily.

“Hey, come on, man, just forget we were here!”

“Forget it?” He laughs. By now he has his gun in one hand, and has brought out the scanner used to detect Cordyceps in the other. “Hands up. Get on your knees. I said get on your fucking knees!”

You shift on your feet, looking to Tess for guidance. She’s visibly angry and nervous. Her eyes meet yours, looking to Joel. “Just get on your knees. Just get down.”

The three of you kneel with your hands behind your head in a line, while the guard goes to Tess first. The scanner bleeds green light, and Tess scoffs, whipping her head around to glare at him. “Seriously, man?!”

“Yeah, seriously. We’re doing this by the book. Unauthorised exit out of a Quarantine Zone—they’ll hang you for that.”

“Look, you let us go, we’ll give you half off on the next run,” Joel bribes.

“Half off? All off. For the rest of the fucking year.”

It beeps green at Joel’s neck, and he approaches you.

“Look, you let us do this, and let’s just forget about it all.”

The scanner beeps, and you already know what the colour will be. Determined not to let Joel and Tess kill you, you turn abruptly and knock the scanner from the guard’s hand, he yells, and reach for your knife from your pocket, digging it right in his thigh. Tess shouts something furious at you, while the guard screams in painc dropping the scanner. He dives for his gun as you get to your feet, aiming for your head, retreating in sudden fear.

Joel moves in front of you. “Stop! We can talk this out!”

He’s relentless. “Move.” The light from the gun is blinding, bright and unmoving. “I said, move.” The gun clicks, and Joel doesn’t hesitate. He throws himself at the guard, the two practically wrestling. Joel gets a hit in, hard, and the guard goes down, trying to get his hands around Joel’s throat. You can hear your pulse in your ears, watching Joel’s fist go down over and over against the guard’s head, until he relents, heaving for breath with a bloody, shaking fist. The man on the ground doesn’t move.

You’re transfixed, barely able to believe what Joel has done. It’s horrifying and gross, but Joel saved your life in doing so. He’s staring at the man, catching his breath.

Movement on the ground behind you prompts you to step aside, heart plummeting to your stomach. Tess has picked up the scanner, and looks between the scarlet colour illuminating her face, to your own, an unfathomable look. She looks away, at Joel.

“Joel!” She calls, and you try to snatch it from her; she leans away, holding it out of your reach, showing Joel. He doesn’t move, doesn’t look away from the scanner showing red, a look you can’t describe.

“No,” you try. “I’m not sick! I’m not infected!”

“Joel!” She barks, kicking the man into action.

“Oh yeah?” He exclaims, taking the scanner from Tess’s outstretched hand. “Then explain this.”

“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not sick. Believe me!” You try, flaying your hands. Tess raises to her feet, and clutches her gun, raising it level with you. “I swear! Please just believe me—”

“Why should we?”

That’s when the sound of vehicles get closer, the familiar hum of FEDRA cars. Searchlights grow brighter. Tess and Joel share a look of desperation. The man reaches down and swipes you up by the strap of your backpack, pulling you along almost quicker than your feet can catch up. Tess sprints alongside, shutting off her flashlight. You’re running practically blind, with only Joel’s guiding hand on your back to lead you in the right direction.

Somewhere in the distance, an Infected screams, and behind you, FEDRA grow closer; you have no choice but to keep going, trusting Tess and Joel with your life.

[blank-slate-jay]

Louder than Words

Joel Miller x Male!Reader

Summary: Joel feelings for you start to come to light while talking with Henry. Things between you two take off when Joel finds you alone, and finally takes his chance. (Setting and story moments from Episode 5)

Tags: Fluff, Kissing(Slightly Smutty), Soft Joel, mention of violence

Word Count: 2.7K A/N: Time for some more Joel Miller! This time something more sweet and passionate. Writer's block made this one take forever to finish, but here we are. Any who enjoy!

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODE 5*

A loud crack at the wall echoed within the sealed room. Ellie excitedly jumped up, cheering after scoring a goal. Ellie and her new friend, Sam, were occupying themselves with a game of soccer to past the time.

You were setting your supplies down on a desk that hosted a stereo and lamp in a dark part of the settlement. Seemed like a perfect place to get yourself situated, so you got to work turning both the devices on and getting your things organized in your bag.

Joel and Henry, both sitting at small tables on the other side of the room, were watching the kids play. Whether it was out of boredom or just seeing them entertained brought them the same emotions, wasn't clear.

"If you were collaboratin' to take care of him...I shouldn't have said what I said. I don't know your situation." He offered his apologies to Henry, explaining the cruelty of FEDRA's intention of trying to kill him.

Due to Joel's show of empathy, Henry took the opportunity to open up about his first kill. "There was a man, a great man". By the way Henry explained him, his death almost seemed unwarranted. His selfishness, forgiving nature...having to kill somebody like that must've been difficult. His face made it obvious.

Henry continues after a short pause, "Have you ever met someone like that? Kinda man you'd follow anywhere."

Joel felt his heart jump at said words, his eyes instinctively looking over at you. You were moving your head in sync with the music while patching up your weapons, unnaturally calm about their coming mission. You were just like that, seemingly levelheaded even if the worse was to come. It was something Joel just couldn't get his head around. Yet he still found it comforting, perhaps he knew he could lean on someone in dire situations.

While Joel's attention was brought back to Henry's further explanation, you proceed to set your gun down after making some modifications to it. You turn the volume of the stereo down some, eyes catching a softball just off to the side. You stopped what you were doing, picking the ball up with an idea coming to mind.

Ellie and Sam began chasing each other around, but you were about to ruin their fun. You came out of your dark corner shouting to the two, "Heads up". You threw the ball at Ellie who didn't have enough time to react and ended up being hit in the shoulder. She turns to you with a confused look.

"Ooo..did that hurt?" you say in a mocking manner.

"Screw you" she retorted, retreating the ball off the ground and throwing it back at you.

You of course caught it with ease, "Dodgeball ain't your sport kid."

Ellie scoffed, "I didn't even get a chance, pass it here...I'll show you."

Your eyebrows raised before looking over to the 'Goal' writing on the wall. You walk over to the goal frame, passing the ball too Ellie. "Alright, you two you gotta hit me. Best-" As quick as the words came out of your mouth, Ellie threw the ball at you.

Ellie giggled, watching your expression changed to one of shock. "What? You said hit you..."

You sighed, passing it back to them, "When I say go, Ellie. Like I was saying, best game out of three. I dodge and you two try to hit me. Each round is complete after one attempt from both of you." Sam was then notified how to play the game via his magic slate board and they begun.

Unfortunately for the kids, your reaction time was unmatched. Not a single throw had landed. Ellie decided then and there to hand the ball to Sam, pointing her fingers down at the ball and then towards you. She then charges toward you and jumps onto you. You yelp as the her weight and grip kept you in place.

It clicked then for Sam what Ellie was trying to do, and he proceeds to bombard you with blows from the softball. The kids laughing and smiling in taking their revenge got a smirk out of Henry.

"It's nice seeing that boy happy..." Henry mentions, referring to his brother, "Very rarely does he even crack a smile." Both Joel and him watched as the chaos unfolded, certainly clear to them now that they were entertained. “And your friend is something. Don’t come by someone like that often”.

Joel replies trying to hide his smirk from forming, “Yeah, something for sure.”

Henry looks at Joel, who still had his eyes on the chaos. He thought for a second before stating, "He's a good guy, you know”.

Joel could only give Henry a puzzled look as a response, trying to figure out what the man was getting at.

“You may not be his, and she not be your daughter, but you were someone’s at some point. I can tell,” Henry exclaims.

All Joel could think was how perceptive Henry had to be to figure that out. They had just met not even half a day ago and he seems to have a general idea about them. Joel couldn’t tell if he feels relief or offended by his feelings being plastered out in front of him.

Seconds later, Joel decides to end the conversation entirely by getting up, “We need to leave. We’ve waited long enough.”

———

It was far late into the night now. The group had posted up at a motel after just barely making it through a fight between FEDRA and a horde of clickers. Everyone by this point was exhausted and getting ready for bed, except you weren’t back inside yet.

Earlier you had stepped out, saying you needed some air. So instead of getting comfortable on the floor, Joel gets up to leave the apartment.

Stepping out into the night, he's hit with the night's cool air. He looks in both direction and spots you half way down he open hall with your arms leaning against the railings. Gently, he closes the door behind him and walks over to you. His heavy footsteps alerting you of his presence.

You greeted him, “Joel.”

“Y/n”, he says, rubbing his hands together. The man stood a few feet from you, “Cold ain’t it?”

“No…weather is quite nice. And you're not warm in that,” pointing out his light brown jacket.

Joel shook his head, moving closer to the railing, "Barely." An awkward silence lingered over the two as there wasn't much either one of you wanted to say.

Even with very little on your mind, you tried to spark up a conversation,"Today was quite eventful.”

Joel hummed, leaning against the rails like you were, “Yeah, we’re lucky nobody got hurt.”

“Seriously. I could barely tell what was happening. I honestly thought we were done for", a small bit of fear was noticeable through your tone. “Thankfully we had you watching our backs”.

Joel could sense his heart picking up hearing you say that. His compliment was well rewarded after saving you and Ellie multiple times from being bitten. The man could snipe for sure. “I’m just glad that massive clicker didn’t get ahold of any of ya.”

“The massive what?”

“Some overgrown clicker just emerged among the horde and started attacking everyone in sight.”

You raised a brow, a bit skeptical on how you didn't manage to see it. “Uh huh…you sure you weren’t just seeing things?”

"I'm certain of what I saw",

You backed off, "Okay then. I do wonder how you didn't shit your pants seeing that." Joel let out a quick laugh with a look of slight amusement and disgust. "What? I mean I would've shit pants. I would've even screamed it out loud."

"Y/n..."Joel cracked up some, trying to keep himself from bursting out in laughter by hiding his face in his shoulder. "That is a stupid thing to do."

"Hey at least everyone would feel ok to admit it as well."

Joel just couldn't help but imagining that scenario playing out. One guy screaming it first, creating a domino effect where everyone around just begins to say it too. The absurdity of a situation like that only made it funnier to Joel as he failed to hide his laugh. For a guy who hid his emotions a lot, his silent giggles were quite contagious.

You chuckle along with him asking, "What?"

The older man couldn't get a word out to respond, his face turning redder by the second. He buried his face in his palm and continued to laugh, trying hard to get it out of his head. There was no use, you had put that image in his head and was now irreversible. Both of you went on for almost a full minute before your amusement began to subside.

Joel was the last of the two to pull himself together, sniffing and clearing his throat up to gain control of himself. The silence before that plague the air was now back, only this time, things felt a lot more comfortable. Having Joel there, and the fact that he was a lot more loose played into it. You wished the man was like that more often. Sadly though you knew you needed as much rest as you could get. Tomorrow was undetermined, so it pained you to have to cut your time with Joel short.

"Alright Joel, we should probably head back in now", you suggested, removing your arms from the rails to stretch them out.

Joel nods, "Yeah we should," he really didn't want to. His voice shivered a bit with hints of disappointment. As you were beginning to walk past him, Joel thought about today...what Henry had told him. 'He may not be yours...but you were someone's at some point'. His longing for someone else, was that desire so obvious that a stranger like Henry could figure it out so quickly? Is that the way he treated you, like his partner? The prospect brought Joel brief happiness before thinking about the possibility of you getting killed. A reasonable fear given the world they were in, but Joel wagered the odds. Would he rather you die without ever telling you how he feels, or have you know he much he cared about you before you pass.

The ladder seemed like Joel's choice in the end cause before you could make it fully pass him he says your name. You stop in place directly behind Joel who still faced the open air. You let out a questioning hum, awaiting a reply.

Joel took a moment to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to go about this. Due to time and their environment, he wasn't as smooth as he use to like back in his earlier years. He begins by saying, "Thank you", turning his head enough to see your figure behind him, but keeping his posture still.

You tilt your head slightly, "For...?"

Joel fully turns to you, "For everything. Your support, your extra hands, protectin' Ellie...just sticking by us through all this madness".

That to you was a bit unexpected, but you weren't going to turn down some appreciation from Joel of all people. You took the praise with a gentle smile on your face, "Of course."

The older man's eyes lingered with yours for sometime. Both of you had a soft gaze, just observing and expecting the other to say something. Joel was the first to react, stepping forward he inches closer to you, comfortable in doing so since you weren't changing your expression or moving. His eyes then traced over to your lips, looking at them before gazing down at his boots. Joel was oblivious to how tense things were. Sure stalling gave him time to figure out his next move, but he couldn't hold out forever.

Locking eyes with you once more, he was met with a gentle look that nearly sent him over the edge.

You couldn't help but say his name in a near whispering tone, "Joel."

By then, Joel felt he could tell you everything, tell you how much you meant to him. But words wouldn't do his emotions justice. He knew one thing would say all he wanted with one action.

Joel steps within a foot of range from you, his hands grabbing both sides of your face and leaning in for a kiss. He inhales, surprised by how soft your lips were when making contact. He initially wanted to keep the kiss to be brief, but it turned out to be much deeper with you kissing him back.

Upon parting from your lips, Joel traces his hands down your chest and all the way down to your hips, getting ready to speak. You were quick then to pull him back in for more, grappling onto the collar of his jacket and locking your lips back together. Joel lets out a heavy sigh into the kiss, grateful that you didn't want it to stop.

The older man wrapped his arms around the small of your back, reeling you in until you were chest to chest. The man's heart was racing, you could feel it pounding against your shirt, just as fast as yours was going. You guessed the man really did have a heart under all that thick skin, is if the moment didn't already confirmed that.

Your arm ran around Joel's shoulder to get a grip the back of his smooth grey hair. Gripping him causes him to moan; loudly. He could feel you smiling into the kiss as you both continued basking in each other's taste. Joel took the initiative and bites softly into your bottom lip to get a reaction out of you. On queue, you groan separating your lips from him.

Heads still close together you speak, "Don't infect me now".

Joel bites his lips, “You want me to?” His voice turned devious, like he had something they’ll make you infatuated by him. You were curious, what did this man have in store for you?

You might end up regretting it later but saying ‘no’ meant missing out. You reply with a breathily, “Yeah,” hands still playing with Joel’s hair. The man didn’t say a word, he began kissing your cheek and trailed all the way down to your neck. You had lowered your arm so that he had room to bury his face inside. Joel started off gentle but was now starting to become more passionate with him introducing his tongue. It made you quiver, your hands grabbing onto his arms that held your hips tightly. You tried your best to keep your voice low, but between Joel’s warm breath and his repetitive licks, it became impossible to hide.

Joel, mere seconds away from nibbling on your skin, is stopped by a sudden rattling noise. His hand quickly grabs his holster, retreating from the small of your neck. Both of your attention's are now down the hall, awaiting the sound to return. It did, and when one of the motel doors opened, you two relaxed when Henry stepped out from within.

Henry lets out a quick, “Oh…” realizing that he might be intruding once seeing Joel’s hand on your hip, “Sorry…sorry I got worried.”

Joel lets out a sigh, taking his other hand off his holstered. “Thought you were in bed.”

“The door wasn’t locked and neither of you were back yet, so I just wanted to check,” he replies.

Slightly annoyed Joel comments, “Very kind of you,” not giving the other man much room to response.

You could tell the poor wanted to get out of your hair. You thankfully reassure him, “It’s alright, Henry. We were just about to head back in.”

Henry nods, “Right,” taking his chance to remove himself from the awkward situation by heading inside.

You and Joel look at each other, both still needy for each other but tired nonetheless. With that desire for you still lingering in Joel’s eyes, you pat the man on the chest offering a suggestion. “So, wanna continue this next time?”

Joel thought for a second, that you were just sending Henry away so that things could proceed between the two of you. You actually meant it though, bringing some level of disappointment to Joel. But the smile you had on your face, no way he could say no to you. Joel simply smiles back agreeing, “Next time it is.”

[that-damn-fouth-chaosemerald]

Fandoms and Masterlist

Requests are open for now!

Before you choose to read any of my works, please look into these kind of posts I've made:

A list full of fandoms and other things

How can you ask request from me?

⏳ Life is Strange (LiS1, LiS2, LiS:BTS, LiS:True Colors)

• Mark Jefferson •

Pov: You try to escape from Mr. Jefferson | spotify playlist (old post)

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘/𝐍 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 | headcanons, jealousy, x reader (old post)

Mark Jefferson playlist | spotify playlist (old post)

Some incorrect texts (old post)

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘/𝐍'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, smut, x reader (old post)

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 ¬𝐯¬ | headcanons, smut, x reader (old post)

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘/𝐍 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 | oneshot, angst?, x reader? (old post)

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐈𝐟 (𝐘/𝐍) 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫… (𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐜𝐬) | headcanons, fluff and not fluff, father-daughter dynamic

• Max Caulfield •

Some incorrect texts (old post)

Short relationship headcanons with Max Caulfield | headcanons, fluff, x reader (old post, but rewrote it, so it's not so bad anymore)

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Chloe Price •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Victoria Chase •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Warren Graham •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Nathan Prescott •

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭 | headcanons, mostly fluff, x reader (old post)

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Kate Marsh •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Frank Bowser •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Rachel Amber •

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (+ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Alex Chen •

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Steph Gingrich •

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

✨ Little Misfortune ✨

Comin soon...

★ South Park ★

• Eric Cartman •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

(𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞?) 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, yandere, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Stan Marsh •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Kyle Broflowski •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Kenny McCormick •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Butters Stotch •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Craig Tucker •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Jimmy Valmer •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

Magic tricks | oneshot, smut, x male! reader

• Tolkien Black •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Tweek Tweak •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Clyde Donovan •

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (+ 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤) | headcanons, fluff, x reader

🐔 Stardew Valley 🐔

• Shane •

𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐜𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 | headcanons, smut, x reader

⭐ Markiplier Cinematic Universe

• Darkiplier •

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, darkstache

• Wilford Warfstache •

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, darkstache

• Damien •

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 | headcanons

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐜𝐬 (𝐖𝐊𝐌) | headcanons, yandere, x reader

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 | oneshot, angst, x reader

“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆” | oneshot, angst?, x reader

👁 Septic universe 👁

• Marvin the Magnificent •

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆, 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 | oneshot, yandere, x reader

Crankgameplays (Ethan Nestor's) alter egos

Coming soon...

🎭 Sally Face

• Sal Fisher •

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 (Sal Fisher x Reader) | oneshot, x reader

🏘 Welcome Home

• Wally Darling •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Sally Starlet •

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Frank Frankly •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Howdy Pillar •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Poppy Partridge •

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Barnaby B. Beagle •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Julie Joyful •

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

• Eddie Dear •

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? | headcanons, fluff, x reader

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ | headcanons, fluff, x reader

🔥 Hazbin Hotel

• Vox •

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲! 𝐕𝐨𝐱 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞��𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, sfw & nsfw, x reader & staticmoth

• Valentino•

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲! 𝐕𝐨𝐱 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | headcanons, sfw & nsfw, x reader & staticmoth

👾 Undertale

Coming soon...

🕷 Marvel

Coming soon...

💗 Dream Daddy

Coming soon...

🚀 Voltron: Legendary Defender

• Keith Kogane •

𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨, 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, fluff & slight smut, x reader

• Takashi "Shiro" Shirogen •

𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨, 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, fluff & slight smut, x reader

• Prince Lotor •

𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨, 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, fluff & slight smut, x reader

• Emperor Zarkon •

𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨, 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, fluff & slight smut, x reader

⚔ Attack on Titan ⚔

• Erwin Smith •

𝐄𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐜𝐬 | headcanons, fluff, x reader

🐰🦊 FNaF 🐻🐔

Coming soon...

🍕 The Security Breach Show 🍕

TSBS masterlist

🦔 Sonic the Hedgehog (all sorts of media) 🦔

Coming soon...

☕ Cuphead (Casino Cups, DDWTD, The Cuphead Show, DLC, etc.)

Coming soon...

🔪 Yandere Simulator

𝐔𝐦𝐞𝐣𝐢 𝐊𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | headcanons, x reader

? Gravity Falls ¿

Coming soon...

Now You See Me

Coming soon...

🐲 Lego Elves

Coming soon...

Cult of The Lamb

Coming soon...

Creepypasta

Coming soon...

☢ SCP

Coming soon...

📏 Baldi's Basics

Coming soon...

Piggy [roblox horror game]

Coming soon...

Super Mario Bros

Coming soon...

Harry Potter

Coming soon...

Vtubers

Coming soon...

Helluva Boss

Coming soon...

BNHA/MHA

Coming soon...

Lovelink

Coming soon...

BJ Alex

Coming soon...

Beastars

Coming soon...

🐴 Star Stable Online

Coming soon...

Henry Stickmin

Coming soon...

Rainbow Friends

Coming soon...

Tell Me Why

Coming soon...

Trollhunters

Coming soon...

The Last Guardian

Coming soon...

🌹 Your Boyfriend

Coming soon...

Amanda the Adventurer

Coming soon...

Hearts and Heroes

Coming soon...

Night at the Museum

Coming soon...

My Candy Love

Coming soon...

Garten of BanBan

Coming soon...

⭐ HAMILTON ⭐

Coming soon...

Poppy Playtime

Coming soon...

🎪 The Amazing Digital Circus

Coming soon...

[j-eryewrites]

Endure and Survive

Chapter Five of " A Sinner's Redemption"

Previous | Next

SERIES MASTER LIST | MAIN MASTER LIST

Word Count: 14.4k

Warnings: Canon typical violence, Infected, descriptions of gore and violence, death, character deaths, suicide and mentions of suicidal ideation, the pieces finally click, LOTS of angst and little comfort, guns and other weapons (let me know if I mentioned anything)

Author's Note: I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday season! I was planning on this chapter to be around 10k but it ended up being 14k (I got a little carried away hehe) Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading it! Feel free to leave comments and reblog! I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks for your support!!

Sleep had come easy to Piper. It was a foreign feeling as peace swept over her mind and body. And for the first time since she was twelve, Piper dreamed. The dream wasn’t unique; She sat on a porch watching the sun go down, taking a rainbow of colors with it. Hues of pink and orange flooded her view, and for once in her life, she felt alive. Of course, it wouldn’t be a dream if she was alone, so sitting next to her was Ellie. Her younger sister was bright, and her skin glowed under the departing sun. It was her and Ellie. Ellie and Piper.

Piper leaned into her sister’s shoulder, and a smile formed on Ellie’s face. She was reading her joke book. Ellie always had it with her. Piper peered at the pages and snickered when she found a horrible joke. Then, another figure sat down next to her. Piper was puzzled as she turned to her right. Joel. It was Joel. Joel was in her dream. Whatever confusion Piper felt washed away at the sight of him. She felt oddly at home. Dazed, she looked at Joel, Ellie, and the sunset. It felt unnatural not to have adrenaline pumping through her veins or her mind and heart running a million miles per second. She wasn’t on guard. She wasn’t FEDRA’s child soldier. She was just Piper, and next to her was just Joel and Ellie. They were happy, but what disturbed Piper the most wasn’t that she was delighted; she felt like she had found a home. This was her dream. Joel, Ellie, and her are safe, happy, and together at home.

But dreams do not last forever; before she knew it, the steel walls around her mind built up again. Her thoughts turned back to themes of violence and survival. She woke up and joined the war once more.

“Piper,” Ellie whispered when she saw her sister wake up. If it hadn’t been for Ellie’s hands holding Piper’s shoulders, the young teen would have collided with her sister.

“Ellie? What’s…” Piper followed Ellie’s worried gaze to a man standing behind her.

Forcing Ellie’s hands off her, Piper sat up and faced the man. He raised his gun and warned her not to make any sudden movements, or he’d shoot. Piper’s eyes grew cold as her instincts kicked in. The man, whoever he was, was nervous. His hands shook as he directed the gun at Piper. In any other scenario, she’d attack him then and there. However, there was another in the room. A kid, whom Piper thought to be about six or seven years old, held a gun at Joel.

“Els, wake up, Joel,” Piper calmly said as her eyes never left the gun before her. Her chin slowly jutted up as a sign of her cautiousness.

“Joel, wake up,” Ellie said. He lay sleeping. “Joel.” No response. “Joel!” Ellie yelled and grabbed onto the man’s jacket, shaking him awake. It was then Joel finally began to stir.

“Joel,” Ellie’s lips parted in relief as she saw the old man rise. Joel blinked his eyes slowly, with the fog of sleep still on his mind. Once his dark orbs landed on the silver metallic shine of a gun, his muscles tensed.

“Eyes on me,” the man said to Joel. “Eyes on me. You don't have to worry about what to say. We don't wanna hurt you. We wanna help you.”

Joel raised a brow at the man, and Piper held back a scoff. He wet his lips as he awaited the young man’s following words.

“Okay. Okay, um… I don't know what the next step is with something like this, but if I lower my gun… we didn't hurt you… so you don't hurt us… right?” The man’s gun lowered slightly.

“That's right,” Joel said. The words left his mouth too soon to convey genuity.

“That's a weird fսck¡n' tone, man,” the man with the gun said. His hands began to clam up, and his knuckles turned three shades lighter. If they gripped the pistol even tighter, Ellie was sure that lights where the man’s knuckles were would illuminate the room.

A gasp left Ellie’s mouth when the gun inched closer to Piper’s temple. Her sister, however, didn’t flinch. “That's just the way he sounds. He has an asshоlе voice. Joel, tell him he's okay,” Ellie begged.

Joel glanced at Piper and Ellie and then back at the man. “Everything is great.”

“Dude,” Ellie hissed with desperation.

The man’s movements were becoming more frantic, and Piper knew they’d probably all be dead if she didn't pounce. “Fսck! Okay… listen… I'm gonna trust you,” the gun lowered to his side, and Piper’s shoulders relaxed. ”Yes. But if either of you guys try anything…” he raised the gun again, alerting Piper. “Yeah? Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ellie nodded.

Briefly, Piper peered over at Joel. Her eyes communicated her distrust in the situation; however, Joel’s warm eyes gave her a sense of ease. They would see where this went, and if things went wrong, they’d fight.

“Can I sit up?” Joel asked. His eyes darted between the older guy and the kid.

“Yeah. Slow. Get up slow,” the man instructed Joel before looking at the kid beside him.

“Who are you?” was the next question Joel asked.

“My name's Henry,” he introduced before pointing to the younger kid beside him. “That's my brother, Sam. I'm the most wanted man in Kansas City. Although right now…” Henry’s eyes scanned the three of them. “My guess is you're running a close second.”

Joel’s brow tensed. It was a subtle change that only Piper and Ellie picked up on. To Henry and Sam, he was still the man glaring at them.

“So…” Henry muttered, “truce?” Henry held out his hand as if Joel was going to shake it. Joel did no such thing. Instead, Joel’s posture tensed as Henry’s dark hand waved in front of Joel. Henry’s lips drew into a tight line before directing his hand at Piper. He got no response from her. However, Ellie stood up and grabbed Henry’s hand, agreeing on a truce for her two stubborn guardians.

“Truce,” Ellie mumbled before plopping back down and reaching into her bag to cover up the shaking in her knees. In the next moment, her hands were full of food. She tossed some to Henry and Sam.

“Where'd you get these?” Henry asked. His mouth began to water at the sight of the stale sandwich.

“From Bill,” Ellie replied, digging into her sandwich. “He's dead.” Feeling Piper's irked stare, Ellie rolled her eyes as she shoved a sandwich into Piper’s hand. The older teen’s stomach rumbled, betraying her cold stature. Reluctantly, Piper began to eat, slowly cueing Joel to partake in the meal.

Once they were all eating, Sam turned to his brother. His little hands twirled and waved, fingers bending and straightening to create symbols. Henry’s eyes followed his brother’s movements as everyone’s confusion grew.

“He says thank you,” Henry translated. He nodded as he gazed down at the food. “I'm guessing you don't have much, so… this means a lot,” he smiled.

Ellie grew curious, looking at the younger boy. His hand movements only intrigued her. It appeared to be a secret language. Her mind began to whirl with thoughts on creating her secret language with Piper and how cool it would be to torment Joel. “How old is he?” Ellie asked.

Henry placed down his sandwich and created some hand movements to communicate with Sam. The young boy nodded and replied. “He's eight,” Henry noted.

“Cool,” Ellie beamed as her eyes squinted, trying to interpret the language. “I'm Ellie!” She watched as Henry relayed the information back to Sam, trying to copy the signs subtly. Still, they were over before she could move her fingers in the correct position. Sighing in defeat, Ellie peered over at her sister.

The muscles in Piper’s jaw clenched so tight that Ellie thought she could throw a piece of coal between her teeth and find a diamond in five minutes. Quickly nudging her sister, Ellie saw Piper’s jaw unclench as her older sister flashed her a look of annoyance.

“You gonna introduce yourself?” Ellie asked, placing all her body weight on Piper’s side, nearly knocking the teen over.

Piper’s arm ached from the sudden force, and it took everything in her not to wince at the recent pain from the bullet’s trace on her arm. Quickly, Piper angled her shoulder to shove Ellie's offer before sending her another look that said she wasn’t planning on saying anything soon. Ellie huffed, the sound mixing a laugh and a sigh of disappointment.

“That’s Piper. My sister,” Ellie said, pointing to Piper. Piper whipped her head to Ellie. The tension in her jaw returned, and her eyes burned with the offense of being betrayed by her sister. Her internal vow of silence broke.

“Ellie!” Piper hissed.

“What? That’s your name unless you want to go by Annie Reaction,” Ellie replied.

“Fucking hell,” Piper cursed. “Of course you–”

“Jesus, you two stop it,” Joel grumbled. The girls grew silent. Meanwhile, Henry felt a wave of awkwardness grow between the group. Being a witness to the scolding of others was always strange, and he was unsure if he should disappear or contribute to the conversation.

“I'm Joel.” Joel scrunched up the wrapper holding his food and shoved it back into his backpack. He linked his fingers together and placed his gaze on Henry and Sam. “Look, you ate, we didn't kill each other; let's call this a win-win and move on.”

Henry’s face paled. Piper wanted to scoff at the young man. He had no clue how to deal with situations like this. “Well, I'm betting…,” Henry said, gathering his thoughts. “…That y'all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out. And when the sun's up, I'll show you one.”

Joel leaned back. His dark eyes scanned Henry’s for any sense of a lie. He found none in the young man’s honest demeanor. He glanced over to Piper, who had come to the same conclusion. Henry was right. They needed to escape the death trap of a city, and he just offered them their salvation.

꧁_____꧂

“Welcome to Killa City,” Henry announced as his arms parted to the panoramic view of the city that the building provided.

The view was not much compared to the sights Piper had already seen. It was a city. Buildings were crumbling and rotting underneath the strain of time and neglect. Dust was everywhere, placing the city in a tinted haze. As the young teen’s eyes scanned the view, she saw what had drawn Joel’s attention: the center of black in the middle of the city. The center was even worse if the rest of Kansas City had seemed barren. It was torched, leaving everything a charcoal-like color—a midnight graveyard. The sight made Piper shudder.

Joel was grateful he didn’t have to crane his neck to look outside the window. His back, neck, and other muscles were stiff and sore. They refused to move properly. It was another sign Joel was getting old. He let Piper fall asleep on his shoulder as they were sitting guard, and now his body was paying the consequences. Not that Joel minded providing a stable shoulder for the young teen to rest her head on, even if she was adamant about staying awake with him. The thought of Piper’s stubbornness almost made Joel chuckle if it weren’t for the scorched center of the city.

“No FEDRA,” Joel muttered. The view of the city did little to ease the knot of nerves growing in the pit of his stomach. These were the people they were hiding from, who set the Kansas City QZ ablaze. Who knows what else these bastards did and are capable of?

Henry nodded as he spotted what Joel was eyeing. It was the old QZ, burned to the ground. “Not as of ten days ago, no,” Henry confirmed.

There was a shuffling behind the two men as Piper leaned back onto the table in what was supposed to be a conference room. “We always heard KC FEDRA was…,” Piper began. Her voice was soft and almost indecipherable from the noises caused by Ellie and Sam.

“Monsters? Savages?” Henry finished. His wide eyes glanced back at Piper as he answered her. His dark pools reflected the horror and fires that set ablaze ten days ago, and she forced herself to look away. “Yeah, you heard right. Raped and tortured and murdered people for 20 years. And you know what happens when you do that to people? The moment they get a chance, they do it right back to you.”

“But you're not FEDRA,” Joel noted as he looked Henry up and down. Joel knew what FEDRA looked like, and Henry, well, he was in no way the FEDRA image.

Henry’s eyes glanced down, and his shoulders slightly caved in as if making himself physically smaller would help lessen the blow of his following words. “No…,” Henry shook his head, “worse. I'm a collaborator.”

Piper and Joel’s eyes widened at Henry’s confession.

“I don't work with rats,” Joel spat. His brows were furrowed, and eyes narrowed in on Henry.

Upon hearing Joel’s words, Piper felt her stomach churn. Her feet stepped back from the conversation as her arms defensively crossed over her torso. Joel didn’t know she was one of them, that she was FEDRA and had been for years. Suppose he was this pissed off at Henry working with them; who knows what he would do to her. She gulped, and her eyes blinked rapidly as she turned away from Joel, an action that did not go unnoticed by the man.

“Yeah, you fսck¡ng do. Today you do… 'cause I live here and you don't,” Henry hissed. “That's how I followed you here. I know this city, and that's how I'm gonna help you get out.”

A vein bulged in the middle of Joel’s forehead, deepening his wrinkles. “Why help us?” Joel asked.

“I saw what you did… the way you killed those men,” Henry mumbled. His voice was quiet as if he didn’t want the kids to overhear him. “Now, I know where to go, but I don't know how to make it through alive, not if it's just me and Sam.” Henry glanced behind to look at his brother, who was smiling as Ellie scribbled on his scratch pad.

“You seem capable enough,” Joel noted. “You're armed.”

Henry’s body shook in disagreement. “You're wrong and wrong. Never killed anyone. And pointing an unloaded gun at you was the closest I've ever come to being violent.” He let out a nervous chuckle at his admission. “So that's the deal. I show the way… you clear the way.”

Suddenly, a burst of light laughter filled the arm, drawing the attention of Joel, Henry, and Piper. It was Ellie and Sam. They were in a fit of giggles at something one of them had said. Henry’s anxious expression gave way to a soft smile. The creases on Joel’s face relaxed, and Piper’s arms unfolded themselves, resting at her sides.

“Haven't heard that in a long time,” Henry muttered. Piper nodded. It had been a while since Ellie had laughed like that. How long had it been since she laughed like that? Yeah, she played along with Ellie’s antics, resulting in a giggle here or there, but it was a real laugh where her chest tightened because she could no longer breathe. A real laugh where her eyes watered, and the sound no longer became aesthetically pleasing to the ear. If it was a laugh like that, then Piper hadn’t laughed in a long time. She thought back to last night. Joel had almost made her laugh like that. Piper’s chest clammed up on her heart and lungs, making it hard to breathe. She was getting weak. She was letting Joel in.

“So how are we gettin' out?” Joel questioned, his reluctance destroyed by the children’s laughter.

Knocking on the table, Henry got Sam’s attention, and with a few signs, a paper and crayon were placed in front of the three of them. “Highways…,” Henry took the crayon and began to sketch on the paper. “Downtown. Us. This whole area belongs to Kathleen.” He pointed out each area.

“She's in charge?” Joel asked.

Henry nodded. There was a fear in his eyes when he mentioned Kathleen. “Leader of the resistance. You can see the way highways bound us. They got people posted all around the inside perimeter. If we get close, we get caught. No question. So how do we get across?”

As Henry explained, Joel glanced over to Piper. She was oddly quiet. Yes, Ellie was the more vocal and talkative of them, but even so, Piper would chime in and comment here or there. Now, it appeared as if Piper wasn’t even breathing.

Again, Henry pounded on the table. The vibrations reached Sam. Some more signs were exchanged, and then Sam began to write. Joel tilted his head like a dog trying to understand the English language. The scribbling stopped, and Sam held up his pad. “Tunnels,” it wrote. Ellie peered over Sam’s shoulder to look at the answer.

“Boom.” Henry made an explosion with his hands to emphasize his point.

Joel’s confusion only grew. “Kansas City has a subway?”

“No,” Henry elaborated, “but they have maintenance tunnels. There's a bunch of buildings all put up by the same developers. And they share these tunnels, including… a bank building here.” His finger pointed to a square on his drawing, representing a nearby building. “So we enter the tunnels here… travel underground, and pop up here. Westside North. Residential. There's an embankment on the other side of the houses. We head down, a pedestrian bridge over the river… free as a bird.” He smiled and peered up at Joel and Piper.

“You're right. It's a great plan,” Joel agreed, and Henry’s smile grew. “So, what do you need me for?” The smile was gone.

Sighing, Henry began to tap the tabletop with his fingers. “You noticed anything strange about this city? I mean, other than the strange sh¡t you've already seen?”

Piper broke her silence. “No Infected.”

“Oh, there's Infected,” Henry explained. Joel and Piper realized that they didn’t like where this answer was going. “Just not on the surface. FEDRA drove them underground 15 years ago and never let them come back up. It's the only good thing those fascist mοthеrfսckеrs ever did.”

“So you want us going into a tunnel full of Infected?” Piper was already shaking her head at the idea.

“Everyone thinks it's full of Infected, including Kathleen,” Henry said. “Which means that we're not going to be running into any of her people. But you see, what I know is… it's empty.”

“You've been down there?” Joel interrogated. He was with Piper on this. They’d have better chances of taking the alive humans than a horde of Infected underground.

“…No,” Henry hesitantly said, “but the FEDRA guy I worked with told me that it's clean, completely clean. They cleared it out. All of it.”

“When?” Piper asked.

“Like… three years ago,” Henry replied.

Piper scoffed, and Joel began to step away from Henry. “Three years ago is a long time,” Joel noted.

“Okay, maybe,” Henry yelped, reaching out to the two of them to hold their attention. “There's one or two, but you handle it.”

“What if there's more?” Joel asked.

“Or one of those blind ones that sees like a bat?” Ellie interjected from the other end of the room where she and Sam sat.

Henry’s eyes widened with shock. “Wait, you… you ran into a Clicker?”

“Two of 'em,” Piper muttered. The mention of the clickers made the bite mark on her arm burn. She raised a hand to soothe the phantom pain.

Henry’s shoulders rolled back. “And you're still alive. You see? You're the right people. If it gets bad down there, we turn around and run back out the same way we came.”

“Oh, that's your great plan?” Joel sarcastically said.

“No,” Henry spat. “That's my dicey-as-fuck plan. But as far as I can tell… it's our only shot.”

A dull thud came from the table. Sam had his fist on the wood, waiting for their attention. He waved his hands around as Henry’s eyes carefully observed. “They're saying they're going to help us escape,” Henry said as he signed back to Sam. Ellie smiled at Henry’s words and playfully nudged Sam’s shoulder, asking him to continue their conversation via the scratchboard.

“You’re gonna help us, right?” Henry said, lowering his hands and praying that his words reached Joel.

“Joel?” Piper whispered, waiting for his answer. She knew Henry was all they had right now, and she couldn’t say no. Not when Ellie had a friend. Not when Ellie was smiling and laughing like she did before Riley died, before all this shit that has happened to them. This was how Ellie was supposed to be, not that Piper had her Ellie back; she was determined to keep it that way. Joel’s brown eyes looked down at Piper. Her eyes glowed with an eagerness that tugged at Joel’s heart. He knew he couldn’t say no, just like he couldn’t brush Piper off his shoulder the night before. As Joel agreed to the dicey-as-fuck plan, he couldn’t help but feel like a tiny sliver of the man he was before the Outbreak returned.

꧁_____꧂

They were running again. With the addition of two bodies, the group darted between garbage containers and squeezed between alleys, ducking low whenever necessary. The old bank building wasn’t far from where they had sought shelter before, but not far; it still seemed like a lifetime away as Kathleen’s men scoured the street, hunting them down.

It had felt like years had passed by the time they all had reached the bank. The interior of the building did little to conceal the five fugitives. Windows that were untainted by the dust allowed crystal clear visibility both ways, boxed in on the ground floor. Piper’s stomach hurled at the thought of being vulnerable from all sides. Her eyes twirled around frantically, looking for some possible escape for cover. Ellie clenched her hands, burying her nails into her palms. Piper’s worried expression only added to her own. Ellie trusted Piper’s gut instincts more than anything in the world, and if Piper was on guard, then something was not right.

“We need to get outta sight,” Joel harshly muttered to Henry. He sensed the girl’s unease. It was a mutual feeling.

“Uh… I,” Henry turned around, scanning the open floor. “I-I think it's this way.” His long legs quickly led the others to a set of stairs. Once the windows were exchanged for solid concrete walls, Piper felt slightly more at ease.

They descended the stairs. Their hurried footsteps clambered over each other, creating a loud noise. A large steel door with “Exit” written on it appeared. Henry was the one who pushed the door open, revealing a parking garage. A cool air hit the group, sending shivers down their bodies from the temperature change.

“Jesus, it’s cold,” Ellie shivered.

Piper glanced towards her sister before quickly shrugging off her jacket and handing it to Ellie. “Take it,” Piper insisted, and Ellie did. Piper wasn’t cold. She couldn’t be when her heart was running a million miles, pumping adrenaline into her veins.

“This should be it,” Henry announced as they approached another steel door. The labeling on this door was too faded to read. “You ready?” Henry asked Joel.

Joel’s unwavering eyes scanned the door in front of them. “Girl’s,” this caught Piper and Ellie’s attention. “Get your guns out,” Joel instructed them.

They didn’t need to be told twice to retrieve the weapons and flashlights. Henry eyed the guns but decided not to give them a second glance as he reached for the door handle and swung it open. Joel entered first. His flashlight and gun were in hand as he scanned the area. Next were Piper and Ellie with their respective guns and lights. There was nothing except water dripping as the droplets echoed throughout the tunnel.

“You see? It's empty! The plan is good,” Henry cheered.

Ellie, Piper, and Joel all winced at Henry’s volume. “Shh,” they all hissed at Henry, and his face faltered.

"The plan is good? We've been down here two seconds. We don't know anything,” Joel spat.

Henry bit the inside of his cheek. The tunnels were clear; anyone could see that. “Your dad's a pessimist,” he whispered to Piper and Ellie.

“He's not my dad,” they instantly replied.

“I'm not their dad,” Joel said simultaneously. They all glared at Henry for even suggesting such a thing. Henry’s eyes widened as he raised his hands, suggesting his regret in implying anything. “Just point your lights forward… and be ready to run,” he told the group.

Slowly, Joel turned around to face the long tunnel ahead of them. He waited for a few more moments. His mind was ready for sudden movements and the sounds of screeches and clicks. Nothing came, so he took a step forward and then another. The rest of the group followed behind him.

When Henry mentioned tunnels, Ellie thought there would be many twists, turns, and dead ends, like the mazes and labyrinths she had read about in some of her comics. However, these tunnels were straight and covered with many different pipes. “Tunnels” wasn’t even the right word; he should have said tunnel because there had only been one so far. There were no turns, dead ends, or monsters in the middle of the maze. Ellie was glad about the no monsters part. She could live without seeing another infected for the rest of her life. The no turns or dead ends were a buzzkill. Only so long could one walk straight before they started to think they were crazy. Luckily, she wasn’t the only one who thought so. Sam had been writing to her. They conversed via the scratchboard and imagined what it would be like if the tunnels were like those in the comics. The two talked about the rats that occasionally scurry between their feet or the few turns the tunnel now had. Ellie noted how much broader the tunnel was getting. The ceilings grew up a few feet, and she was sure they all could walk side by side with how far apart the walls were.

Soon, Joel’s pace began to slow, bringing the pace of everyone else behind him to a halt. There was another turn in the tunnel. This time, it led to a tiny hallway that, if Ellie reached out her arms, she could be touching both sides. It was darker than the rest of the tunnel and made her and Sam forget about the latest topic of debate on the scratchboard. The tunnel continued like before, but the claustrophobic enclosure gave way to a vast opening. The group stilled and stared. Something had caught their attention.

“Whoa,” Ellie gasped as she flashed her light around to look at the walls. They were covered in drawings of rainbows, flowers, children playing, and there was even a castle. The colors illuminated underneath the flashlights’ glow.

“Does anyone else think this is fucking creepy?” Piper whispered to the group. Something about the vibrant colors and the plastered smiling faces drawn onto the wall by children unnerved her. She grimaced as goosebumps formed on her arms, and she now regretted giving Ellie her jacket.

Sam was amazed at the bright colors and art. It reminded him of the pictures he made with Henry on the walls of their confined make-shift home a few days ago. In front of Sam was the door to the castle. He smiled and reached out a hand to open it.

“No,” Joel quietly said as he shook his head and pulled Sam away before taking his place and opening the door. Together, they all winced as a bright light blinded their view. There was light in this underground bunker.

One by one, the group scattered about the room. The walls had the same sort of drawings present in the tunnel before. Buckets of toys and books were lined up against the walls. On the far end of the room was a large drawing of a goal with the word “GOAL” written in all caps. On the other end was a kitchen filled with pots and pans.

“I heard about places like this,” Joel commented. “People went underground after Outbreak Day. Built settlements.”

Piper’s eyes caught sight of a giant whiteboard on one of the walls. Pieces of paper with children's drawings were taped alongside the “house rules.” Her dark eyes read down the list, her mood souring. It felt like she was invading a grave and was not welcome.

“What happened to them?” Ellie asked.

Piper peered closer at one of the pictures on the whiteboard labeled “our protectors.”

“Maybe they didn't follow the rules, and they all got infected,” Joel replied.

“Mm,” Ellie hummed before dropping her sack on the ground and picking up a toy car. She whirled it around the air and then dropped it on the table before Sam. They shared a mutual smile.

Suddenly, Sam reached the ground and picked up a worn copy of a comic. He began to flip through the pictures before Ellie burst with excitement.

“No way! I love these,” she exclaimed. Sam just nodded his head and smiled. Realizing her mistake, Ellie shook her hands in the air as if she was writing on paper. Sam understood and handed her his scratchboard. “I have issues… four, five, six, 11,” she wrote.

Sam replied with the issues he had.

“Ah. So cool,” Ellie replied. Leaning close to Sam, she slowly said, "To the edge of the universe…and back. Endure and survive." It was the signature catchphrase from the comics. Sam’s brow furrowed as he tried to read the young girl's lips. Gradually he started to sign along, understanding what she was trying to say.

“Endure,” Ellie muttered as she copied Sam’s sign for the word. “Survive. Endure. Survive.” Ellie was now doing the signs as Sam had taught her. “fսck yeah, man!” She raised her hand to give Sam a high-five. Once their hands collided, they giggled.

“Hey, keep it down. We're not out yet,” Joel reprimanded the young teen.

Ellie rolled her head back in disappointment. “Ah, c'mon. Can we just rest here for a while? There's, like, actually sh¡t to do here.”

“Wouldn't be so bad to wait the light out a bit,” Henry commented. Safer in shadows when we pop back out on the other side.”

Ellie’s eager eyes glanced over to Joel, who bit his lip. He looked over to Piper, who couldn’t care less if they stayed a while, before shrugging his shoulders and finding a comfortable place to sit down.

“Yes!” Ellie cheered before dragging Sam along to the painted soccer goal to play some ball. The two passed the ball between each other as a warm-up until they were ready to start playing. Ellie began to shoot into the goal. With one swift kick, the ball went into the goal.

“Let’s go! Come on! Yeah!” Ellie raised her hands triumphantly in the air. “Come on. Pass it back,” she motioned to Sam.

A few feet away sat Joel and Henry. They were situated around what Joel thought to be the meal table. He watched as Ellie and Sam passed the ball back and forth. It reminded him of…No, he wouldn’t let himself remember. Instead, he turned his sights toward Piper. It took him a moment to find her, but she was in one of the far corners of the room. Her back leaned against the wall as her eyes followed the ball as it was passed back and forth. Joel saw Piper grow smaller at the sounds of her sister’s laughter. Her lips drew into a tight line. She looked confused and uncomfortable as her eyes withdrew from Ellie and Sam. Piper looked at the shelves filled with books; her brows furrowed as her eyes glanced over the titles and authors of each book. Joel couldn’t help but think that Piper should be playing with Ellie and Sam. Yes, she was older than them, but Piper was still a kid. Kids loved to have fun, and soccer was fun. Especially the way Ellie and Sam seemed to be playing it. Yet Piper sat with her legs drawn into her chest, trying to, well, Joel wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to do. All he knew was that she wanted no part in the play.

A soft chuckle came from beside Joel. It was Henry. From the corner of his eye, he saw Henry smiling as his brother played.

“If you were collaboratin' to take care of him, I… I shouldn't have said what I said. I don't know your situation. And I'm not sayin' they should let it go, but…,'' Joel began his attempt at apologizing.

“Ah, that was awesome!” Ellie beamed as Sam made his own goal on the post.

Joel’s eye flitted back to Henry. “all things considered, seems kinda cruel…To send a whole army after you for that.”

“You know, I wasn't, uh… exactly telling you the truth before…,” Henry confessed, causing Joel to raise his brow. “About me not killing someone. There was a man, a great man. You know, he was never afraid… never selfish… and he was always forgiving. Have you ever met someone like that? Kinda man you'd follow anywhere. I mean, I wanted to. Well… I would've. Yeah, but, uh, Sam, he, uh… he got sick. Leukemia.”

Joel’s eyes glanced towards the ground as he felt his heart hurt.

“Yeah, anyway, um… there was one drսg that worked, and, whoa… big shock… there wasn't much left of it, and it belonged to FEDRA. And if I wanted some… it was gonna take something big. So I gave them something big. That one great man. The leader of the resistance movement in Kansas City. And Kathleen's brother,” Henry said. He cautiously looked over to Joel. “Yeah, so, you still think they should take it easy on me? Or am I the bad guy?” Joel shrugged as he thought of an answer. “I don't know what you're waitin' on, man. The answer's easy. I am the bad guy because I did a bad guy thing. But you get it, though. You might not be their father… but you were someone's.” Joel’s jaw clenched at Henry’s words. “See, I could tell,” Henry muttered.

A loud, playful roar erupted from Ellie’s mouth as she chased Sam around the room. The game of soccer was forgotten. The two of them darted past Joel and Henry, and as the wind from the children’s speed blew past them, Joel’s reflective daze was broken.

“We've waited long enough,” Joel muttered, snatching his flashlight and gun as he stood up.

꧁_____꧂

Ellie was trying her darndest not to laugh, but with how Piper’s sleeping face twitched as she dragged the felt tip marker across it, Ellie couldn’t help but giggle. Come on, it was peak comedy for the eight-year-old. Her masterpiece was almost done. All she needed to do was draw on the final touches. Then Piper’s nose scrunched. Her head jostled, ruining Ellie’s perfect line as Piper’s movement dragged the marker across her face. Ellie quickly pulled the marker back from Piper’s face as her sister raised a hand to wipe away the midday nap from her face.

“Els?” Piper groaned as she arose from her slumber.

Quickly stuffing the marker in her pocket, Ellie smiled innocently at her sister. “Good afternoon, shithead.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Ellie, what did I say about swear words…”

“Only use them when necessary,” she sighed.

“Good.” Piper sat up and glanced back at Ellie. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Piper asked quizzically.

Ellie’s face faltered as she tried to cover up her smug smile. “Looking at you like what?”

“Like…like you’ve–what did you do?” Piper’s brow raised, and her eyes grew serious.

A red tint appeared on Ellie’s face as she scooted back and began to reach for the bunk bed railing to help her stand up. “Nothing. I swear on my fucking life.”

“Ellie,” Piper said, disappointed.

“What, you not believing me is a good reason to swear,” Ellie noted.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Sure,” she smiled.

“See, I told you that–”

“Ah ha!” Piper exclaimed as she snatched the marker hidden in Ellie’s pocket.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Ellie cried out as she tried to grab her marker from her sister’s hands.

Waving the marker in the air, Piper smirked. “What exactly were you doing with this marker?”

“Uh…drawing. Duh,” Ellie said. It wasn’t a lie so that Piper would believe her. Ellie hated how Piper could always tell when she was lying. She was trying to get better at it. Riley was even helping her here and there, giving her pointers. Which all worked on the FEDRA teachers, but still, not one had worked on Piper. She was just too good. Ellie couldn’t believe it. Piper was eleven and reading her like she was a book. It wasn’t fair.

“…Okay,” Piper sighed. “I believe you.”

Ellie smiled. Half-truths may be the way to go with Piper.

“What were you drawing?” Piper asked.

Ellie’s face fell. She was screwed. “Um…something. It’s a surprise.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What?! I’m serious. I’ve been working really hard on it,” Ellie whined. She had been. Piper had been asleep for about an hour, giving Ellie ample time to plan her artistic masterpiece. About twenty minutes of the hour were dedicated to putting her idea to work. Twenty minutes was a long time. It was far more time than she had ever put into a work of art.

Piper raised her brow, and her eyes were full of skepticism. “You serious?” Ellie frantically nodded, and Piper sighed. “Alright, but you’ve got to show it to me when you’re done. ‘Kay?”

“Totally,” Ellie snickered.

There was something in the way Ellie stood in front of her with her hands fiddling with her shirt that tipped Piper the wrong way, but she chose to believe Ellie, giving her the benefit of the doubt. “Well, we’ve got to get to the dining hall,” Piper said, shrugging the sleep off and pulling on her shoes. They were worn to the sole, and the heel would have fallen off by now if it weren’t for the duct tape holding it together. She’d have to get new shoes soon. Maybe Levi would have some for her, Piper thought.

Feeling tiny static hairs at the back of her neck, Piper headed for the mirror to fix her bedhead. Ellie saw her sister’s trajectory and darted to the door of their room. It flung open with not much force, and Ellie entered the hallway. “Race you there, Pipes!”

Piper chuckled at Ellie’s antics. It only fired her will to beat Ellie to the dining hall. Hurriedly, she glanced in the mirror. She froze. Her hair was fine. It was hardly amiss. That was not what was wrong. Looking in the mirror, Piper saw Ellie’s masterpiece. All over her face were little squiggles and drawings. Some were hearts and stars, and even a mustache tinted bright pink. The cherry on top was the crooked lettering that spelled “Dummy.”

By the time the two girls showed up in the dining hall, they both were adorning the loving title of “dummy” on their foreheads.

꧁_____꧂

A chilly night air blew over the group as they emerged from the tunnels. Henry was right, there were no infected. Joel eyed the young man as he smugly led the group through the neighborhood.

“Do you know where we are?” Joel questioned. He eyed the abandoned homes. Their windows held the ghosts of a time before the outbreak. They stared as he walked along the once clean paved streets and litter-free sidewalks. His spine pricked as the eyes of the past washed over him.

“Yep. The other side.” Henry looked back at Joel and slightly snorted. “No. No one is here. No one's gonna be here because…,” Henry turned humbly and triumphantly shrugged his shoulders. “My plan worked.”

“So much goddamn talkin',” Joel groaned.

“I'm just saying I delivered. Make this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house, and we're out,” Henry said.

They were almost out. Ellie softly smiled and peered to her side where Sam strolled. They were almost out, and she’d have to say goodbye to her new friend. Biting her lip, she thought of an idea; maybe she didn’t have to say goodbye. “So we cross the river, and then what? Where ya gonna go?” Ellie asked.

“Don't know yet,” Henry replied.

“Well, we're goin' to Wyoming.” Joel glared at her. Piper just sighed and rubbed her arm. The pain had returned, and she worried it was infected.

“What?” She defended, “It's a huge state. It can fit two more people.”

“Yeah,” Henry solemnly nodded. He glanced at Joel in understanding. He didn’t want a few extra people, and Henry wouldn’t force the older man. He didn’t think he’d get far since their deal was just getting out of the city. “Maybe we just call this a success and say our fond farewells.”

Ellie frowned. “No, he'll change his mind. Trust me. This is how it goes.” She cleared her throat and patted her chest with a fist, preparing her vocal cords to speak lower, and in a deep voice, she said, “He's like, "No, Ellie. Never, ever, ever happening. And then I'm like, "I'm gonna ask you a million more times." And he's like–

A shot fires near them. A dust kicked up, and the group ducked down low. Piper gasped, grabbing the roots of her hair.

“Move, move! Go!” Joel ordered as more shots were fired. Quickly, the group huddled behind a rusted car.

“The fսck is that comin' from?” Henry hissed.

“Shut up,” Joel spat as he peeked over the car's hood. His eyes narrowed. The dark wasn’t making it easier to see where the shots fired. A spot of bright light flashed from the upper window of a home. A bullet shattered a window in the car.

“fսck. Let's move. Let's go,” Henry whispered before he grabbed Sam’s hand and began to run the way they had come.

“What are you doin'?!” Joel yelled.

“Gettin' the fսck outta here!” Henry replied. A shot fired in front of them. “Oh sh¡t, oh sh¡t!” Darting back to the safety of the car, Henry turned to Joel. “What do we do?”

Piper nodded her head, wanting to hear what the plan was. Her gun felt heavy in her hand. She could do that. She could find the guy and shoot him. She could hunt him down. She never missed.

“All right,” Joel breathed. He shuffled around and solved his pistol into its holder on his side. “Stay here.” He crouched down low and shifted his weight forward.

“What?” Piper and Ellie blurted.

“If you don't move, he's not gonna hit you,” Joel explained. The girls were shaking their heads. “I'm gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back, and then I'll take him out.”

“But if you go out there, he's gonna kill you,” Ellie pleaded.

“Joel, I can do it. I’m smaller and–”

“No. I’m going.” He saw the fear in the girl’s eyes. Piper’s dark eyes concealed it better, but Joel knew. “Look, it's dark, and he has sh¡t aim. Nobody's gonna kill me.” He tried his best to reassure them.

“Then he's gonna kill us,” Ellie whispered.

Joel’s chest tightened. “Do you trust me?”

The girls shared a nervous glance. Ellie reluctantly nodded. Piper bit her lip and scowled. Her nose and eyebrows scrunched together as if it pained her to say yes, but she did. In her softest voice, she said yes.

꧁_____꧂

Joel was breathing hard as the shot kept on coming. Each wisp of air as the bullets hailed down only made his heart beat faster. It was his luck that the street was littered with cars, each big enough to cover his body. However, if luck had been on Joel’s side, then someone wouldn’t have shot at them in the first place. He knew no infection in the tunnels was too good to be true. Something had to go wrong eventually, and it just happened to be right before they reached freedom from this hell hole of a city.

It was like a dance how Joel maneuvered between the cars and the occasional mailbox along the side of the street. Each time he ducked, he was one step closer to the house, to the window where the culprit was shooting from. It was the last house on the cul de sac, standing tall and brown in the dark of the night. At least, Joel was pretty sure that the house was a shade of brown, but he could be wrong. He was convinced that this whole neighborhood must have been something to see in the days before the outbreak, but now it was a war zone. Now, someone was using the home to shoot at him and the girls.

At a certain point, the shooter had stopped. Joel wasn’t sure why, but they had. Joel hoped that it was because of a lack of bullets, but his fears came true when he heard the gasps of the girls, Sam and Henry. The shooter was targeting them. He had to hurry. As he darted between the bushes and trees on the lawn of the brown house, he caught sight of the bridge. Water rushed underneath it, echoing a calming symphony of nature. They had to cross the bridge, and then they’d be free. Joel could get to Wyoming; the girls could go with the fireflies. Everything would be alright. Except now that Joel thought of it, his stomach churned.

He broke into the back of the house and climbed the stairs. Joel’s gun was raised close to his torso as he checked his corners before proceeding. He had to get this right. He had to save them, to protect them. Another shot was fired, and Joel’s heart lurched out from his throat. Joel held his breath while creeping towards the room at the end of the hall. Brushing the door to the side, he aimed his gun at the man sitting in the chair by the window.

“Put the gun down, slide it over to me, and then stay up here for another hour,” Joel calmly said; however, nothing about him was calm. “That's all you have to do.” The man turned around and peered up at Joel. His shaking old hands changed grip on the gun as he turned around to look at the intruder. “Please don't do it. Please,” Joel begged. But the man did not listen. Another shot rang out in the air. Joel’s hand ached as he lowered the gun from the slumped-over body.

Suddenly, a static noise pierced Joel’s ears. “Anthony? Anthony? Anthony, hold them where they are. We're almost there.”

Joel’s eyes widened. “Fսck.” He clambered to the window and stuck his head out, and with a guttural desperate cry, he yelled to the girls. “RUN!”

꧁_____꧂

Ellie’s fingers fiddled with Pipers. Her smaller digits weaved around her older sisters. Each movement brought a sense of control to the young girls. They didn’t dare think about the silence after that last shot. They didn’t dare get their hopes up.

Piper’s ears twitched as she peeked out from behind the car. Joel was in the window where the shooter once was. She couldn’t help but beam at the sight, but soon her smile faltered. His arms were waving frantically at them, and he was shouting something.

“What’s he saying?” Ellie wondered as she stood next to Piper. Henry and Sam soon stood up as well. Each of them was confused at the sight until the final piece of the puzzle was placed: the sound of the revving of cars. They froze as Joel’s words now clicked.

“RUN!” He screamed.

Panic coursed through their bodies as they stood there, the ground now rumbling and the horrific roaring sound pounding in their ears. Then they ran.

“Go! Go, go, go, go!” Henry shouted as the group darted from behind the car and towards the house, towards Joel. Soon, their shadows stood tall in front of them. The light behind them grew brighter. Ellie cried out in fear as she turned around with her gun in hand to shoot. She hadn’t expected the car to be so close. She couldn’t see anything, yet her legs kept running. She raised her gun and shot. It missed. She fired the weapon until it was empty. The car was closer. She was going to get run over. Another shot rang out, and the car swerved off the road into one of the wooden houses on the side. Whipping her head around, she saw Joel in the window with a rifle. He had made that shot. He had protected them.

“Ellie!” Piper gasped as she ran back for her sister in the chaos of the crash. Ellie hadn’t even realized her legs had given out. “You okay?”

Ellie’s head nodded in a jagged motion before her lungs could produce enough air for a singular word. “Yeah.” With confirmation, Piper dragged Ellie over to where Henry and Sam hid. The four of them ducked down behind a nearby car as the street was illuminated from headlights.

“He's up there,” A voice said. “Fսck.” The voice was close. Too close for Piper’s comfort. She clenched her eyes shut and squeezed her gun. Her hands were shaking. “Two and two! Around the back, take him out!” The voice instructed. Her eyes shot open as she glanced at the house to Joel. The marching footsteps of the people faded as they approached the house at the end of the street. Piper bit her tongue until she tasted blood. Joel could handle himself. He had to.

“Dead end, Henry. Gonna step on out? Save us some time?” It was a female voice. Ellie hated to admit it almost sounded comforting, like a mother. “No? That's all right. Doesn't matter.”

Henry glanced at Sam, Ellie, and Piper. He could do it. He had to save his brother and the others. Henry’s eyes met Pipers. She shook her head at him, and he only smiled.

“I'll come out! Just let the kids go!” Henry yelled from behind the car.

“No. Sorry,” Henry’s face paled. “The girls are with the man who killed Bryan. And Sam… Well, Sam's with you.”

Henry shook his head. “You don't understand, Kathleen!”

“But I do,” the woman named Kathleen smiled. Piper could hear the chilling grin in the woman’s voice. “I know why you did what you did. But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?”

“He's just a fսck¡ng kid!” Henry pleaded.

“Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time,” Kathleen said. “You think the whole world revolves around him? That he's worth… everything?” Piper looked over at Ellie. “Well, this is what happens when you fսck with fate.”

“Get ready to take him and run,” Henry whispered to Ellie and Piper. Ellie shook her head. “Yes. Do it.” His eyes turned to Piper. She couldn’t bear to look at him. They were the same. They’d do anything for their little siblings, so Piper agreed. She grabbed Ellie’s hand and then Sam’s, who looked confused as his brother stood up and out of the cover of the car.

“It's time, Henry,” Kathleen said.

“Enough! Okay.” Henry had stepped out and raised his hands. With teary eyes, he looked up at Kathleen. The burning home behind her framed her as she raised her gun at Henry.

“It ends the way it ends,” She whispered. Her finger cocked back and then hovered over the trigger.

There was a crash, and dust fell over the mass. The burning house collapsed, and the ground had caved in. Wood, tires, and the car had fallen in with as the fire crackled around. A colossal explosion fired up into the air, and all fell silent. Everyone froze as a deep rumbling came from the earth below them. Piper thought it was an earthquake for a moment, but the noise told her better. It was growling. An unearthly snarl escaped the pits of the ground. After all, it’s where they were buried—the infected.

All at once, wave after wave, they climbed out of the hole. The monsters screeched as they ran to the nearest human. They were fueled by a desire to kill and to spread. A rainstorm of bullets fired as fear overcame Kathleen’s men. All thoughts of killing a group of five were forgotten. The only drive was to survive.

Screams of “No!” fell from people’s mouths as Infected leaped upon them, tearing out their throats and opening their jaws to feast on their flesh.

“Run 'em down! Run 'em down!” A voice commanded, and cars began to drive down the street, taking out groups of infected.

꧁_____꧂

From the safety of the brown home, Joel watched as hell came thundering down on the street below him. The fires spread from home to home, painting the scene as a sight from hell itself as people were carved open by the hands and teeth of the Infected. Raising the gun, he peered into the scope. His eyes moved around until he had found them. Henry had run back to the cover of the car, grabbing Sam’s hand tightly. Next to them were his girls, Piper and Ellie. He would keep them safe. They would get back to him. They would cross that bridge. Cocking the gun, he fired. The bullet lodged into the head of an Infected, who jumped on top of the car, reaching for the group.

Henry and Sam ran away from the vehicle. Piper and Ellie ran the other way. Joel followed his girl’s movements and took out each predator. No matter how they grabbed, leaped, and screeched, he would never let them touch the girls. The first few shots had startled the girls, but with a quick, grateful glance up at him, they knew who their protector was. His gun followed the girls as they ducked behind cars and raced away from the bloodied mouths of the infected. His gun kept firing, taking out the monsters, until one shot was met with silence. The barrel was empty.

Joel’s shaking hands dug around for another cartridge, for more bullets. His eyes tore away from the window to re-arm the gun. When he looked back, Piper had shoved Ellie towards a van as an Infected pounced on the girl. It knocked her to the ground and growled. Its head whipped around to the younger and prepared to jump when its body fell limp. Joel held his breath, and it only returned when Piper shoved the monstrous body off of her. She was alive. The girls exchanged some words before Piper pushed Ellie into the van. The younger girl makes it in. Joel kept firing, giving Piper more time to seek shelter when she stopped. There was a roar that shook the whole street. A towering blob of infected snarled as it stomped towards the van, towards Ellie and Piper. Joel fired at the thing, and the infected howled each time the bullets hit.

Suddenly, Piper was gone. Joel scoured the crowd to find her. The light of the fire blinded him. Muffled shots were fired, and he whirled around to find it. Piper was luring the thing away from Ellie. He watched as she opened her mouth to scream at it before shooting it once more. Its pace picked up as it charged. Joel cocked the gun once more, but it was empty. He cried out as he watched Piper scurry away. Her body was hidden from view behind two cars. It was too late. The infected raised its arms up high and roared as they came down. ꧁_____꧂

“Hurry and get in!” Piper hissed.

Ellie whined. As if she didn’t already know what was awaiting them outside the van.

“I’m trying!”

“Ellie!” Piper glanced behind herself and froze. “Ellie,” Her tone hardened.

“I’m in! Piper, come on, let’s go–”

“I can’t.”

Ellie’s brows pinched together. “What do you mean?” There it was, that sickening roar. It made Ellie shiver. As she peered through the muddied glass of the van, she gasped, although the sound was more like a scream.

“Piper!”

Her older sister glanced back at her. Piper’s dark brown eyes were glossed over as she flashed a shaking smile. “Ellie,” Piper whispered. “I need you to–”

“No!”

“Ellie! I need you to hide. Stay low and quiet. Joel will–”

“Fuck Joel,” Ellie hissed. “You’re my sister. Remember? Me and you till the end.”

Piper bit her lip and cast her eyes downward. Her hand was still holding Ellie’s, although at this point, it was more like Ellie clung to her sister.

“Yea, me and you. So you’ve gotta keep goin’. I’ll live on with you. Just get out of here.”

Ellie was crying now. “No, Piper, no!” But it was no use. Piper had yanked her hand away from Ellie. Her sister’s screams challenged the Infected as her shots drew it away. Away from Ellie. “PIPER!!” Ellie cried as her eyes trailed her sister’s movements.

Piper’s sights were on the monster. The firelight illuminated the tears on her dirtied face like stars in the night sky. Ellie banged at the van window, slowly moving her body to keep her sights on Piper. The monster roared at Piper, and Ellie shrieked as Piper’s back hit two cars. The trucks caged Piper in, leaving her no room for escape as the Infected hunted her.

The Infected was mere feet from Piper. She had nowhere to run. Ellie wailed and screamed as she banged against the van. Piper’s name kept falling from her bloodied lips. As the monster raised its arms, Ellie watched Piper turn her head to the side. Their eyes met in a weak attempt to say goodbye. After that, Ellie could only hear the never-ending screams and sobs that were squeezed out of her lungs.

It was these cries for her dead sister that drew in a hunter. The tiny Infected clicked and screeched as its ears attuned for fear were lured in. Ellie gasped as the monster’s body twisted like a spider. The van rattled with the newest edition. That little huff of air sealed her fate, and the Infected lunged. Ellie cried out in terror as the infected struggled to climb over the mountain of seats to reach her. In the front of the car, Ellie used her legs to kick open the passenger side door of the van. With one powerful kick, the door swung open. Ellie fell out of the van and slammed the door behind her. The Infected shrieked, and its claw-like nails scratched at the window.

From behind her, a familiar voice yelped. “Get it off!” Henry yelled as his legs frantically kicked a snarling Infected away. Sam was beside whimpering as a second Infected was reaching for him. Ellie wiped away her tears and scrambled over to the monsters. Her pocket knife was in her hand as she stabbed the infected, grabbing Henry. A shot rang out as Joel took care of the one attacking Sam. Her hands reached out to take hold of Sam’s and Henry’s before pulling them up when all she wanted to do was crumble to the ground and cry.

“Thanks,” Henry said. “Hey, where’s Piper–”

“Gone,” Ellie said. Henry’s eyes filled with pity, but Ellie didn’t want his pity. An Infected screamed and jumped towards them before Joel shot it down. “Come on, come on!” Ellie waved her hands for Henry and Sam to follow. “Go, go!” She yelled as they made their way to the house at the end of the street.

Joe stood outside on the lawn. His gun was aimed to shoot any approaching Infected. Upon seeing Joel, Ellie let go of Henry and Sam’s hand and ran to him. His somber eyes only made her cry as she clung to his coat. Henry and Sam stilled at the sight. Joel lowered his gun and patted Ellie’s head. His words wouldn’t do anything for her. He knew that. His eyes met Henry and Sam, who shared the same solemn look.

“Stop!” A sheer voice cried out. The group whirled around and found Kathleen. Her gun was raised and aimed towards Henry. Joel’s grip on Ellie tightened. Kathleen chuckled. “You think you’ll get awa–”

Blood spattered on their faces as a bullet lodged in Kathleen’s head. The woman’s body fell limp, collapsing to the ground in a pile of sprinkling blood. Behind the deceased stood a trembling figure. Blood, ash, and dirt covered their body from head to toe, almost making them unrecognizable. Their dark eyes glistened as the weapon lowered to their side.

“Pipes?” Ellie whispered.

꧁_____꧂

It was black. Piper’s mind was constantly replaying her last few moments. Her desperate goodbye to Ellie as she ran away, shooting at the monster. Each shot hit. She’d never miss, not when it counted. She only wished Ellie could get away, that Joel would protect her.

Piper was expecting death to hurt a lot more. She had seen how the monster after her had torn off a man’s head before doing the same to the rest of his body, but nothing came.

The terrors that were occurring on the street still reached her ears. The pleading screams of men and women as they were scratched open, the infected’s hand burrowing into them. Gunshots firing in a feeble attempt to save oneself. But what she heard the most was heavy breathing. It was her own. She was still breathing.

Unclenching her body, she opened her eyes. She covered her mouth to stifle the gasp that tried to flee. The infected stood before her. The two cars trapping her were demolished by the brutal force of the Infected. It stood before her; its fleshy chest heaved as it looked down. Piper was scrunched into a tight ball as she stared at the monster before her. It was watching her–the mushrooms, where eyes should be, followed her movement. She gulped. It stood still, waiting for something. A shaking breath left her lungs, and the Infected leaned down low. The potent smell of death and decay flew into Piper’s face as it snarled. She pushed herself as far as she could into the bent-up cars behind her. Her eyes widened to the size of boulders as it opened its mouth. Its teeth were rotten and covered in blood, and its throat opened up enough for her to see the tiny spiral of fungus climb out of its mouth. The thing was reaching for her. She cried out and crawled out from under the Infected. It made no motion to stop her.

Swiftly, Piper rolled underneath one of the cars and watched the Infected roar again before its thundering feet chased a new victim. As quickly as she sought shelter under the car, she rolled out. Pushing herself off the ground, she observed the horrors before her. Infected screeched and preyed after the people. Fires raged on, burning the neighborhood to the ground.

A burning sweat made Piper’s tangled hair stick to her neck and head. Her shirt was torn and bloody, and her knuckles, elbows, and knees were bloodied and tainted with bits of gravel. Choking on her breath, her feet began to move. Piper’s eyes scanned the terrors for any sight of Ellie, Joel, Henry, or Sam. An ear-splitting screech impaled her ears; Piper jumped back to find an Infected. It stared at her before turning the other way. More monster screams, and rasps were cut short as the Infected fled from the stumbling girl. She watched as these things parted the seas of torching fire, death, and rot.

She watched as hell fell down on the people who were bent on killing them. The Infected ripping them apart. She passed by men who cried out for her to save them as the monsters feasted on them. Their skin squelched as decaying teeth bit down. In her daze, Piper’s feet knocked away a pistol. The handle and barrel were drenched in blood and chunks of human flesh. Reaching down, she picked it up and wiped away the gore. The reddish handle glowed in the firelight as she caught a look at her tainted reflection in the handle. Blood trickled down her nose and mouth. Her skin was scraped, bleeding, and covered in dirt. Her eyes were cold and lifeless as her freckles disappeared under the dark of the night. Looking in the handle, she couldn’t figure out what she saw, but it wasn’t her–it wasn’t Piper.

“Go, go!” Ellie screamed. Piper’s eyes whipped around, searching for her sister. Ellie was alive. Ellie. Piper found them at the house. Henry, Sam, Joel, and Ellie. They were all there. They were safe. The weakness in her legs vanished as she ran. The sight of them was all she needed to keep going. Her family. Joel and Ellie. Her home.

꧁_____꧂

The adrenaline depleted from Joel’s system as he leaned back on the wall of the motel room. It was the least smelly of the ones on the first floor, and the carpet wasn’t as moldy as the others. The room would do for the night.

From the side room, Ellie's voice was heard as she read the comic book to Sam. "Pew. Pew. As the Raven 01 approaches the red planet.” Ellie’s finger traced the words, letting Sam know where she was. Their eyes scanned the pages of the comic book, inhaling the magical world within its pages.

Henry glanced down at his food and decided he should save the rest for later. Wrapping it up, he sighed. “You think they'll be okay?”

Joel’s ears perked up. “Yeah, I think…,” his eyes trailed off to peer into the room. “…it's easier when you're a kid anyway. You don't have anybody else relying on you. That's the hard part,” Joel said.

His words conjured up thoughts of Piper. She had it hard. She was still a kid and had to go through everything with Ellie clinging to her hand. The teen in question had been silent the entire journey to the motel, and before anyone could ask the burning question of her survival, she excused herself to go find some mattresses for them to sleep on. She mumbled something about not wanting to sleep on the sketchy green carpet.

“Well,” Henry chimed in, “I guess we're doing a good job then. Piper too.” Joel nodded. “What's that comic book say?”

"Endure and survive,” Joel repeated from memory.

"Endure and survive?” Henry cocked his brow. “That sh¡t's redundant,” he laughed.

“Yeah, it's-it's not great,” Joel agreed, and for a brief moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“No, it’s not, “ Henry said.

As an uncertain silence fell between the two men, Joel observed Sam and Ellie. They looked content. Two kids doing what kids do best. His heart swelled at the sight. This is how it should be, thought Joel. His dark eyes lit up with an idea. “Look, I don't know exactly how I'm gettin' to Wyoming. I'm probably walkin'. But… you know,” Joel muttered. “If you want to.”

Henry bit his lip to stop the smile from spreading. “Yeah. Yeah. Um… Yeah, I think it'd be nice for Sam to have a friend.” He nodded his head in a feverish manner to hide his excitement. “I'll tell him in the morning. New day, new start.”

Joel nodded along. It was a good idea that would be the best for the girls.

Standing up from his seat on a wooden chair that was much too stiff for his liking, Henry pointed to the room. “I’m gonna go check on them.”

“Hm?” Joel’s eyes followed Henry’s direction. “Yeah, I should–I should check on Piper. See where she’s at on the mattress situation.” Grunting, Joel pushed himself off the floor and left the room in search of Piper. Meanwhile, Henry turned back to his brother and Ellie.

"Bingo! Should we knock?” Ellie read before turning to the next page of the comic book.

“Hey,” he muttered as he knocked on the door. Ellie tapped Sam’s shoulder to let him know his brother was there. “You need sleep,” he said and signed at the same time.

Sam sighed before rolling over on the bed and tucking his legs in tight. The pink plaid blanket did little to ease the discomfort from the decades-old mattress. It smelt of things that Sam had never smelt before, but he knew he didn’t want to smell them again.

Seeing Sam tucked in for bed, Henry turned to Ellie. “You should–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ellie said. “I’m going.” She closed the comic book and placed it on the side table. Then, lying down on the bed, Ellie settled in for bed. Satisfied with the situation, Henry softly closed the door and left Ellie and Sam to sleep.

꧁_____꧂

The night air had gotten chillier the moment Joel had stepped outside. He wished he brought his jacket, but checking on Piper was a greater need. A slight tremor spread from his fingertips to the rest of his body, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed. Everything hurt, and Joel had to raise a hand to the wall to stop himself from crashing into it. Oxygen seemed to flee his lungs all because of her. Piper. The girl he thought died. He had seen it. She had been cornered with nowhere to run. The bloater was after her, and it was out for blood. He saw the cars crumple up as if they were soda cans under the force of the creature’s arms. Wincing as his breath came back to him, he heard a shuffling in a nearby room.

The room was only two rooms over from where they were, but it was still too far for Joel’s comfort. Stepping forward, his hand pushed the door open with a creak. Immediately, his eyes caught sight of the dim light of a flashlight.

“Kid?” Joel called out. He entered the room and glanced around. It was like the room they were staying in, except the ceiling had more water damage and mold. “Kid?” He repeated after hearing no response.

“ Room 4 has two mattresses in decent condition,” Piper muttered. Joel turned to find her unpacking her bag and laying out her sleeping bag. “You could drag ‘em over.”

Joel felt that same tense feeling enter his body from before as he saw her settle her things. “Kid.”

Fluffing up one of the pillows on the bed, Piper ignored Joel. Her face was still like that of a statue. Her eyes were cold and hard. Joel was sure if he reached out his hands to freeze.

“Kid, what are you doing?” Joel asked.

Piper scoffed. “What does it look like I’m doing? And I’m not a kid.” She still hadn’t looked at him.

His arm reached out, and his hand felt like it burned as he latched onto her shoulder, pulling her away to face him. “Look, I know what happened must have been–”

“Terrifying? Yeah, you could say that.” Piper bit the inside of her cheek. Her dark eyes still refused to look at Joel.

Joel held his tongue. He wasn’t sure what to say as his eyes took in Piper’s disheveled state. She looked awful, and it hurt him more than he’d like to say. “Hey, I’m trying here,” finally, she peered up at him. Her eyes glossed over. “Just…how did you–I saw that bloater–,” Joel whispered for fear she’d blow away if he spoke any louder.

“So that’s what they’re called.”

“I thought you died, kid,” Joel confessed. His eyes watered over, and his grip on her shoulder tightened.

Piper’s eyes briefly widened before she turned away, brushing Joel’s hand off her. “Wish I did,” she muttered.

“No,” Joel shook his head. “don’t say that. You don’t get to say that.”

Piper’s face tensed, and every line became visible. Her eyebrows clenched together so that they became one as the pain in her broken soul was revealed. “Then what do I get to say, Joel?! That I’m a monster! That the Infected treated me like their own! That they didn’t touch me! That they can’t! It’s because I’m like them. I’m a monster. I’m infected–”

Joel’s brows raised in confusion. “No, you’re immune. Just like Ellie.”

“No, you’re wrong,” Piper spat. “I’m nothing like Ellie. The infected still go after her. They will always go after her, trying to rip her apart, but me…? They just walk by as if I don’t exist. I’m one of them, Joel. It all makes sense. They were all after Ellie.” She tucked her arms close to her torso as she stepped away from Joel, putting too much distance between them.

“You got bit in the museum. You–”

“It was trying to bite Ellie, and my arm got in the way. Not that it mattered,” Piper explained. “I’m a monster.” Her eyes glanced down at the scarred bite mark from that day.

“No,” Joel said. He reached out to her. “You’re Piper.”

“And Piper’s a monster!” Piper sobbed. Her whole body shook as shaky breaths entered her lungs, fueling her pain.

“Kid, let's get back to the group. Ellie’s–” Joel tried to reason.

“No!” She yelled. “I’m not going anywhere near them, Joel! What if I….” Her voice grew soft and vulnerable. “What if I kill them? You said it yourself. I could still turn. Doesn’t matter if it’s days, months, or years. I could– I could go after Ellie. I could.”

Joel took a step closer to her, and Piper took one more back. Determined to keep distance. “You’re immune, kid. You’re immune, and even if you turned, you’d never hurt Ellie. I know it.”

“Bullshit,” Piper cursed as her back hit the wall of the room. Her knees crumbled underneath her, and her legs smashed against the floor.

“It’s not,” Joel comforted. “Come, kid. Let’s go.”

“I’m staying here,” Piper hissed.

“It’s not safe,” Joel pleaded.

“I’m not safe. I don’t feel safe in this skin.” She began to pick and pull at her skin. The wounds from earlier opened up, and fresh blood began to taint her skin once more. “I don’t feel safe around you or Ellie,” She choked on her sobs. “I–I should’ve died. I was supposed to die. I–”

Joel leaped forward and encased Piper in his arms. She tried to fight him. Her body twitched under his hold before the attempt to free herself stilled. “Shhh, I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair.

Slowly, her trembling hands wrapped around his arm. “I’m so tired,” she breathed.

“Sleep,” Joel said as he lifted Piper off the floor. “I’ll watch over you and make sure nothing happens.” With an arm under her legs and another supporting her back, Joel carried her out of the room.

“If something does happen?” Piper whispered. “Will you shoot me?” Joel’s throat constricted. “Joel?”

Examining the girl in his arms, Joel’s eyes held a mix of fear and sadness. He’s been here before. His memory proved to be too powerful. Pulling Piper closer, Joel sighed, “Just go to sleep, kid.”

Piper was too tired to push the subject further. It would be something unspoken between the two. Joel prayed it would stay that way, for he knew his answer. If she had asked him that question in Boston, he’d have no issue with her request. But they weren’t Boston anymore. Joel wasn’t who he was in that city. He was someone else, someone familiar. It was as if he had discovered a pair of clothes from his past and decided to give them a try once more just to see if they fit. As he held the teen in his arms, it was no surprise that it did. Those clothes would always fit so long as Joel was willing to wear them. As for Piper’s request, he could never. He would never.

꧁_____꧂

Ellie couldn’t help but smile as Henry closed the door. He let them keep the light on. Everyone knows you’ve got to turn the light out when you leave a room where kids are supposed to be sleeping. Snatching the comic book from off the table, Ellie tapped Sam on the leg. He whirled around, eyes wide, until he saw her waving the book at him. He smiled and sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed to see better. Ellie cracked open the comic book and held the pages open so that Sam could see. Her thin finger traced the word bubbles as she softly read them. Her face was animated as if she was a part of the story herself.

"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…” Ellie read.

Raising his pointer finger up, Ellie paused and placed the comic book down. Sam reached to his side and pulled out the scratchboard. His small hand took the pencil and began to write.

“Are you ever scared?” he asked.

Ellie read his message and grabbed the board to write her reply. “Do I not look scared?”

Sam shook his head. "Never."

Ellie’s eyes fell, and she picked up the scratchboard. “I'm scared all the time…,” she wrote.

Sam scoffed. Ellie softly smirked and continued to write.

“… of scorpions!” She flashed the scratchboard, and Sam and Sam raised a brow, unamused.

She erased her message before writing her truest fear. “I’m scared of ending up alone,” she wrote. Her eyes began to water as she thought of today’s events. Sniffling, she wiped away a tear. She’d almost lost Piper, and she’d already lost so many others: Her mother, Riley, and Tess. Who else was going to be added to that list? Maybe Sam? Joel? Henry? Piper? “What about you?” Ellie wrote.

Sam took the board in his hands and slowly wrote his response. “If you turn into a monster, is it still you inside?” He asked.

Ellie’s brows furrowed in confusion, but her confusion faded as Sam raised the hem of his pant leg. The light highlighted the bloody bite wound. Tiny veins reached out from the injury, but Ellie knew better. Those weren’t veins. It was the fungus. She saw Sam’s expression falter, and without thinking, she pulled back her sleeve. She stuck her arm up to the light, and Sam gasped. She had a mark just like him.

“My blood… is medicine,” Ellie wrote on the board before showing it to Sam. He tilted his head. Quickly, Ellie fetched her knife out from her bag and cut her hand open. Sam raised his hands up in protest, but Ellie ignored them. Carefully placing her bleeding hand on his wound, she mixed her blood with his. Sam winced as her finger dug into the bite. But as quickly as it happened, it was over. Sam’s pants returned to cover his wound as Ellie bandaged her hand up.

“Stay awake with me,” Sam wrote.

“I promise,” Ellie replied.

Raising up his hands, Sam signed the word “Promise.”

Ellie followed suit. Her fingers mirrored Sam’s as she said, “Promise.”

With the promise to each other, Sam and Ellie hugged. Their bodies rocked back and forth to bring a sense of comfort. Ellie held onto Sam tightly. She wouldn’t lose him. Her blood was the cure. It had saved Piper after she got bit, so it had to work on Sam. It had to.

It wasn’t long before the light of day broke through the window of the motel room. Ellie jolted awake as the sun’s beams fell on her face. She groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eye. Looking on the bed next to hers, she found Sam. He was sitting up, looking out the window. The morning sun had painted a picturesque scene outside. The sky was a grayish blue, and the grass was a deep green. Ellie was glad to see green again instead of steel-gray buildings and dust.

“Hey,” she called out to Sam. Once the words left her mouth, she smiled, realizing her mistake. Shuffling, she got out of the bed and walked towards the young boy. He was humming a song she hadn’t heard before. She wondered how he even knew what he was humming but figured she could just ask him. Reaching out her hand, she tapped on his shoulder.

Sam whipped around. His eyes were dead as they scanned Ellie. Immediately, he raised a hand to scratch her. His mouth opened and snarled. Ellie screamed as he pounced on her and knocked her to the ground. The force broke down the door, landing them in the other room.

Ellie struggled to keep her hands up to keep Sam’s gnashing teeth away from her. Her whimpers and cries reached the ears of Joel, Henry, and Piper as they were shaken awake. Immediately, Joel and Henry reached for the gun lying between them. It was closer to Joel, but Henry was faster. Jumping to his feet, Henry aimed the gun at Joel and then at Piper as they tried to approach Ellie and Sam.

“Nope, nope, nope,” Henry discouraged.

“Joel! Piper! Joel!” Ellie pleaded. Sam’s deadly eyes bore into hers. Her friend was gone. She had failed him.

There was a deafening bang, and Sam dropped to the floor. A pool of blood spilled from the young boy’s head, turning the sickly green carpet a scarlet red. Henry gasped, and Ellie screamed. Piper’s body could no longer hold her up, and she fell to the floor. A permanent expression of shock was carved onto her face. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t–

“Ellie,” Joel whispered. “Are you okay?” He held his hands by his head as Henry’s gun trailed his motions.

Ellie peeled her gaze away from Sam’s dead body to look at Joel and Piper. Silent sobs fell from her lips as a flood of raging tears trickled down her cheeks.

Henry stepped back, pulling Joel’s attention. The young man’s body was eerily calm as his eyes conjured up a storm. The seas of Henry’s dark eyes crashed and shook.

“Easy, easy, easy,” Joel muttered. He took a step towards Henry, who had brought the gun to him. “Henry, gimme the gun.”

“What did I do?” Henry sobbed.

“Shh,” Joel soothed.

“What did I do? What-what-what did I do?” He looked back at his younger brother. Where there was once a bright smile now sat a gaping hole where the bullet had entered. Sam was dead, and Henry had pulled the trigger. “Sam?”

“Henry, gimme the gun. Gimme the gun. Gimme the gun, Henry.” Joel was begging now. “Gimme the gun.”

Henry did no such thing. Slowly, his steady hand brought the cool metal of the gun’s barrel to his head. His desperate eyes met Piper’s. It was only a brief glance, but it was enough for Piper to understand. In the storm of Henry’s eyes, Piper saw the girl in the abandoned mall. She saw the young girl tear into her own flesh, begging the dead monster to have bitten her instead. She saw the gun that had a bullet promised for her brain if Ellie was taken by the fungus. She looked at Henry and understood. Closing her eyes, she knew. Moments later, she felt the warm droplets of blood on her face and the bang of a gun. Her arm was burning now. The very arm where her teeth had dug into her flesh months before. It was scalding as Henry’s body fell to the floor. The very floor where his brother met his demise seconds before.

“Oh God,” Joel gasped. A prayer or a cry of shock, none of them knew.

A few hours. That’s all it took to dig the graves of Henry and Sam. They laid to rest in fields behind the motel. Piper had found some sticks to make gravestones with. Sticking them on the ground, she silently turned back to the motel to retrieve her things. She had said her goodbye, so there was no use sticking around, no need for tears, and no need for mourning. Ellie had followed suit, grabbing her and Joel’s things. The girls returned to find Joel patting down the soil. Heaven forbid if any animals got into the grave and made a dinner of the bodies of the people they could have called friends.

Dropping Joel’s jacket and bag at his side, Ellie placed down her bag. In her hand, she held Sam’s scratchboard. She crouched down at his grave and picked up the pencil, writing one last message before placing it down. Picking up her backpack, she threw it over her shoulder and turned to Joel.

“Which way's west?” Ellie asked Joel. The wind had started to pick up, and the pleasant weather from before had started to turn sour. It was going to rain soon.

Joel’s eyes squinted, and he looked around before nodding in the direction. His lungs were still trying to recover after digging the graves.

After getting her answer, Ellie started to walk, leaving Sam and Henry behind. Piper followed. The girls walked side by side, together but feeling forever alone. Joel wasn’t following them.

“Let's go,” Ellie hollered back to Joel. He removed his gaze from Sam’s grave to look up at the girls. They stood waiting for him to move on. They didn’t have time to waste. After all, a storm was coming.

Joel shrugged on his jacket and backpack before taking one last glance at the graves. The message Ellie had written would forever be burned into his brain.

“I’m sorry.” ꧁______꧂

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꧁______꧂

[chaptersandpages]

Hello!

I wanted to share something with you all in the TLOU fandom that I am very proud of. I am writing a fan fiction that takes place during the events of episode 4 and 5 of the series, and I would very much like you all to read it! I will link it below to AO3; it currently has only 5 chapters but I plan to expand it more depending on its reception here on Tumblr. I will also put the summary and ratings below.

Again, thank you all!

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve on AO3 by literalrainbow7

Summary: September 26th, 2003 was the day when everything went to shit. You had barely started your senior year of high school and you took what should've been an easy job - babysitting your neighbors' five year-old son, Henry - to pay for college.

Twenty years later and after the overthrow of KC FEDRA, you're holding onto a promise you made to Henry's mother: "Make sure the boys are okay."

When you and the boys come across the two survivors that came (literally) crashing into the open city, it seems like a simple enough plan - show them a way out of Kansas City while they help clear the way, so to speak. Once you were all out, you would go your separate ways.

Of course, things never turn out to be as simple as you originally plan.

[cardierreh15]

Post Human

hey y'all, this one has been sitting in my drafts/docs for a while now and ive edited and changed and had it beta'd read 85 fucking times lol so I hope it lives up to some of yalls standards and enjoy it.

***I do not give anyone permission to repost or copy my work!!!

Warnings 18+: Cursing , Sexual Situations , Gore , Blood , Clickers & Stalker .

Pairings: August Walker x Roslyn(Black!Female Oc)

Special Guests: Ellie (Sister/Best Friend) , Joel (Father Figure)

Description: It's quite the special day for our beloved Roslyn so August gots something planned for her.

Word Count: 5.8K

Song (in order): Alligator Tears by Beyonce , Snooze By SZA

III

October 21st

Roslyn was standing in line at the mess hall. For once, she was able to just stand there without a yawn or a stretch. It was then that someone came up behind her and tapped her on her shoulder. 

She whipped her head around to look at the individual. It was Ellie, with this goofy grin on her lips and a cupcake in her calloused hands. Then, it dawned on her. 

‘Happy Birthday loser!’ 

Roslyn chuckled and rolled her eyes as she reached out and gave her sister a hug. 

‘How many years have we known each other? You do this every year.’ 

She looked around to see if anyone had spotted them. And sure as the sunset in the west, the attention was on her.

‘Awww shit and you fight me on this every year. Just take the damn cupcake.’ Ellie practically shoved it in her hands.

Ros gave her an unapproved glare before chuckling, ‘You’re hard headed. That doesn’t seem to improve with each year but instead declines!’ She rolled her eyes and turned around in line, ‘Is this what you were up to this morning? Or were you sniffing under Dina’s skirt again?’

Ellie rolled her eyes and gave her shoulder a gentle nudge. ‘Yes, actually! Dina is just a friend. You’re jealous that she's taking up all our bonding time?’ she teased.

‘No. I don’t care.’

‘Oh, I know you don’t,’ Ellie leaned in and whispered. ‘You’ve been too busy mumbling about your own friend in your sleep.’

Roslyn’s eyes grew and she snapped her head over at Ellie. 

‘What? Don't be so surprised Ron, I've told you before you talk in your sleep!'  

She gave her a snarky smirk with a raised brow.

‘You’re such an ass,’ Roslyn chuckled and shook her head as the girls finally made it up to the counter to collect their breakfast.

Afterwards, they began to make their journey to their designated spot in the corner of the cafeteria. As soon as they sat down, Ellie didn’t hold back on the questions. 

‘So! What happened after patrol?!’ she teased as she sprinkled some salt over her eggs.

‘Well, if you must know, nothing happened! We talked and went our separate ways.' She took a sip of her coffee and began to unwrap her breakfast burrito. 

‘Really? That’s it?!’

‘That’s it,’ Roslyn repeated.

‘Hmmm. Well what do you think about him?'

Roslyn pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, 'Ellie, I barely know him. He and his brother just got here a few weeks ago!'

Ellie broke off a piece of her burrito and placed it on her tongue, 'Well you know enough to be dreamin' about 'em.'

'Jesus Christ would you stop?!' Roslyn gritted through her teeth as she balled up a napkin and threw it at her face.

Ellie laughed and held her hands up in defense and ducked her head.

She wasn't going to let that shit go. Ever

Suddenly, the girls could hear familiar laughter across the cafeteria. Roslyn looked over to see August and Tommy walking through the double doors. 

‘Aw shit. Speaking of the devil.’ 

Roslyn glanced over at Ellie who wore a smug look on her face. 

‘You’re so annoying.’

Meanwhile, her heart was palpitating in her chest.

‘I know.’ 

The men looked over at the girls. August's glare was a bit longer and more intense than Tommy’s as he jerked his head up in a greeting. 

You say move a mountain and i'll throw on my boots. You say stop the river from running, I'll build a dam or two. You say change religions now I spend Sundays with you. Something 'bout those tears of yours,

How does it feel to be adored?

Roslyn fought the grin that was threatening to curl on her lips. She had to hurry and look away before he caught it. She quickly looked down at her burrito to try to hide that smirk on her face.

‘Uh-oh! There it is!’ Ellie chuckled as she reached over and landed a few smacks on her arm. ‘You look so cute when you’re in love!’ she mocked.

Her head snapped up at her sister and threw the balled up napkin at her face. 

‘You talkin’ casanova?’

Ellie laughed and raised her hands in surrender, ‘Nope! Look Roslyn, it’s okay to have a crush on someone. Hell, you used to be infatuated with what’s his name!’ she snapped her fingers together as she thought.

‘You mean Chad?’ A snarl curled up on her lips before she took her first bite into her burrito.

‘Yeah! And now look at ya! Moved on to bigger… and better things! That bigger was just literal.’ 

Roslyn chuckled for a second before their names were called. 

‘Ros! Ellie!’ Tommy called out towards them.

‘Tommy!’ Ellie called out before Roslyn turned to look over her shoulder. 

Both of the men were walking towards them.

‘Sup Tommy!’ Roslyn smiled softly before she stood up to hug her uncle. 

‘Happy Birthday, kiddo!’ he said as he embraced her in a tight hug and kissed her head. 

‘Thanks,’ she grinned and looked over at August who stood next to Tommy. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey,’ he said with a small smile.

‘Aye, y’all mind if we joined y’all for breakfast this mornin’?’

A lump grew in Roslyn’s throat. ‘Hmm?’ was all she could hum out.

‘Of course!’ Ellie grinned cunningly. 

Roslyn snapped her head over at Ellie, ‘Th-they can?’ her eyes were pleading for her to give this shit up. 

‘Of course they can! It’s just breakfast, Roslyn,' she teased. 

Roslyn glared at Ellie with great loathe. 

A smile cracked up on her lips and she spoke through her teeth, ‘Sure… y’all can sit with us!’ 

***

Their morning consisted of hearty laughter and storytelling. 

Roslyn didn’t know why she was so adamant at first. But it felt good to share a good laugh with the people she loved. Even August. 

The four of them walked outside together, all in fits of giggles. Tommy then looked down at Roslyn. 

‘Come by the house later on! Me and Maria got sumn waitin’ on ya. Ellie, be safe on patrol today!’ he said, turning away.

‘I’ll be there!’ Roslyn smiled.

‘You got it, Tommy!’ Ellie added and then turned to look at Roslyn. ‘I gotta go. I’ll be back in a few hours.’

She balled up her fist for Roslyn to pound it.

‘Be safe. Love ya.’ She gave Ellie a pound on her fist and they leaned in to give one another a kiss on the cheek. 

‘See ya later, August!’ and with that, she headed off to the stables.

The pair stood there in silence for a moment before August decided to initiate the conversation, ‘I didn’t know your birthday was today. Sorry, I didn’t bring a gift for you.’

Roslyn looked ahead and smiled softly, ‘yeah. I really don’t like to celebrate it. It’s just another day for me.’

‘Well you should! There's like a one in a million chance of you being here so…’

‘Technically the statistic is one in 400 million…’

‘Yeah but as you can tell, humans are a limited edition nowadays,’ he chuckled. 

She giggled and nodded, ‘You’re right about that.’

‘Anyway though, you should celebrate it like it’s your last. Tomorrow is never promised y’know?’

Roslyn rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, ‘I’m starting to believe you and Ellie knew each other in a past life or something.’ 

They both shared a small chuckle before she spoke up again, ‘I’ll try to take that advice. No promises though.’ 

She turned away to walk but he instantly followed. 

‘At least you’d try. So, um… you have any plans today?’

‘Nope.’

‘Oh. Do they throw parties?’

‘Mmmm,’ she looked up in thought. ‘Sometimes. They do that for you guys back in Washington?’

August pressed his lips together as he shoved his hands in his pockets, ‘sometimes. More like a small gathering kind of thing.’ He smirked as he looked over at her. 

‘Oh. Cool,’ she gave him a friendly yet small grin this time before she walked up the steps to the library. 

Suddenly, a beeping captured August’s attention. He looked down at his watch. 9:30am. 

‘Damn,’ he cursed and looked up at Roslyn. ‘Hey, I gotta—‘ he threw his thumb back, ‘head back. Gotta go give Mikey his medicine.’ 

Roslyn turned around and gave him an understanding nod, ‘of course! No worries, go take care of your brother!’

August licked his lips, ‘Will I see you later?’ 

‘Why wouldn’t you?’ she asked, her head fallin’ to the side as a smile quirked up on her lips. 

A chuckle rumbled in August’s chest. ‘That’s what I like to hear.’ 

He shot her a wink and took a few steps back before spinning swiftly on his toes and walking back in the same direction they’d just come from. 

With heated cheeks, Roslyn just watched him for a moment before letting out a deep, shaky breath and walked into the library. 

***

Her day was as mundane and regular as she let it be. She did her best to keep herself busy. A few people wished her a happy birthday and thanked her for always being the best version of herself. But nothing out of the ordinary. 

Except that was far-fetched of course. It was 7:43pm now and she was walking up the few steps of Maria’s cabin. She knocked on the door. They barely gave it a second before the door swung open. 

‘Hey! Come in!’ Maria said with a cheeky grin curled up on her face. 

She found that rather odd. Maria was a gorgeous woman but smiling was a rare thing for her simply because she had been through a lot. 

‘Okay,’ Roslyn uttered as she walked through the threshold. 

She began to unbutton her coat but Maria raised her hand, ‘aht! Don’t take that off, we’re going to the pub afterwards. I just wanna give you something.’ 

Then Maria disappeared upstairs.

Letting out a deep breath through her nose, she bit the inside of her cheek and zipped her coat right back up, shoveing her hands in the pockets as she stared at the pictures of Maria and Tommy on the wall.

Sometimes, it seems like Maria and Tommy just dealt with one another. It looked like it wasn’t really love but, in those photos… They looked head over heels. 

Roslyn snapped her head over at Maria who came trotting down the steps with a small box wrapped in old newspaper in her hand. 

‘What’s this?’ Roslyn asked with her eyes narrowed. 

‘It’s a gift from Tommy. I just happened to give you my gift way too early,’ Maria giggled. 

Roslyn rolled her eyes and shook the box next to her ear. She heard a small jingle on the inside. 

‘What is it?’ 

‘Check it out,' Maria reassured as she walked over to the coat rack and threw on her own jacket. 

‘Hmm,’ Roslyn hummed and tore the old newspaper off. Just a plain black box.

‘Alright,’ she sighed, before popping open the lid of the box. 

On the inside of the box was a solid gold rope necklace. 

‘What?!’ Roslyn laughed as she snatched the gold out of the box. ‘Holy shit!’ she continued to laugh hysterically. 

‘A gold necklace?!’

Maria cackled as she zipped up her coat, ‘Yeah. Tommy told me a while ago about you wanting one. So, he and Joel damn near flipped the mall in the east upside down until they found you one. Almost got them killed but, I’m sure they’d do it again.’ 

Well, she definitely couldn’t give it back; especially now that she knew the bullshit that came with them getting it in the first place.

‘It’s beautiful. Could you put it on for me?’ 

‘Of course.’ 

The smile plastered on Roslyn’s face hadn’t faltered. 

She scooped up her long braids and held them up as Maria wrapped the chain around her neck and clipped it together.

‘There,’ Maria said as Roslyn turned around to face her. ‘It compliments you so well, Ros.’ 

‘For real?!’ 

‘Would I lie to you?’ she grinned. 

‘Valid,' Roslyn laughed.

‘C’mon, let’s go have a drink.’ 

***

On their short journey to the pub, Roslyn noticed the lack of people walking around outside. She looked down at her watch. It was only 8:06. So why the hell were the streets damn near empty? Something was fishy. 

Once they made it to the pub, the lights were off there too. Roslyn raised a brow in thought, ‘The pub? Closed this early?’ 

‘Yeah, Seth probably closed up early tonight. But, she pulled out a large ring of keys and jingled them. ‘They don’t call me the key holder for no reason!’ 

‘Whoa— we aren’t breaking in the pub are we?’ 

Maria laughed as she stuck the key in the door and twisted it, ‘Is it really breaking in if I have the key?’ 

She then pushed the door open and jerked her head forward. 

Letting out a breath, she nodded in agreement, ‘Yeah. That’s true.’ And with that, she walked in the dark space. 

Maria walked in behind her and flickered on the lights and everyone jumped out shouting, 

‘SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSLYN!’ 

Roslyn jumped as her mouth fell. It was safe to say that she was definitely surprised. Streamers hung from the ceiling with a Happy Birthday banner hanging against the back wall. 

She wanted to be so angry about this considering her thinking about birthdays only brought humans a year closer to death. But everyone she loved and adored was here with goofy triangular hats sitting on their heads. For once, everything felt alright with the world. 

She began to laugh hysterically and looked back at Maria, ‘Whose fucking idea was this?!’ 

Maria gave her a playful shrug as she strapped a pink party hat to her own head. 

‘It was mine!’ Roslyn looked back as August just emerged from the crowd and walked up to her. 

He would. 

‘Happy Birthday, Ros.’ 

I can’t lose. When I’m with you. How could I snooze and miss the moment, you’re just too important. Nobody do body like you do. 

She just looked up into his eyes, her heart raced inside her chest. She was so amazed with him, lost for words! 

‘Thank you,’ she grinned up at him. 

‘Alright, alright. Break this up!’ Joel called out, walking up and putting his arms between them and breaking them apart. 

The both of them laughed in slight embarrassment before Joel embraced his girl in his arms. 

‘Happy Birthday baby girl,’ he placed a kiss against her ear, ‘I’m proud of you.’ 

‘Thanks Joel,' she sniffed as she held on to him tightly, trying her best not to ugly cry. 

When the hug was broken, she carefully wiped the corner of her eyes as she laughed. 

‘Awww don’t cry, Roslyn,' Ellie smiled as she walked up to hug her.

‘Shut up! I’m not crying,’ Roslyn cackled. 

Ellie quickly embraced her in a tight hug. 

‘I love you, sis,’ Ellie said softly in her ear as they rocked in sync. ‘I’ve lost so much… so many. And I’m so glad… My journey has brought me to you, Ros. I love you forever.’ 

Roslyn squeezed Ellie tighter as she clamped her eyes shut, hiding her face in Ellie’s shoulder so no one would see the tear that finally fought its way out. 

This was all a very intimate and beautiful moment with Roslyn and her family. As a child she longed for something like this. And now, her biggest fear was losing them. They were her reason for existing. 

Once Roslyn pulled away, she dried her eyes and let out a deep shaky breath,

‘Okay! Enough of this shit! Let’s get this party started!’ 

The pub cheered happily and the music began to play. Roslyn turned to look up at August who had just put a party horn between his teeth. He paused before giving it a strong blow. Roslyn tried to keep her composure but she just laughed and playfully landed a soft punch on his chest. 

‘You’re. Such. An ass! You know I don’t do this kind of stuff!’ 

‘I don’t actually!’ he leaned in with his hands behind his back. 

‘You do! I told you I don’t like celebrating my birthday!’ 

‘You used to not like it. Since I’m gone be stickin’ around… you might get one of these every year. Now, here!’ He reached behind him and picked up a yellow party hat and carefully put it on her head. 

‘Enjoy your party, princess! It’s your day!’ 

I can’t lose. When I’m with you. How could I snooze and miss the moment, you’re just too important. Nobody do body like you do, you do. 

***

The party was now in full swing. It was almost like something out of a movie. People were dancing, drinking, laughing. It was almost like Mother Earth wasn’t choking them to death. 

Roslyn walked over to the bar where August was sitting and staring at her. 

‘You’ve spent the whole night staring at me.’

August chuckled, ‘Is that a bad thing?’ 

‘Nah. Just a little creepy,’ she said, reaching down to grab the elastic band beneath his chin, and snapped it.

‘Ow!’ he laughed as he covered his chin. ‘What was that for?!’ he stood up, towering over her.

‘No reason. So, you're gonna stop being a weirdo and come dance with me?’

‘Hmmm,’ August thought for a minute. ‘Actually, I got a better idea,’ he reached up and took off the party hat. ‘How about we ditch the party.’ 

Roslyn raised a brow, ‘Ditch the party? That you threw for me?’ She poked herself in her chest with her index finger. 

‘Yeah!’ He sounded so positive. 

‘And do what?’

‘That’s for me to know. C’mon! We’ll be back before it’s over.’ He then took her hat off of her head and stacked their hats together before he grabbed her hand. He grabbed their coats and they left the pub in a hurry.  

First they stopped by his house. She waited outside on his porch before he came back out. 

‘That was quick!’ 

‘Yeah. Mikey is up and moving around so he’s taking his own meds now.’

‘Oh well that’s good to hear! Wait, why didn’t he come to the party tonight?’ 

‘I tried to get him to come but he was complaining about the weather.’ 

Well, she could understand that. The only good thing about the cold was it stunted the movement in the herds. At least that’s what everyone thought. 

‘I get that. Anyway,’ she sighed out, ‘Where we goin’?’

August gave her a sinister smirk and leaned in, ‘just wait.’ 

He walked past her and towards the back of the compound. 

Her eyes grew in shock once she’d realized what he was doing. The cold air burned at her chest as she jogged up behind him. 

‘August! August!’ She ran in front of him and placed her hands on his wrists, ‘What the hell are you doing?!’ 

‘We… are sneaking out.’ 

‘And why the fuck would you wanna do that?! Do you not realize how deep in shit you’d— WE would be in if anyone found out?!’ 

August gave her a gentle smile and his head fell to the side. ‘Just come with me. I promise… if we do get in trouble… I’ll take all the blame,’ he lended out his hand. 

‘Good… because this is your idea!’ she stared up at him and then slapped her hand into his. ‘And don’t count on me to bail your ass out. I’ll just tell them you kidnapped me.’

August smiled as the pair walked over to the fence. He then peeled the fence back and let her crawl through, then he followed. 

‘This better be worth it,’ she said glaring at him. 

‘It will! Promise. C’mon,’ and he began to jog ahead. 

‘Ugh! August, wait!’ she called out in a whisper before she went after him. 

But just like her warm breath in the cool air, he disappeared in a flash. 

‘August?!’ she called out for him. 

But nothing! Just the sound of the wind rustling the dead twigs and branches on the trees. Roslyn shivered as she reached in her back pocket, pulled out her beanie and tugged it over her head. 

‘That’s better,’ she hummed softly. ‘Now to see where this fool has gone.’ 

Roslyn clicked on her mini flashlight that was velcro to her coat and searched for any clues to lead her where he was hiding. 

‘August!’ she walked forward until she came across a pair of fresh prints. 

‘Gotcha. Sneaky little shit. August I’m going to kick your ass for leaving me out here by myself! Actually, I think I may tell Joel! He won’t like that too much,’ Roslyn chuckled softly before the quietness around her began to settle in once more. 

It was eerie and the feeling of being left alone made her heart sink. She heard a twig snap nearby. She looked behind her to see where the noise had come from. 

‘August?’ She said softly. ‘August stop playin’! This shit isn’t funny!’ 

The silence rang in the air. Now she was scared. Suddenly, she was hit upside her head with a snowball. 

‘OW!’ She wiped her face, taking off her beanie to shake out the snow and her braids. 

August came from behind a tree cackling like a menacing child as he walked over to her.

‘That’s not funny! You’re such a dick!’ She gave him a playful shove as she did her best not to laugh too.

‘Awww, come on. It was a little funny. Plus, I noticed how scared you were… did you really think I’d leave you out here like this?’ 

Roslyn sighed, softly tugging back on her beanie. 

The answer was delayed and really, she knew that she was safe with August. But she didn’t just trust anybody. This life was all about surviving and throwing anybody in the way of the freight train just to keep yourself alive. 

‘I don’t know. Would you?’

August’s head fell to the side gently as a small smirk grew on his lips, ‘you never have to worry about me leavin’ you, Ros. I got you.’

Her face grew warm as a smile curled up on her full lips, ‘that’s good to know, August. So,” she let out a gentle breath, ‘Where we goin’?’ 

‘Oh yeah! Come on, it’s not far,’ he jerked his head over and swiftly turned around to walk away. 

‘Mmhmm,’ Roslyn hummed playfully as she squatted down and scooped some snow in her hands and patted it into a round ball. 

Then, she allowed him to walk ahead before she threw it and hit him in the middle of his back. August stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. 

Roslyn stood there with a sinister grin curled on her lips.

August turned around to face her head on, ‘you really wanna do this with me right now? You’re not gonna win this.’ 

Roslyn laughed out and shook her head, ‘right now is as good as any. Look, it’s cold and I’m already ready to get back to the compound. So if I win… we’re going back home. If you win… we can keep going and we’ll both take the blame for our absence at the party tomorrow.’ 

He folded his arms across his chest and thought for a moment, ‘alright. Cool… first person to 10, wins.’ 

‘You’re on!’ she said as she walked up to him and they pounded fists. 

Once she made it back to her side, August launched a snowball and hit her in the shoulder. Roslyn swiftly turned around with a surprise and was hit in the face with another. 

‘Oh–!’ August called out as he covered his mouth and began to laugh.

‘YOU CHEATER!’ Roslyn growled out before snatching up some snow in her palms and running behind a tree. There, she began to form a ball that was stable enough to throw. 

August ran behind a tree and began to form a few balls of snow and stack them, ‘NOT A CHEATER! JUST AN OPPORTUNIST!’ 

‘A CHEATER!’ Roslyn laughed as she peeked around the tree to find him. Once she knew she wasn’t going to get him at this angle, she carefully moved forward to another tree. But not without him throwing another snowball. Thankfully, he missed. 

‘YOU'RE LUCKY! THAT WOULD’VE BEEN 3!’ 

‘IT WOULD’VE BEEN YOUR FIRST ONE PUMPKIN EATER!’ Roslyn called out.

August laughed out as he scooped up his artillery and moved in position to flank her. Stepping from behind her cover, she started to throw the balls at the last place she’d seen him. But little did she know, he was standing right behind her. 

Roslyn began to craft up more balls in a hurry, a goofy and giddy grin burning at her cold cheeks. 

Taking gentle steps, August moved like a thief in the night! He peaked over gently to see the amount of balls she’d created. Too bad she won’t be able to use them. 

He pressed his lips together before letting out a sharp whistle. 

Roslyn stopped her project once she realized she was bested. Closing her eyes, she lifted her hands, ‘OK! You got me!’ 

She laughed.

‘Stand up.’ August commands. 

She stood up slowly and let out a shuddered breath. 

‘Turn around.’ 

Roslyn slowly turned around and kept her hands up with this smug expression on her face. Her eyes caught a glimpse at the 5 balls that sat in his arm.

‘Hmph.’ August smirked, proudly.

‘Shit.’ 

‘Yup!’ 

‘It’s like that?’

‘Just like that.’ 

She shook her head before she looked behind him and a sunken look cursed her face. 

‘August….’ she whispered as she pointed behind him. 

He didn’t even think, the look on her face frightened him and he immediately looked behind him and dropped his snowballs to the ground. But nothing was there. 

‘Wha— there’s nothing—‘ 

When he looked back ahead, she had already darted towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist with her head resting on his abdomen. 

‘Ugh!’ He grunted as their bodies collided and he fell backwards.

Straddling his lap in a fast manner, she placed her hands on his chest as she breathed heavily. The both of them began to laugh playfully. 

‘Do you surrender?’ she asked.

‘I’m sorry but this wasn’t part of the rules.’

‘It doesn’t matter! You let your guard down.’ 

August laughed and shook his head before he lifted his knee up and rolled them over in a quick movement. Then, he snatched up her wrists and pinned them above her head. 

Roslyn squeaked in surprise at his sudden movement. 

August huffed heavily as he fought the brisk air that burned at his throat and chest, ‘I never let my guard down.’ 

She let out a shuddered breath as she looked up into his cobalt blue eyes. Taking in the icy-ness of them but finding warmth in that blotch of hazel in his eye. 

In the drop top riding round with you, I feel like Scarface. Like the white bitch with the bob, you’d be my main one. 

The air between them grew thick with tension. August’s tongue darted out to lick his lips. He forced his eyes away from hers to look down at her soft plump lips. Suddenly, his urges and thoughts clouded his brain. Causing him to rush in and place a tender kiss on lips; his grip loosening on her wrists.

Roslyn felt relieved that he crossed that line. Carefully pulling her hand away, she placed her gloved hand on his jaw as she savored the taste of his lips. 

August then gently broke the kiss, pulling back to look down at her. 

‘You’re so warm,’ his gaze never left her face, yet his eyes were hooded with such want and desire. 

‘So are you…’ she whispered as her brown eyes flickered to his lips. 

A devious smirk curled up on his lips, ‘I know of an interesting way of warming up… if you wanna.’ 

Roslyn raised a brow, instantly catching the idea. It had been awhile since she had some. And they were alone, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity but, good things don’t last forever… not in this life. 

‘I’m down if you’re down,’ she said in a sultry tone as she relaxed her thighs so he could lay comfortably there. 

‘Well now is as good as—‘

Then, a twig snapped behind them. August paused for a second, placing his index finger against his lips. Carefully and silently, August pulled himself up and helped her up to her feet. 

He then pulled out his gun and gave it to her, whispering, ‘take this. Just in case.’ 

‘Wha— what about you?’ She whispered back in worry. 

‘I have a spare. Just—‘

And an unsettling cracking and clicking filled the air followed by pained grunting and snarling.

‘Infected. What the hell are they doing this close to Jackson?’ Roslyn asked, perplexed.

‘I don’t know. But we have to get rid of them. You with me?’

‘Do you have to ask?’ she smirked. 

‘That’s my girl. Now… silence.’ 

She gave him a nod for him to lead the way, and she followed him in a stack. 

***

The walk was probably 15 minutes when they stumbled across an encampment. It was vacant. Sort of. It consisted of sleeping bags, a few trinkets and emptied cans of food. They’d even created a fire with stone and wood that was now frostbitten. The intruders were gone for sometime now.

August let out a gentle breath as he stepped over a dead log. Roslyn took a step forward but August threw up his fist for her to stop. She let out a shuddered breath as she kept her gun up just in case. Once he’d finished securing the area, he pressed his lips together as he walked back to the campsite. 

‘Come look at this,’ he sheaths his gun back in the holster and squat down before the sleeping bag.

Roslyn walked around the log and walked into the encampment. She’d taken note of the WLF gear that were engraved in their belongings. 

‘They were here…’ 

‘Yeah,’ he uttered and took a deep breath. This was really fucking bad.

Roslyn let out a deep breath and looked down at him. ‘They’re after you…’ 

August let out a shuddered breath, ‘yeah.’

She closed her eyes as reality began to set in. ‘I knew it. I fucking knew it,’ she said through gritted teeth. 

August quickly stood up and looked back at her, ‘is there something wrong?’ His tone was slightly annoyed. 

‘Yeah! As a matter of fact, there is!’ She placed her hands on her hips, ‘now the well-being of Jackson is at risk all because you decided to come here!’ 

‘Look, I didn’t know they’d follow us OK!? You think I’d purposely bring them here?! To hurt you?'

‘Listen, I don’t know what your motive is! But right now, you are the bad guy!’ 

That stung August in the chest. 

‘You think that lowly of me?! Roslyn, you know me!’

‘Ha!’ Roslyn cackled. ‘You think because you threw me a surprise birthday party you think I should know you better?!’ 

A loud screech filled the air, causing them to look ahead. They waited for a second before the grunting became guttural screaming. 

‘They’ve heard us.’

‘Fuck!’ Roslyn cursed as she pulled out her gun. 

Two runners emerged from the darkness of the trees and stumbling behind them were two clickers. 

‘CLICKER!!’ August shouted as he shot at the runners. 

Roslyn began to shoot at their heads. Pieces of cordycep growth ricochet off of them before she put them down. Letting out a breath in relief, she looked up to see August fighting with the last living infected. 

She aimed the gun at the runner’s head but then August shouted,‘ROS! BEHIND YOU!’ 

Looking back, Roslyn was instantly tackled by a stalker. 

‘Ugh!’ She whimpered out as she fought to keep the infected mouth away from her. She held her arm at its throat as her other hand reached out to search for the gun that flew out of her grasp.

‘ROSLYN!’ August shouted out in fear as he managed to grab his ka-bar and stab the runner in the head. 

The stalker began to chomp down as it stretched its neck to try to get a bite. It was getting harder to hold it back by the second. Suddenly, a gunshot rang in the air and the stalker fell into her chest, dead as a door knob. Her ears rang with an eerie vengeance.

‘Ros! ROSLYN’ August shouted as he rushed over to her. 

With blood and brain fragments on her face, she quickly pushed the dead infected off of her, rolled over and emptied the contents in her stomach. Her hands gripped the snow as she dry heaved. 

August quickly rushed over and grabbed her by her shoulders to look at her, ‘Roslyn! Look at me!’ He grabbed her face so she could look up at him. 

Her heaving had stopped but turned into deep breaths. Her eyes focused on his as they began to calm her down. 

‘Shhh… it’s ok. I've got you remember?!’ 

Roslyn gave him a hesitant nod before she felt a stinging pain in her shoulder, ‘ah!’ 

‘You’re hurt,’ August said as his eyes landed on the ripped piece of cloth. 

‘Let’s get this off of you yeah?’ He then unzipped her coat and dropped it to the ground. 

When he looked back up, he’d immediately saw the torn fabric of her sweater on her shoulder. His heart shattered at the grim sight. 

‘Ros…’

Roslyn looked down to find the searing pain. She’d been bitten. 

‘Ah! Oooh… ooh my god!’ She shuddered out, trembling in pain.

This would mean she'd have to tell her deepest darkest secret. The secret that could get everyone around her killed. 

‘Ros, Ros, Roslyn— it’s alright! Look!’ He said as his breathing began to hitch. 

‘It’s not that bad!’ He began to laugh hysterically, ‘it’s … it’s going to be alright… please. Tell me everything is going to be alright!’ his vision began to blur at the bloodied sight. 

‘August…’ she let out a shuddered breath as she caressed his jaw, ‘I have something to tell you. But you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Only Ellie, Joel and Tommy know of this.’

August’s face softened as he looked down at her. 

He carefully took her small hand in his and squeezed it, ‘I promise… what is it?’ 

Roslyn bit into her bottom lip before hissing at the throbbing pain. 

She placed her hand over her shoulder, ‘I’m immune.’

From The River To the Sea, Palestine will be free. I’d like to make it clear that in no shape or form does this page support Israel or Zionism. The creator of the game, Neil Druckmann is a Zionist and I would like to make it very clear that this page stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine 🇵🇸. Boycott the game, boycott the show! CLICK HERE to find links to support and donate to Palestine & please continue to Boycott! Palestine will be free.

[xxsp3llb0undxx]

Years go by, without you by my side

Joel Miller x Wife!Reader [2.6k]

Disclaimer: Please do not repost my work to other sites or claim as your own, this is purely written from my imagination and from the help of the series. All rights of the main storyline goes to the writers and producers of The Last Of Us.

Summary: 20 years had passed since the day everything went to shit, Joel lost everything; he was a recluse - or so he thought.

WARNING: GORE ,, INFECTION ,, BLOOD ,, VOMIT ,, MENTIONS OF DEATH ,, SWEARING ,, ONE SIDED LOVE ,, UNREQUITED LOVE ,, SLIGHT TOMMY X READER

MASTERLIST TLOU

Life was good before all of this mess, Joel was happily married and his daughter, Sarah, finally had a mother figure in her life to teach her everything she needed to know about being a woman. The first time Sarah had gotten her period, Joel was terrified; his baby was hurting and she wouldn't stop crying, he had no clue what to do but then Y/n stepped in and guided Sarah through it all. She had made sure the young girl was fully stocked up on pads, chocolate, pain killers and a hot water bottle. Joel had never felt so grateful to have another woman in his life that his daughter could talk to about the things he didn't have a clue about.

The small moments between his wife and daughter made his heart swoon, he was scared Sarah wouldn't approve of their relationship at the start and he would've completely gave up on his love life if his daughter was ever uncomfortable. But, luckily for him, his daughter instantly clicked with Y/n, they were suck at the hip. Everywhere Y/n went, Sarah would be trailing behind, rambling on about random things earning the softest of smiles from the older woman. When Joel and Y/n broke the news to Sarah about them getting married, she was ecstatic. Her smile huge, eyes sparkling. Her happy squeals filled the air, she was practically bouncing off the walls at the news of her dad finally being happy.

Well, that was 3 years ago. A lot had happened in those years, Y/n and Joel tried for a baby but their luck wasn't working. Until it did. It was September 26th, 2003 - Joel's 36th birthday. Y/n had woke up feeling sick, rushing out of bed and into the bathroom down the hall. Last nights dinner coming back up. The noise of her throwing up must've woke up Joel, as he opened their bedroom door and carefully made his way down the hall to the bathroom, Y/n was hunched over the toilet as she continued to throw up into the toilet bowl. Joel crouched down beside her, rubbing his palm up and down Y/n's back, the gesture made the older woman lift her head up from the toilet bowl and look over at Joel; his hair was all over the place, eyes half lidded.

"You okay, sweet pea?" Joel's voice was laced with sleep, his Texan accent more noticeable. Y/n looked at Joel with teary eyes, she hated the feeling of being sick; the feeling of being an inconvenience to everyone around. Joel brought his wife into his chest, wrapping his warps around her smaller frame. "Hey, don't cry darlin' everything's going to be okay." They stayed like that on the bathroom floor for what felt like hours, until Sarah started banging on the slab of wood telling her parents to hurry up so she could get ready for school.

After the whole ordeal in the bathroom, Y/n had went downstairs as Sarah had finished getting ready; telling her dad he had 15 minutes before she had to leave for school. The aroma of dark roast coffee filled the kitchen, making Sarah fake gagging noise. "I don't get how you and dad can drink that stuff." The small comment made the older woman laugh. Before Y/n could reply, the sound of boots hitting against the wooden stairs brought her focus to the staircase to see Joel ready for work, his hair slightly damp form the shower he had. Sarah hugged her father and wished him a happy birthday, not forgetting to bully him over his age.

Once they had eaten breakfast, Sarah had ran upstairs to get something, neither of her parents knew what, though. Tommy was waiting in the truck as Joel gave a goodbye kiss to Y/n, telling her to take it easy today after her being sick an hour prior. Sarah bounded down the stairs and gave Y/n a hug before rushing out the door, the older woman stood in the doorway watching her little family drive off.

Y/n did some house cleaning throughout the day, preparing the the vegetables and chicken for dinner later that day. Another wave of sickness hit her again, she barely made it to the bathroom before she inevitably threw up her breakfast. She flushed the toilet and got up to brush her teeth for the second time that day. Y/n opened the cabinet where the Miller's kept painkillers and first aid things. Her eyes caught a white box on the top shelf, a pregnancy test. Y/n closed her eyes for a second before picking the box up and opening the packaging. She used the test and put on a timer for 5 minutes as instructed on the leaflet. When she checked after the timer went off, she saw two lines - Positive.

A lot had happened in the space of Sarah and Joel coming home, and then Joel having to go get Tommy from the police station. The world fucking ended. There was fire everywhere, people were screaming as cars and trucks drove past them. Tommy was trying his best to find a way out, Sarah wouldn't stop asking questions about the things happening, Joel was panicking and he was right to do so, this was a fucked up nightmare. Then everything got worse, a plane fell from the sky the engines ablaze, and then the next thing anyone knows; the truck flips upside down, smoke pilling out of every nook it could escape from. Joel had gotten Sarah out on his side but Y/n and Tommy were trapped opposite them. "Joel, baby, don't panic. Keep Sarah safe, we will meet you guys down by the river. I love you." Those three little words sounded like the last time Joel would ever hear them from you, and maybe he was right to assume.

Tommy and Y/n walked along the streets, staying in the shadows to not draw unwanted attention to themselves. Tommy's hand clasped tightly around Y/n's, he would never admit it but he always had a thing for her before his older brother finally snatched her up for himself. The trek to the river took quite awhile, probably because of all the infected lurking around ready to pounce at any sound. Just before they had arrive, Tommy pulled Y/n back to the treeline and held her face in his hands, her eyes glistening with tears. "I want you to run, okay? I can't let you get hurt" - "Yes, I know you love Joel but you need to protect yourself at all costs, angel." With that, Tommy kissed the crown of Y/n's head and proceeded to walk over to the area he was supposed to meet his brother but before he could, Y/n tugged on his wrist and placed the pregnancy test in his hand. "Tell Joel I'm sorry and that I will love him until my last breath." Then she was gone. Tommy stared at the plastic stick in his hand, he swore he could hear his heart shatter.

Bang! A gunshot ripped through the air, cries and screams followed shortly after. "You're okay, baby girl. You're okay" - "I know it hurts but you gotta let me pick you up, okay baby?" Joel looked over to his brother, begging him to help but all Tommy could do was stand there looking lost. Sarah died in her fathers arms that night, her blood staining Joel's clothes and skin. He lost his daughter and his wife was probably dead, Tommy told him they got separated on their way to the river. "Before we got separated - she um, she told me to hang on to this for you, I know it's shit timing but I'm sure she would want you to know either way." Tommy gave his brother the pregnancy test, Joel took it with shaky hands as he stared in disbelief. He didn't know if he should be happy or angry, his daughter was dead but there was a chance he could still have some light in his life, only if he could find his love.

20 years had passed since that fateful day. Y/n had been on her own for majority of the apocalypse, she gave birth to her daughter, Amelia, in a QZ in Atlanta. Y/n tried her best to do everything she could to provide as much of a normal life for her daughter but it was hard, it was hard without Joel or Tommy by her side. So when Amelia turned 16, she was taught how to use a gun and how to take down infected when it was necessary. Y/n had snuck out of the QZ one day with her now 19 year old daughter, and started heading in the direction of the only place she knew could keep her and her daughter safe. Wyoming.

The trek was long, Amelia begged her mother to let her take watch so Y/n could rest but she always waved her daughter off, she would destroy everything if anything were to ever happen to her baby. After 4 days of nonstop walking, they finally made it to Wyoming, but that was only the start. They had to make their way to Cody and find where Tommy was holed up this time, he cut all radio contact a couple weeks ago and it scared Y/n, Tommy was all she had left of her old life and she wasn't willing to give that up.

Amelia and Y/n had ran in to an elderly couple living in a cabin in the forest, they had kindly given them directions to where the two women needed to go, not without warning though. Y/n had bid her farewell to the elders and set off with her daughter in the direction of what she hoped to be the direction of Tommy's settlement. After getting past the "River of death", Amelia turned to her mother and pointed at a small camp fire in one of the cave by the river, Y/n being on guard when it came to other people being close, she grabbed her daughters wrist and pulled her along, telling her to just keep moving.

It was dusk by the time Y/n and Amelia had made it passed another river, they were going to continue when they heard footsteps approaching and the sounds of hooves in the distance. Y/n pulled her daughter close and drew her gun, aiming it in the direction of the fast approaching footsteps. After a couple minutes, a young brown eyed girl comes around the corner, she's with an older man, once she notices two guns pointed at her and her travelling partner, her eyes go wide and she fumbles for her own gun.

"Drop your guns or we will shoot." A soft Texan accent rips through the crisp air, Joel's ears perk up, he hasn't heard that voice in a long long time. He studies the older woman, taking in how her skin is paler in comparison to his own, her long hair hidden under a hat. Before he could say anything, the sound of an army of horses came galloping in their direction. Joel pushed Ellie behind him, he can't let anything happen to her, not after what happened to Sarah.

"Put your guns down." The four people huddled in the middle of these thugs on horses, obeyed and dropped their guns to the ground. "Have any of you been around infected?" - "Now don't lie either, because my little helper here will rip you apart if he smells anything on you." Y/n and Amelia let the dog gladly sniff them and give them a quick once over before moving over to the other two behind them. The deep growl made a shiver run down Y/n's spine, she gripped onto her daughters hand, keeping her as close as possible. The dog had settled down after a couple seconds and Ellie had began laughing as he licked her face. "Well it looks like you've bought yourselves an extra 10 seconds." - "What are you doing here?"

Y/n let out a shaky breath before speaking but Joel had also spoke at the same time. "I'm here for Tommy" - "I'm looking for my brother." Joel looked over at Y/n, his assumptions had to be true, he finally found his wife after 20 years. The group rode horseback to the settlement, leading who seemed to be the one in charge. It took about half an hour til they had arrived at the big wooden gates of Jackson. The gates had opened with a soft creak, the group of riders making their way into the settlement. Joel looked around, his eyes locked onto his brother; who was standing on some stairs helping fix something.

"Tommy!" Joel called out, catching the attention of not only his brother but Y/n and some others in the community. "What are you doing here man?" Tommy had a huge smile on his face, Joel brought him into a hug patting his brothers back before breaking apart. "I came to save you, of course." That earned a chuckle from his younger brother. "Who's that you brought with you?" Tommy asked pointing at Ellie, Joel shook his head telling his brother he would talk to him about it later.

Y/n hopped down off her horse, Amelia trailing behind her mother hands stuffed into her jacket pockets. "Tommy?" Her voice still sounded like thick, sweet honey. Tommy whipped his head in the direction of the voice, his smile faltering before he wrapped the smaller woman up in his arms, he clung to her as if she would disappear if he let go. "Now what are you doing here, angel? Last I heard, you were still in Atlanta." Y/n smiled up at Tommy, telling him everything that had happened in the QZ and asking if she could seek refuge in Jackson with Amelia. Tommy instantly welcomed them in, he was glad to have his family back.

Joel and Ellie were in the mess hall with Tommy and Maria when Joel had noticed Y/n and Amelia join them, he still couldn't figure out if it was her or not. So he just went for it and called out the nickname only he would call her, he hoped she would react to it. "Sweet pea? Is that you?" Y/n's head snapped up and stared at Joel, tears rimming her eyes. Her lip quivered as she stared at the man she thought she would never see again. "Joel? Baby, where have you been?" The tears had fallen then, sobs wracked her body as she clung to her husbands body, 20 years without the love of her life had fucked her up but she glad she can finally introduce her daughter to her father.

Once Y/n had pulled away she motioned for Amelia to come over. "Joel, my love, this is Amelia. She's - she's your daughter." Joel looked at Amelia, she had his eyes and Y/n's hair, the perfect mix between both. He held her in his arms for what seemed like forever, he finally had his family back but he will always feel that loss for Sarah. Joel could finally be happy again, he had his daughter and his wife, but most importantly, he had an annoying little shit bird of a 14 year old whom he loved like his own. Joel Miller finally got his happy ending, that's all he ever wanted.

[hardbeingcasual]

more henry fluff he is babygirl

YOU’RE HERE THATS THE THING henry x fem reader

SUMMARY: sam and henry don’t die, they make it to jackson with you, ellie and joel.

warnings: none, just pure fluff, probs cringe idk

notes: i apologise for no fics lately, just not been feeling it. heres this to make up for it !!! happy tlou day 🎉

In Jackson, you lived in a two bedroom house, which was good considering there was only 3 people living in the house. One bedroom for Sam, and one for you and Henry to share. It had been 5 months since the whole Kathleen thing, it had been 2 months since you all had gotten to Jackson, and you felt like you fit in perfectly. Like a great small family, destined to be there in the first place

You were glad you had helped Henry steal medicine for Sam, you were glad you three had found Joel and Ellie and decided to go with them to Jackson. It was a perfect life, considering the worlds condition.

You had been awake for at least half an hour, just staring at the ceiling as your partner slept peacefully next to you, you look over to said partner as you see him sleeping, he looked so peaceful when he slept, it made you happy that he had no one to run from now, that it was all over, you finally got a break.

“What’re you staring at?” A sleepy Henry breaks you from your thoughts.

“Your eyes aren’t even open how do you know I’m staring.” You ask as your head was leaning on your hand.

“I can feel it.”

“Thats so weird.”

Henry still hasn’t opened his eyes as he tried to fight off the sleep, “C’mon, let’s go back to sleep.”

You let out a scoff, “Nice try, but it’s 9, I have patrol in one hour.” You smirk as he now opens his eyes were now open, staring into yours.

“You can always be late.” He shrugs.

You dismiss him as you walk over to your dressed, grabbing suitable clothes to wear on patrol. “Nope, not again. Tommy almost beat my ass when I showed up late last time.”

“Yeah, well if he even tried I’d beat his ass.” Henry says confidently as he was now sat up in bed, watching your every move.

“You need to wake your brother up, he has school, too.”

“Fine.” Henry gets out of bed, following you down the hall to his brothers room, you stood at the doorway as Henry wakes his brother up.

Before leaving, you kiss Henry goodbye, then Sam grabs your hand to hold as you both walk to where his lessons where at, “Be good, okay?” You sign to him as he nods, you kiss him on the head as he hugs you.

After dropping Sam off, you go off to start your patrol, happy with the way your day has started.

tags @zndayacc @txelanneteyam (lmk if u want added)

[greenandsorrow]

Not a request, but can you make a list of the fandoms and characters you write for? Not to be rude! <333

Disclaimer-> There are fandoms I've already written stuff for or will in the future, but they're not in the following list bc I simply don't take requests for them (IT, the wizarding world, star wars, the matrix, Prometheus, DC, etc.)

x reader for the most part unless I say otherwise

FANDOMS & CHARACTERS I WRITE FOR 🍂☕

FNAF:

William Afton (either from the game or the book trilogy, not movie Willy still love him tho)

Springtrap

The Puppet

Comfortingly scary stuff with the animatronics of the first six games.

OMORI:

I'M NOT AGING ANYONE UP FOR SMUT/ I WON'T PUT ANYONE IN SEXUAL SITUATIONS (aging up for character development is acceptable ig)

Omori (can be shipped with Aubrey)

Stranger

Basil

Sunny (can be shipped with Aubrey/Basil)

The group x reader

The reader just experiencing or being part of Headspace, Black Space, White Space and the characters there.

RYAN GOSLING

Ken

Officer K

Sierra Six/ Court Gentry

maybe Colt Seavers

PEDRO PASCAL

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

HAZBIN HOTEL

Alastor, in all shapes and forms (human, giant demon, cursed cat, something from your imagination)

Angel Dust

Vox

Lucifer Morningstar

maybe Sir Pentious (can be shipped with Cherri)

The Hazbins x reader

LOTR/ THE HOBBIT

Bilbo Baggins

Thorin Oakenshield

Fili Durin

Kili Durin

Thranduil

Gandalf x reader (platonic!!)

Thorin & company x reader

The fellowship x reader

Sauron in any form

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GAME OF THRONES

Petyr Baelish

Varys (don't ask me why)

Jorah Mormont

Sandor Clegane

Arya Stark

Brienne of Tarth

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Scenarios that include multiple characters

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THE SECRET HISTORY

Anything.

Absolutely anything and anyone.

I mean it.

(no incest, no orgies)

STRANGER THINGS

Billy Hargrove

Eddie Munson

Jim Hopper (don't ask why)

Vecna/ Henry Creel

masterlist of all work

requesting rules/ info

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[damn-stark]

Chapter 2 Butterfly

Chapter 2 of Tragedy at the Miller’s

A/N- I LOVE LOVE ALL YOU GUYS WHO SHOWED THE FIRST CHAPTER SOME LOVE!! I hope you guys stick around and like this chapter!!

Warning- FLUFF :): angst, talks of violence, death and blood, swearing, long chapter.

Pairing- Joel Miller x daughter!reader, Henry x Fem!reader

Episode- 1x05 (half of it)

(If you want to be tagged let me know!)

————

*A FEW YEARS BACK*

Stench of flesh swirls in your nose, upsetting your stomach. Pained screams still ring in your ears. And slowly the more the fire eats away at their flesh, the more the infected and the former friends look alike—like nothing but a pile of bones.

It was the first time….the first time you’ve killed someone not turned into one of those monsters. An actual person. That realization doesn’t let you breathe or move; neither your limbs or your eyes.

“I told you to stay behind,” your dads voice breaks you away from the burning bodies.

You blink and look up at him as he turns to face you, and mutter in brittle voice, “daddy—”

“I told you to stay behind!” He bellows and strides over to you to grab you by your arms roughly.

You gasp at the roughness of his grip and the harshness of his voice. As you keep holding his gaze you see emotions he never directs at you; fierce anger that begins to scare you.

“Daddy,” you mutter and shake your head. “I…I was just trying to help you. I…I—”

“You disobeyed me,” he scolds you and grabs onto you tighter. “You could’ve gotten yourself hurt! You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

You glance at the fire burning behind him, and begin to gape like a fish as you try to explain yourself to him through the shame and fear that begin to heighten at the realization of his words.

“I…” you mumble in a quivering voice. “I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to help,” you tell him again and meet his piercing glare. “I just wanted to help you, I saw them,” your voice breaks as tears form in your eyes. “I saw them, they were gonna hurt you! I just wanted to help you!”

“But you didn’t, did you?”

You gasp softly in disbelief, and feel your heart slowly sink at the sound of his sharp words.

“Joel?” You hear your uncle Tommy call.

You snap your watery gaze to him, and see him look down at the way your dad is grabbing onto you. He notices the anger, and slowly puts down his gun to look at your dad in disbelief. You proceed to pull away from your dad as his grip loosens and rush over to your uncle who welcomes you in a much more assuring and less angry way.

That’s when your dad realizes that his anger had gotten the best of him with you. Instead of trying to help you, trying to assure you, he snapped at you out of fear of his own.

“Y/n,” he calls out quietly. “I'm sorry.”

You step away from your uncle Tommy to face your dad, but still avert his gaze out of shame and slight fear. “It’s okay,” you mutter without truly thinking about it.

——

*NOW*

Sunlight dances on the flower patch down below, providing the fluttering butterflies with as much warmth as the sun can provide in the fall.

They’re peaceful insects, quiet and beautiful. Watching them just feed on the flower's nectar is calming in this cruel world, it’s one of the things that brings you peace.

Back in Jackson you grew a flower garden in the backyard of your house just to have them visit, to lay on the ground and read as they fluttered. It’s a silly thing, you oftentimes got picked on by the friends you live with, but what they don’t know is that in that meadow you grew in your backyard is where you see her; in those small purple flowers, in the sweet butterflies that feed off that nectar. That flower meadow is in memory of her, of the sister you had lost, Sarah.

Nevertheless, as you watch them flutter around, the silence that blankets you is broken by approaching footsteps. When you look back you see Sam approaching. You offer him a sweet smile and drag your feet down before you pat the empty spot beside you.

He doesn’t fret and joins your side on the ground. He looks below and then looks at you and takes off the string around his neck to write on the board he carries to communicate.

“What are you doing?” He writes.

Sam hands you the board, and you erase what he wrote to write back, “watching the butterflies.”

Sam leans over and reads the words, and smiles softly before signing with a word you do know now. “Why?”

You shrug and write on the board, “because it’s the closest thing I have to a tv, and I just enjoy watching them. It’s peaceful.”

Sam puts the board down, looks down at the flower patch below to watch the black butterflies mindlessly flutter around with you.

However, you quickly look away to grab his board and write their names that Sarah had told you once. “They’re called Black Swallowtail.” You tap Sam’s shoulder and point to what you wrote.

Sam's eyebrows knit together before he erases the board and signs again since he knows you know this one. “How do you know?”

You shift around and sign back, “S-a-r-a-h. My sister.”

Sam nods in comprehension and then looks down at his board to write, “do they make noise?”

You shake your head and write back, “they’re quiet, like you.”

Sam reads the words and takes them in before he erases it and asks, “do they hurt you? Like bees?”

You sign, “no,” and then erase what he wrote to write back, “they’re gentle. Ticklish.”

Sam reads it and looks at you with a questioning look, so you sign, “wait,” and proceed to slide down the small hill where the butterflies are gathered to pluck a flower from the ground. You then wait until a butterfly lands on it, and quickly shield it so it won’t escape.

Once the black butterfly with the yellow spots is secured, you look up at Sam and point your head to the side so he knows to come. He’s hesitant at first, but he trusts you, even if it’s only been a few weeks since you’ve joined their small group. Then again in small groups like these, when you’re trying to survive, it’s hard not bonding with the people you’re with.

It can be a good and bad thing because some people are big assholes.

Regardless, Sam slides down like you had and steps on his tiptoes to watch the butterfly flutter in your cupped hands.

You then slowly turn and crouch down to be at Sam’s level. You proceed to slowly move the shielded flower towards Sam, and very carefully pull your hand away from the flower. The butterfly stays on the flower like you wanted, so you move your finger towards it and let it crawl on your finger.

Once its little feet begin to tickle your flesh, Sam nervously grins, but seems to be more in awe. So before it can fly away you move your finger towards Sam’s nose, and gently guide the butterfly on his nose, making him immediately stiffen as he nervously laughs.

“See,” you sign. “All okay.”

The butterfly notices that there’s nothing where it’s perched and flutters off Sam’s nose quickly, and Sam only grins brighter. He then albeit quickly proceeds to grab his board to write down, “you were right. It tickles.”

You sign, “I told you.” You shoot him a cocky smile and point your head up the hill.

Sam looks up the hill and quickly begins to sign. You follow his line of gaze and see Henry. He had snuck up on you.

“Y/N…my nose,” that’s all you got from Sam signing to Henry. But hey! You’re learning, it’s been a few weeks and you’ve learned some stuff, that’s what counts.

“Did she?” Henry asks out loud and signs at the same time.

Sam nods and runs up the hill to reach his brother.

You then understand Henry’s question. “Did it hurt?”

Sam shakes his head and signs what you imagine is, “tickles.”

Henry hums and looks over at you to offer you a small smile before he signs and says. “Come on, let’s get going, dinner time.”

You beam at him and run up the hill, “great!” You sign in response. “I’m hungry.”

Since there’s nothing to fear at the moment Sam runs back to where everyone is gathered around, leaving Henry and you behind.

“So what?” Henry interjects. “Was it like, teaching moment with y/n?” He teases.

You feign a laugh. “Haha. And yes, actually. Black Swallowtail, that’s what those butterflies are called, and he knows that now. Thanks to yours truly.” You point at your chest.

Henry scoffs in amusement, bringing silence after, tense silence unlike before because now there’s unspoken feelings. At least from him because you know what you feel, you’re very in tune with your feelings, he doesn't seem to quite grasp what he feels towards you. Or at least that’s what Jace says.

So it seems you have to take matters into your own hands.

“What do you say after dinner, we wait for Sam to go to bed, and stay out to watch the stars,” you suggest with a racing heart. “Just the two of us.”

Henry falters in his pace, but turns his head to look at you. He seems quite surprised, but he doesn’t take long to answer, and stays nonchalant. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

You shoot him a smile. “Cool. I’ll bring my music.”

“I’d say I’d bring the drinks, but well we only have water,” he says with a small smirk.

You laugh softly. “That’s fine. I'm cool with that.”

Henry holds your gaze and his lips turn to a soft smile. You mirror his gesture and begin to feel your cheeks burn. Luckily he can't see that.

“I’ve never done this,” Henry breaks the sweet tension. “Date.”

Oh so he is in tune with his feelings.

“Oh, is this a date?” You mess with him.

Henry goes serious and shakes his head, making you quickly grin and assure him before he can take it back. “I’m messing with you, and don’t worry, going on a date is like hanging out. There’s just different feelings out in the open…well…that’s what it feels like anyway. In my 24 years of living I’ve only been on one date, and that guy was,” you let out a deep annoyed sigh. “He was different.”

Henry swallows thickly and hesitantly probes. “Different how?”

“He was a jerk. He only asked me on a date for some kind of game with his friends,” you share. “So if you’re not playing that then you’ll be okay.”

Henry shakes his head. “No, no, definitely not.”

“Cool.” You grin softly.

——

Night had taken over quickly, Sam went to sleep early due to his brother's behest, and now you’re navigating down the green meadow trying to find a spot somewhat secluded from camp.

“What happened to all the infected around here?” You ask Henry. “I haven’t seen many at all.”

Henry drops his gaze and sighs. “When Fedra was running Kansas City, they managed to drive them to underground tunnels.”

You hum and can’t decide if that’s smart or stupid. Both?

“You’ve been out there, what's the craziest infected you’ve seen?” Henry chooses to bounce off your question.

You scoff softly and answer right away. “Well there’s these fucking things out there, they have the fungus growing out of them, they can still see and hear, but they have that strength clickers do, and they like, stalk you. They’re fucking quiet and creepy as hell. It’s crazy as shit, terrifying, I still have nightmares.”

“You killed them?”

You begin to smirk smugly and nod as you hold his gaze. “Three. I’ve killed clickers too.”

Henry hums and then retorts, “show off.”

You laugh and shrug. “You asked.”

Henry lets out a small huff and then swallows back nervously.

It’s honestly very cute. You can tell that this is actually his first time being intimate with a girl.

“Here,” you point out and suddenly drop to the floor.

Henry had gotten a step ahead so he steps back and carefully sits by you.

Once he’s seated you pull out your Walkman and earphones to put them down between you, whilst Henry pulls out the bottle of water and puts it down before pulling out his lighter and igniting a small flame.

“How romantic,” you say with a small grin.

“Working with what we got,” he rubuts, and puts the flame out since it's a hassle having his lighter on the entire time. Instead he proceeds to probe nervously. “Okay….What now?”

You scoff softly and hand him a earphone bud while you put yours on, and put on some music at a low volume.

“I don’t have a lot of music options,” you share as he puts on the bud. “The rest is at home so, for now we’ll listen to…” you pick up your Walkman and check what you have inside. “Britney Spears,” you read outloud. “One of my favorite artists.”

“And,” Henry rolls out and carefully moves his hand over yours to slowly interlace his fingers with yours.

You grin and shoot him a smile. “Yes,” you assure him softly. “Good….Now though! I’m curious, are you lying to me about dating other people?” You squint your gaze.

Henry shakes his head. “No, I'm not. But I’m not clueless either, you know.”

You hum, and then rest your head on his shoulder.

He feels stiff for a few seconds, but he slowly relaxes and lets his shoulders fall.

“Now, we talk, like normal,” you let him know and look up to watch the twinkling stars overhead.

“Okay,” Henry whispers. “What’s….what’s your favorite color?”

“Purple,” you share immediately. “But not dark or violet, soft, like a lilac. You?” You ask and lift your eyes to look at him.

Henry looks down and meets your gaze as best as he can. “Red,” he says. “Like just red.”

“Boo,” you laugh. “Think harder, that’s a basic ass answer. I know that’s not it.”

Henry chuckles and draws in a deep breath as he thinks. “Okay,” he breathes out. “Blue…light blue, like the sky.”

You smile sweetly and nudge him gently. “See, I knew it.”

“Okay, now,” Henry proceeds. “I see you have many tattoos, but I’m curious about the one on your back,” he investigates. “The butterfly wings, do they have a meaning?”

Your smile slowly fades, and you have to hold back emotions that threaten to come out. “Yes.” You nod slowly. “My sister. She liked butterflies, I got it because of her so it’s like having her with me.” You glance at your hands and fiddle with his hand. “Do you have any tattoos?”

Henry shakes his head. “No, I don’t think I’m cool enough to get one.”

“You don’t need to be,” you assure him. “You can get one simply because you want one. That’s why I have the ones on my left arm, ‘Kay? And I think you’re cool. Sam thinks you’re cool.”

Henry turns his head and rests his chin on the top of your head. “You’re about the only ones then,” he mumbles. “No one else does.”

You squeeze his hand tighter and whisper, “don’t bother yourself by what others think, that shit, it’s poison. You live like that, you’ll only look at the world black and white.”

Henry lets silence linger for a moment before he asks, “how is it that you always seem to know what to say?”

You scoff. “Half of the time I make shit up.” You smile faintly. “Other times I repeat what I’ve been told by my uncle Tommy, or my mama Maria; she’s truly wise.”

“She your real mom?” He asks.

You shake your head. “No,” you share. “My mom died a long time ago, before all this shit happened…uh, complications after she had me. So, no Maria is my uncle's wife, my aunt. But I’ve known her for a long time now.” You sigh. “After we left Boston, she taught me a lot, like, about being a woman, protection, and the world. She took care of me like I imagine a mom would…” you smile softly at the sky and notice the dark cloud that begins to pass by. Yet you think nothing of the thick cloud and just admire the shining stars not covered by the thickness of the clouds, and stare at them with longing as if Maria’s presence was there.

“She loved me like one would. She’s the only mom I’ve known, so I call her that. Hopefully, you meet her soon. You’ll like her, she can be tough, but she’s good.”

“That’s good,” Henry says. “My mom tried her best, but it got hard. She focused more on keeping me alive soon after the outbreak happened.”

You blink and look away from the sky as his comment reminds you of someone else—it doesn’t sadden you anymore though, not as it once did.

“Yeah, my dad did that too,” you share your truth. “Sometimes he didn’t even feel like my dad….” You pause and want to add more, but in order to not sour the night and bring down the mood, you just leave that as it is and change the topic. “Okay, moving on please so we don’t bring this down. What would have been your dream job in the real world, pre outbreak?”

“Damn,” Henry mumbles. “I don’t know, but I do know that I would have wanted to ride a motorcycle around the country. You know those Harley’s?”

You hum in agreement.

“Well, I would have loved to have one of those and just ride.”

“You still can!” You exclaim excitedly. “I mean I don’t know about a country tour, but you can still have one.”

“Man,” he clicks his tongue. “I hope so. That would be a dream come true….now you, let me guess…you would have wanted to be an actress?”

You grin and gasp softly before you pull away to face him. “Yes!” You agree. “How did you know?”

Henry smirks. “Besides those stories you literally act out at night, you have the face for it.”

You smile wider and try to brush him off. “Are you sweet talkin’ me, Henry?”

He scoffs and shrugs smugly. “Maybe.”

You sit up and shoot him a smile as you slowly stretch your hands out. “I would’ve been a star, I know it.” You lean down close to him, and unknowingly make him nervously catch his breath as you hover him. “You would have seen me on your tv Henry Burrell.” You smirk.

Henry lets out a shaky breath, but composes himself and musters a soft smile, and knows how to sweet talk you. “I don’t doubt it.”

Your smile softens, and you slowly tilt your head to the side to glance at his plump lips before meeting his gaze again.

Many people have told you the same thing, they assure you that you would have been something if the outbreak hadn’t happened. But most of those comments are just that, comments, they’re meaningless. Coming from Henry though, hearing him say it makes you completely confident about a future you could never have. He makes you giddy about it, confident and flustered.

Maybe you’re a hopeless romantic, it’s been said, but you don’t have the luxury of time.

He knows that, he knows that holding back brings nothing good but regret so before you can move away, he leans forward and presses a kiss on your lips.

Albeit before you can savor the taste of his lips he pulls back. “I’m sorry,” he mutters out.

You shoot him a sweet grin before you lean down and crash your lips against his to reassure him that it’s fine, that he had nothing to apologize for. You pull him in and he’s caught off guard, he seems shocked a bit, but he doesn’t pull away, he sits up instead.

Henry’s careful, gentle with his kiss. You’re the one that guides him, that leads him on, but you’re not rough, you savor the sweet taste and make sure to mentally jot down every spark that you feel bounce out, every flutter your heart does. You memorize the sweet bliss that fills you.

When you eventually pull away you remain close, you don’t speak, you bask in the silence for a moment. He watches you with a sweet smile and a soft gaze, the softest gaze that you’ve noticed anyone look at you. So much so that it actually confuses you.

“What?” You probe.

Henry shakes his head.

You hum and provide silence.

Alas, it’s in that same silence that follows that lets you begin to feel droplets of water fall on your head.

When you both look up you see a thick, and much darker cloud covering the sky above. And soon those few drops turn to pouring rain.

“Damn,” Henry mutters under his breath.

You both look down and meet each other's gaze. And as you do, you both burst into laughter at the inconvenience of the pouring rain, and at the fact that you were so distracted with one another that you didn’t notice that it loomed so close. Overall you just laugh at the simplicity that was the rain interrupting your date.

“Come on,” you urge him and grab his hand. “The tree house is empty right now, let’s go up there.”

Henry grabs the bottle of water, and you grab your Walkman before you pull him up, and guide him there in a run.

However, it’s once you’re in that treehouse, as you go back to kissing one another that you catch the sound of distant rumbling. You wouldn't have cared about it, but the rumbling doesn’t come from the sky, so you pull away from Henry and crawl to the window, spotting there in the treeline multiple bright lights, headlights.

“Fuck,” Henry mutters sharply. “Fuck!”

That bliss you once felt is now quickly replaced with racing fear.

“It’s Kathleen,” Henry reveals the name of the rebel group that he said took down FEDRA, the group after him and the others he’s with.

“Go,” he whispers at you as he turns to face you with panic. “Leave!” He yells.

You shake your head without hesitance. “No,” you mumble. “No. I’m staying with you. Come on.” You shove your earphones in your pocket, and hook your walkman on the beltline of your pants before you quickly rush out of the treehouse, leaving Henry in slight disbelief that you didn’t leave now that your leg is healed. You should've, he thought, yet he's glad you didn’t.

——

*A DAY LATER*

“Kansas City belongs to the people!”

Flares light the sky. Chanting, yells, and gunshots fills the air carelessly as if the entire fucking world was liberated of danger and oppression; it’s only a city, and there’s still infected that lurk outside, stragglers that can still cause damage.

“Collaborators, surrender now, and you will receive a fair trial.”

Bullshit…

“We have control of the QZ and the open city. Anyone caught hiding will face charges of counter-revolutionary activities. Kansas City belongs to the people….” The announcer trails off and the current street you’re hiding on is silent again. Finally.

“Look at me, not at that,” you hear Henry whisper. And when you look over you see him communicating with Sam now that this was your next opening to run. “We’re almost there. To more blocks…” he turns and meets your gaze too. “Two more blocks,” he repeats so you can hear.

You nod in comprehension, and see him look back at Sam.

“Stay with me,” Henry continues to whisper softly for you as he signs for Sam. “Y/N, will be behind us.”

The boy's gleaming eyes drift to you to ask for reassurance once more, just like he’s asked all day since you’ve been running.

And it’s true, you were scared yourself, but for him you act confident, to see him at least lose a flicker of fear. “We’ll be okay.” You sign, and smile through your exhaustion. “I’m a wicked shot,” you whisper and let Henry sign that.

Sam looks back at you and sighs before nodding in comprehension.

“Ready?” Henry asks you.

You keep on your brave and confident face and nod. That lets Henry grab Sam’s hand once again to then bolt on ahead. You follow right behind their tail, with a hand on your rifle in case there’s suddenly a surprise.

Luckily though, you make it to the building some old man had told Henry about without any surprises. It was supposedly clear from any of the rebels too, so once that door closed and that lock clicked, and your flashlights lit the room, you were able to let your hand fall from your rifle.

“We’re going up,” Henry signs and whispers.

Sam nods. And you don’t need to say anything for Henry to know you understand, so he’s able to tell Sam to turn on his flash before they both slowly go ahead and you follow to watch their back.

Once you make it to the top, once Henry opens the door and reveals some storage room that old man doesn’t seem to be here.

Or at least that’s what you thought, because some old man suddenly jumps out from behind an old cabinet with his flash and gun pointed at the three of you, causing Henry to stop Sam and you in your tracks to point his gun right back at the man. Whilst you pull out your rifle and outgun the man.

However, given by the sound of their sighs, and the fact that they’re lowering their guns, this is the man Henry saw.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” Henry says and looks back at you. “It’s okay, you can put the gun down.”

You glance at the old man with his gun lowered and hesitate for a second before you hang the rifle back around your shoulder.

“It’s up here,” the old man says and turns to pull down some hatch. “Climb up on this,” he says and taps the cabinet and some box.

You’re sort of unsure to climb up since it looks so eerie up there, but Henry doesn’t second guess the man and hands you the green bag of supplies so he can climb up first. He then helps Sam up without hesitation, so it must be safe…

“Go on, I can help with the bag,” the old man tells you, but you still can't be assured of your safety nor do you trust him like Henry does, so you clutch onto the bag and offer him a faint tightlipped smile as you shake your head.

“It’s alright,” you mutter and then climb up on the cabinet and box. “I got it.” You pull off the strap and hand the bag to Henry first before you grab only the edge and pull yourself up.

“You got it?” Henry asks you as he turns away from the bag he sat down to try and help you.

Yet you manage to get in all by yourself just fine. “Yeah,” you assure him. “I got it.”

Henry puts his hand on your back as you stand up regardless, and helps you to your feet, letting the old man come in last without help.

“You sure they don’t know about this?” Henry asks the old man, while you proceed to set your backpack down to pull off that damned weight. However, you keep your rifle on you, you just pull it off your shoulder to raise it and point your scoop at the gaps that are on the cardboards covering the windows, just to make sure that the street is clear.

“I got it from a FEDRA officer,” the old man says as he turns on the lamp hanging from a pillar. “Patient.”

You lower the gun and walk to the window Sam is sitting under to check through that one too.

“…owed me a favor,” the man continues, whilst you hear Henry put down the cans of food you had managed to throw in. “He said he found it himself, never told anyone about it.”

“What if they got to him?” Henry cuts in, making your curiosity grow as well. So you lower the gun and look over at both men to wait for the answer.

“They already did,” the old man deadpans . “He won’t be talking.”

It’s good to hear, but still not so assuring. Albeit you don't show your fear, not with Sam right by you, he’s already terrified, he looks even more so up here. So instead you put your gun down and tap his shoe with yours to try and assure him with a small smile, and a sign.

“Clear. We’ll be okay.”

Sam swallows thickly and slowly lowers his shoulders, but doesn’t completely untense.

“Hey,” you sign and then tap your firefly pendant.

Sam slowly reaches for the one you gave him and holds it in his hand tightly.

“Clear outside?” He signs his questions.

You nod, and exhale out deeply to release some stress so he can mirror your actions. And this time instead of remaining tense, Sam unzips his jacket to pull out his board.

You watch him for a second longer and notice he keeps grabbing the pendant as he begins to draw.

“Y/N?” Henry calls your name and draws your attention back to them. “How are you on bullets?”

You walk towards the pair and hum before giving your answer. “3 on my rifle, and 4 on my pistol. Not enough, but good nonetheless.”

Henry sighs and nods. “Good.”

“Mines empty,” the man says and puts his gun away.

“Yeah, so is mine,” Henry reveals his status.

“We weren’t shooting our way outta this anyway,” the man adds hopelessly.

“No,” Henry interjects. “So we’ll sneak our way out.”

You rest your hand on your hip and watch him count the cans you have.

“How?” The man probes.

“Tunnels,” Henry shares.

“Tunnels? Why go to the trouble? You can kill yourself right here.” The man comments.

You scoff and snap back. “It’s either that or we die up here. I won’t let that happen, we won’t. Infected aren’t smart, we will find a way out.”

The man glances at you and keeps quiet.

“Twenty two cans, and six pounds of jerky for the four of us,” Henry shares now that he’s done counting. “If we stick to the minimum. I think we can make it 11 days? So that’s how long we have to figure it out.”

Not good, but it’s enough.

“Is he scared?” The man refers to Sam still in the corner drawing and holding the pendant.

“Yeah,” Henry says. “Well, he’s seen a lot. Nothin’ I can do about that now.”

First, you all witness some of the people you were with get shot. Then you get separated from the group whilst you were running from those after you. And lastly the horror the city holds. Who wouldn't be scared?

“He’s scared because you’re scared,” the old man says correctly. That makes Henry stop what he’s doing to look at his brother for a moment before he walks over to him.

You let him have his time with Sam, and instead finally take a moment to finally sit after running all damn day.

“How good are you with that rifle?” The man asks you.

You glance down at the cans of food and shrug. “My uncle taught me, he was in the military before the outbreak, so I like to say I’m a good shot.”

The man slowly sits down too, and when you glance at him you see him nodding in comprehension.

“That’s good,” he whispers. “We’ll probably need that.”

You hum and look back at Henry and Sam, and catch them both drawing on the walls now.

It’s a simple thing just to pass the time, to make Sam happy and fully relaxed. Besides, seeing him like that makes Henry happy and relaxed. And seeing that they can both find a bit of happiness in this wooden cage, that Henry isn’t strict and just focuses on teaching Sam how to survive, makes you smile and watch him with admiration.

It’s good that he’s a brother and a father to Sam, he needs that….

You grin softly.

Henry seems to feel your stare as you get lost watching them and looks back, catching your gaze.

You offer him a small smile and look away right after, even if that won’t erase the fact that he had caught you staring at him. He also then proceeds to join you on the floor nonetheless, and taps your leg with his foot. “How’s your leg?” He asks.

You drag your feet up against your chest. “Fine,” you assure him and slide your eyes back at him. “It doesn’t hurt anymore thank god. There’s just a scar left.” You hug your knees and rest your chin on your knee caps. “How are you feeling, Henry?”

Henry sighs. “Besides tired….” He hesitates and averts his gaze. “Guilty.”

You slowly furrow your eyebrows in confusion and probe. “Why?”

Henry lets out a deep sigh and drifts his eyes to you. “I dragged you into this, into my problem. You could’ve been on your way home now.”

You lift your head off your chin and shake it as you reach for his hand in his pocket to hold it in yours. “No,” you argue and lean in close to him. “No, I choose to follow you. I told you I’m sticking with you and Sam. We’re going home together.”

Henry licks his lips and shakes his head. “You don’t know what I’ve done, y/n,” he rebuttals. “I’m not a good guy.”

“And you think I’m a good person?” You spat. “I know what you did, Jace told me…”

Henry scoffs at the mention of his friend's big mouth, but let’s you continue.

“You saved your brother. He was sick and you saved him, you—”

“And I got a good man killed in the process, y/n,” he cuts you off sharply since you don’t want to blame him like he blames himself. “That makes me a bad guy. I am a bad guy. And now I have you here, hiding, surviving off scraps. Can't you see?”

You blink, and let out a shaky breath before you slide your legs down to turn around and sit on your knees to face him. “Henry, listen to me,” you say softly and pull his hand out to cup it with both hands.

“I’ve seen bad people, I’ve looked into the eyes of bad people. I’ve been a bad person, a truly bad person. So I know. And Henry,” you say softly. “When I look at you, I don’t even see a flicker of that….” Your voice breaks. “You have got a good heart, I can tell, I have sense for that stuff.” You laugh softly. “You’re good, Henry. Sam sees that, he knows that. I know that.”

Henry lets out a deep shaky sigh, and drops his gleaming gaze. He keeps his hand in yours though, and then lifts his other hand to cup yours.

“You’re not a bad person either, you know that,” he tells you softly and lifts his gaze to meet yours. “You’re a survivor. A real one.” He lets your hand go and instead lifts it to let it hover your cheek. As if he’s hesitant about grabbing your face out of fear that he was stepping out his boundaries.

“A bad person wouldn’t be stuck here,” he continues. “A bad person wouldn't have helped. A bad person wouldn’t be as…optimistic as you are,” he grins softly, making your smile wobble. “Even after getting stabbed. I could say a hundred more things already to prove you wrong and I’ve only known you a short while. Sam,” he points back to the boy busying coloring. “Could say a thousand more.”

You scoff softly and lean your cheek against his hand, making him stiffen for a second before he begins to very slowly caress your cheek.

“Is that alright?” He asks and leans in closer to read you too. “It’s not….too fast?”

You shake your head. “No,” you assure him. “It’s fine. I like it.”

Henry's smile widens and he proceeds to let his gaze linger on you for a moment longer before he mutters. “Thank you.”

You drop your gaze and smile at the ground. “This was supposed to be about you,” you mutter.

“It’s okay,” he says with a hint of smugness. “I like talking about you.”

You giggle and shake your head.

——

*10 DAYS LATER*

The room is quiet, deafening so. Nothing compared to the loud nightmares haunting you.

The air is chilly, and your clothes are cold. As your eyes focus on the painted room you see it’s basked by darkness; no lamp—well there is light, but it’s a dim and cold light, and it comes in from the small holes on the cardboards.

Did you really not sleep at all? It doesn’t feel that way, but it’s dark so probably not.

You sit up and stretch out your arms, feeling them slightly sore from sleeping on the hard ground. You rub your face to get rid of all the crap on your face as best as you can with just the heels of your palms since you don’t have water to splash on your face.

When you put your arms down, and look back you catch Henry’s stare, and a faint smile he musters.

“Hey,” he whispers.

You turn yourself around to face him, and notice Sam sleeping on his other side.

“How you feeling?” Henry asks.

You let out a long breath through your nose whilst you shrug. “Sore,” you croak. “I miss my bed.”

Henry scoffs softly and leans forward to pick up a can of food. “Here,” he says and hands you the can of food. “We saved you some.”

You hesitantly grab it and blink in confusion. “You guys ate?” You ask with your eyebrows knitted together. “Again?”

Henry rests arm back on his knee and his smile turns to a smirk. “I…uh, let you sleep in for the day.”

An entire day?

You put the can down and lose your confusion to stare at him with annoyance and disbelief. “We have…” you pause and shake your head. “We have a schedule, Henry,” you argue. “I sleep at night and you sleep in the morning. That’s not fair.”

Henry looks down and shrugs softly. “It is because I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me. Besides, you seemed at peace so Sam and I let you sleep in.”

The thought behind it fills you with joy, and it makes your heart flutter, but it’s still…it’s still not fair for him.

“What about the old man?” You quip since he’s not here anymore.

Henry slowly lifts his eyes and his smile fades. “He hasn’t come back,” he shares. “He probably…got caught.”

You blink and lose your attitude as you’re now filled with slight guilt.

“That means that can is the last bit of food we have,” Henry continues and points to said object by you. “Until we leave.”

You look at the can of food and push it to him. “Leave it for Sam.” You tell him.

Henry quickly pushes it back to you and counters you. “No, we ate already. You haven’t since yesterday. You need it.”

Your stomach grumbles at the reminder of that fact, and you hesitantly take the can without any more fuss.

“We’re on our own now,” Henry whispers. “Which means…you can go y/n. I don’t want to hold you back, you have family waiting for you back in Wyoming, I want you to see them. Being here with us…I can’t guarantee you will.”

You snap your gaze up to him and shoot him a pointed glare. “Why do you keep saying that to me, huh?” You snap. “Like if I’m actually gonna take your word and just leave you guys behind.” You put the can of food to the side and lean into him.

Henry rolls his eyes down and sighs deeply at your stubbornness.

“Henry,” you insist and snatch his hand off his knee to hold it in yours. “It’s not just me anymore, it’s us. We’re going to Wyoming together, okay? We’re going to Jackson. We’re gonna go home, we’re gonna sleep on a bed.” You muster a small smile. “You’re gonna meet pretty girls….”

“Pft.” He breathes out and shakes his head with a small smile.

“We’re gonna eat a delicious sandwich from the bar, you’re gonna meet my uncle, and my momma. Sam is going to school, have friends. We’re going home.” You assure him sweetly.

Henry blinks, and meets your eyes with a soft gaze and a sweet smile that you like to see on him. He proceeds to cup your cheek and pull you in closer to him.

“Only girl I need is you,” he sweet talks you.

You scoff and roll your eyes, making him chuckle quietly so as to not wake up Sam, before he pulls you in for a deep kiss that you both linger in. That you both want to take further, but restrain yourselves and pull away and keep your foreheads against each other.

“Thank you,” he whispers against your lips. He never stops telling you that.

Albeit now you don’t tell him to take it back like before, you let him say it and relish in the silence before you press a kiss against his lips and smile. “Go to sleep,” you tell him. “I’ll keep watch here.”

Henry hums and pulls back to pick up the can of food. “I sleep, you eat.”

You scoff and nod slowly as you take the can from his hand.

Before you eat though, you go down and go to the bathroom, Henry goes down with you to keep watch. And once you get back upstairs, Henry is quick to fall asleep, letting you eat and watch him and Sam in the silence of the room that was only accompanied by the sound of their soft snores.

Or at least it was quiet for a while until Sam woke up.

“You okay?” You sign your question.

Sam yawns and nods. “Yes,” he answers. “I just had a bad dream.”

You put the empty can down and offer him a sweet smile. “Want to talk about it?” You ask him.

Henry hesitates before he shakes his head. “It wasn’t bad,” he signs back to assure you. “I'll be okay.”

You smile wider and nod. “Good,” you sign. “Now. Back to sleep then.”

Sam puts his finger up and turns around to look for something real quick. You drag your leg up, and rest your chin on your knee as you wait for him.

Once he turns back around he grins as he lifts a piece of cardboard that has three people drawn on it.

“I drew this,” he signs. “Today while you slept.”

You scoff and point your head to the drawing. “Tell me about it then.” You press him.

Sam smirks proudly and points to a small masked hero with a cape on it. “Me,” he signs and then drags his finger to another masked hero, this one albeit is taller than he was. “Henry,” he shares and then drags his finger to the last person; one with butterfly wings, eyes like yours, and half of the face covered by a black mask. “You,” he reveals, and smiles shyly.

You beam at him and probe with obvious excitement. “Really? Wow. What are my powers?”

Sam puts the drawing down and doesn’t fret explain what you ask for. “Flight because you have butterfly wings drawn on your back. And you can make shields like The Invisible Woman, because you are brave…”

Your smile softens at his explanation and you’re actually very touched by how much thought he put into it.

“And super strength because you are strong.”

You sigh softly and grab at your chest. “I love it so much” you sign back quickly. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Sam's smile turns timid, and he drops his head to hide his fluster.

As much as you do enjoy his company, and feel touched by his drawing, you do want him to sleep for a little while longer.

However, before you can tell him he snaps his head up and beats you to signing. “Will you tell me a story?” He asks.

You let out a deep exhale and first put a but. “And then you will sleep.” You insist.

Sam nods quickly.

“Okay,” you give in. “Let’s do it.”

——

*THE NEXT DAY*

As Henry wakes Sam up, you pack up what you can and what you have left, which isn’t a lot. A lot of Sam's crayons are wasted since he's been giving the blank attic some well deserved color. The food is gone so the green bag is mostly empty. And everything else you have goes in your own packs, so maybe you should be at least thankful that you don’t have to carry so much weight at the moment.

“Y/N,” Henry calls out.

You hum and look back at him with a questioning look.

“Can you pass me the red paint?”

You glance at Sam and notice that he has his eyes closed. You want to ask about it, but you just choose to wait and hand Henry what he asked for first.

“Watch,” Henry says to you and wraps cloth around his fingers to dip that in the red paint a bit before he leans towards Sam, and paints a thick red stripe over his eyes that makes it look like he has a mask on. Like the ones he paints on his hero’s.

“Wow,” you sign when he opens his eyes. “You look very cool.”

Sam smiles, and Henry pulls out his knife to let Sam see his reflection on the metal.

And once he does he grins and nods in appreciation. “Now,” Sam signs to you as Henry puts his knife away. “I have my mask on, like you have your wings.”

You grin and nod. “Yes!” You sign and lift your eyebrows to show your excitement, whilst you pick up your backpack off the ground since all you needed was for him to wake up so you could leave. “Exactly! We are cool now.”

Henry turns back around and helps Sam put on his jacket, while you grab his backpack off the ground.

“Now,” Sam tells you after he has his jacket on and his brother is turned away grabbing his own things. “Henry needs something too.” He stands up to his feet, and you hand him his backpack.

“We will have to think about what to give him,” you tell Sam as you strap your rifle on your shoulder.

Sam nods in agreement and drifts his eyes to Henry slowly trying to slowly open the door.

After making sure that the ghost is clear, you all proceed to climb out, and carefully walk down the stairs to reach the door that you had once walked through 11 days ago.

However, before you can walk out, even if Henry and you learned the patterns of the group, he puts a table against the door to climb on it and peek through the window over the door to check if the ghost is clear outside.

For inside you can hear nothing echoing in the distance; no shouts, running engines or distant gunshots, but you still wait cautiously, and watch Henry turn away from the window first before you can act.

“It’s okay,” Henry signs to Sam and you as he jumps down.

Just like you assumed.

However, even if Sam got the okay, he worries and questions his brother. “You don’t hear anything?”

Henry shakes his head and reaches over to push the table away. Albeit just as you take a step over to help him, tires suddenly screech, causing Henry to stop, and for you to do the same but grab Sam’s shoulder to hold him still.

Sam then turns to question what had made Henry and you stop, but tires screech again and a crash follows to sound, causing you to jump and cover your ears. Henry, though, grabs Sam, and your arm to pull you both down with him.

Sam signs something to both Henry and you, but you keep your eyes focused on the door as gunshots begin to go off. You remain frozen out of fear in the same spot Henry had pulled you down to, and don’t react or stand up until Henry gets back up on the table to peek through the window.

“Henry,” you call out and sign so Sam understands what you’re saying. “Stay down.”

“Let me just check,” he rebuttals.

You grab Sam’s hand and pull him with you as you take a step closer to Henry.

Another gunshot proceeds to go off though, making Henry duck, and Sam to tighten his hold around your hand as he watches his brother's reaction. And just as Henry slowly lifts his head again, you turn to face Sam.

“We will be okay, it sounds to be happening across the street,” you let Sam know. “Gunshots, but not a lot. Maybe a fight.”

Another gunshot goes off, and your shoulders jump, but you try to remain collected in front of Sam.

“Another gunshot?” Sam asks since he sees your reactions.

You nod and let him know, “Just one.” You turn to ask Henry what’s going on, but he suddenly ducks for a few seconds before he lifts back up one more time. After a few seconds he finally decides to jump back down as it goes quiet.

“What's going on now?” Sam asks Henry before you can.

Henry glances at you with a frown and shares his slight fear, before returning his gaze to his brother and looking nonchalant so Sam won’t worry as much.

“New plan,” Henry shares with the both of you. “We follow this man that just killed one of the rebels.” He explains making you feel shocked over that fact. “I know the streets, and even if we have you, y/n, we can possibly work together with this man.” He keeps his eyes locked on you to ask for reassurance, to wait if you’d argue, but you trust him and agree with a nod.

“We have to get out before more of the resistance comes over. Ready?” He asks Sam and you.

“Yes,” you sign and say, earning Henry’s attention. “I’m with you.”

Henry’s lips lift slightly before he gives you a thankful nod.

And just like Henry had mentioned, those same loud ass cars come soon, you can hear their loud rumbling engines, they make a commotion about one of their own dying and finding the people who did it; Albeit Henry did say it was only one old man. Nevertheless, by the time you imagine they get to searching the nearby places for that guilty man, you’re already out of the building, following that man you can’t see but Henry can.

Yet, it’s because of that same search that you have to be even more cautious like before. You have to hide in alleys, and take long pauses to wait for cars to roll by before continuing after the man.

Night comes, and you finally enter a building, but, you end up having to follow the fucking old man thirty something floors up the damn building. It’s safe sure, but so fucking high up after running all day.

Furthermore, as you’re walking to the room at the end of the hall, just as you’re about to reach the room, glass crunches under your feet, making Henry and you halt immediately, and for the both of you to stop quickly Sam too.

“Noisy?” Sam asks both Henry and you.

Henry agrees and answers. “Noisy.”

You pull your rifle strap off your shoulder, and watch Henry pull out a gun before grabbing Sam’s full attention. “Remember what to do?” He asks Sam.

Sam makes a gun sign and points to the door. Henry nods and then hands Sam the gun. And since it’s probably a bit heavy Sam lowers his hands, making Henry secure the boys hold around the weapon before looking up at you now.

“Y/N,” he signs and doesn’t speak for safety. “Stay here. If anyone comes in, jump them. Or if shit goes down in there and you hear gunshots, go in and surprise them for us. If you hear nothing then I’ll call you.”

You’re hesitant to obey, you want to go with him. But…after being stuck together in the attic for 11 days you trust him with your life, more than anyone. So you listen to his plan.

“Okay,” you assure him. “I will wait, but…” you pause and pull out your pistol from your holster. “Use mine. I have bullets, you don’t. I can’t have you go in unprotected.”

Henry glances at your weapon and seems hesitant to take it for a moment, but he has no choice but to trade guns.

“You know how to use it, yes?” You manage a joke.

Henry rolls his eyes and grabs Sam to walk ahead, leaving you to stand back and wait. Wait and listen.

Wait some more even when you catch someone else's voice inside; a young girl's not an old man yelling out the same name as your own fathers.

“Eyes on me,” you hear Henry command. “Eyes on me. You don’t have to worry about what to say. We don’t want to hurt you. We wanna help you.”

So they seem good?

Hm. You push yourself away from the wall and step in the middle of the hall, you try to get a view inside the room Henry and Sam had gone into, but it’s too dark. All you can go off of is Henry’s voice, which you can detect a hint of nervousness by the way.

“Okay,” a second voice says; an oddly familiar, deep and deadpanned one.

“Okay, uh,” Henry proceeds shakily, “I don’t know what the next step is with something like this…”

Oh sweet, sweet Henry.

You should’ve gone in his place instead.

“….but if I lower my gun, we didn’t hurt you, so you don’t hurt us, right?” He continues, providing a long pause that makes you lift your rifle and take one step forward.

“That’s right,” the manly voice responds in a deadpanned way. Which is funny because it actually sounds like your dad too.

“That’s a weird fuckin’ tone, man,” Henry snaps out nervously.

“That's just the way he sounds,” the young girl interjects quickly. “He has an asshole voice. Joel, tell him he’s okay.”

“Everything is great.”

Obviously not. But Henry doesn’t yell out for you, so you trust him and stay put.

“Dude.”

“Fuck!” Henry swears, making you look down at glass littered on the floor to step on the gaps that are clean—“okay. Listen,” Henry continues. “I’m gonna trust you.” Silence follows and you imagine he’s taking this time to communicate with Sam or think some more.

“But if either of you guys try anything,” Henry then exclaims. “Yeah? We also have someone else with us, she’s strong, so don’t try anything. Yeah?”

There’s a murmur you can’t make out before that manly voice speaks again. “Can I sit up?”

“Slow,” Henry says. “Get up slow. Y/N come on in…it’s okay!”

That’s your cue.

You only lower your gun a bit, but keep your hands tightly secured around your weapon as you slowly walk to the door.

“Who are you?” The man asks Henry now.

“My name is Henry. That’s my brother, Sam. I’m the most wanted man in Kansas City,” Henry’s voice gets louder the closer you approach the room. “Although, right now my guess is you’re running a close second.”

You reach the door and slowly push it open, announcing your presence to the others in the room. Yet as you step in the first person you focus on is Sam since he’s closer to the door. You’re about to ask if he’s okay, but you see the man behind him and slowly drag your eyes up to identify him.

And as soon as you land your eyes on his face, you freeze and gasp as you recognize his dark eyes, that face that has more wrinkles on it than before. You recognize his face even if it’s been years since you last saw him. After all, you could never forget how he looks, even with the anger you hold for him. You could never forget him, your dad.

“Oh my god,” you murmur and drop your gun as you keep your eyes on him, as you watch him slowly lose that furrowed brow, that look of nonchalance. You watch him grow disbelieved, or at least that’s what you want to think.

“Daddy?” You call out and stride over to him, whilst he walks over to you slowly as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing, as if he’s trying to debate if you’re some vision or not. “Daddy,” you murmur as you stand before him. “It’s me, It’s—”

Before you can finish your sentence he wraps you in embrace, he wraps an arm around your back, and slides his other hand to hold the back of your head. While you stay stiff in his arms.

“I know,” he murmurs against your ear. “I know baby, I know.” His voice is soft, not like it was a few minutes ago. He’s warm, and under the sweat you still recognize his own scent, it fills you with nostalgia and joy. It makes you hug him back and close your eyes to bask in the relief and safety you’re hit with in his arms.

“Let me look at you,” he whispers and pulls back to grab your face and study you. Study you after years of not seeing you. “Look at you….” He smiles softly and wipes away the tears on your cheeks that had broken out. “You’re all grown up. You’re so beautiful.”

You notice his graying hair. You see the exhaustion in his eyes, and the relief.

“What’s going on?” You hear the girl ask, but you don’t look at her or think further about her presence, all you can focus on is the man before you, and the fact that as of now that anger you held so close in your heart begins to wash away.

“Look at you,” you redirect with a wobbly grin. “You wear diapers yet?”

He scoffs softly. “I’m getting there.”

You laugh softly and linger in front of him for a second longer before you both hug each other again, before you cling onto his neck like you would when you were a little girl, when you’d greet him home from work, when he’d carry you after you woke up, or simply when you just needed his embrace. You cling onto him with fear he’d disappear.

So now, no one in the room could deny your connection.

“Oh baby girl,” he whispers.

You cry softly and nuzzle your head in the crook of his neck. You stay in the embrace for a few more moments, and he doesn’t try to pull away until you do to face Henry and Sam, and explain what they’re witnessing.

“This is my dad,” you sign and say out loud.

Sam blinks and looks at your dad by you, and then nods in comprehension, whilst Henry looks a bit disbelieved by the fact.

“Uh, sorry for the…gun,” Henry adds anyway.

“Dad,” you say and turn to look at him, “that’s Sam,” you point to the boy. “And that’s Henry….” You glance at the man and smile softly. “My partner.”

Henry meets your gaze and mirrors your gesture.

“Ellie,” the girl interjects and steps towards you to offer you her hand.

You snap your gaze to the small girl and quickly look at her up and down—brown hair, pale face, brown eyes. She can be his kid. Albeit she looks a bit too old to actually be his kid without you knowing about it. Then again it has been some time…so there’s a possibility….

“Y/N,” you share, and offer her a feigned smile as you take her hand so as to not be cold.

You then pull your hand away and think that she can be Tess’s kid with your dad, the girl kind of has a resemblance to Tess. However, you don’t see Tess here. Weren’t she and your dad inseparable?

You don’t ask about her though, even if you are curious.

“What are you doing here?” Your dad cuts in, letting you look at him. “You’re supposed to be in Wyoming.”

You sigh and nod. “It’s a long story, really. I’m sure I can share later.” You turn and head over to the gun you had dropped in front of the door. “What are you doing here though? It’s a long way from Boston.”

You hear your dad sigh. “It’s a long story,” he counters, making you scoff in amusement. “I’ll tell ya later. You talk to your uncle Tommy recently?”

You pick up your gun and hang it back around your shoulder. “No I haven't been able to,” you share and turn back around to face your dad. “I haven’t come across a radio in some time. Have you?”

Your dad swallows thickly before he shakes his head. “No,” he says, and you actually begin to worry by the hesitance in his tone.

Yet you don’t investigate further, leaving the room quiet, even if there was so much unsaid between you and your dad.

“Anyone hungry?” Ellie breaks silence.

You snap your eyes to her and nod for Sam and Henry. “Starving actually. You guys have some spare food? We’ve been on the run from the rebels outside, so it’s been a hard couple of days.”

“Yes,” your dad nods.

You offer him a thankful smile and then turn to Sam. “They have some food,” you let him know.

Sam smiles in relief.

“Why don't we set up shop, hm?” You say and break away from your spot to grab a lamp off some desk. “It’s crazy it’s been you this entire day,” you direct to your dad. “If I would’ve known we could’ve reunited earlier.”

The question about who Ellie is to him really kills you, but you keep holding back to avoid hearing what he’d say, what you were afraid he’d say.

“Well only if I knew you were here,” he quips in that same deadpanned voice.

You hum and turn to set the lamp down in between the cushions on the floor.

The girl sits down first and begins to rummage through her bag, while Sam and Henry sit across from her.

“I just got to Kansas City like maybe what,” you explain as you turn on the white lamp, providing at least some sort of light to an otherwise dark room. “Almost 2 months ago, or so.” You sit down across from your dad and meet his gaze. “I wasn’t planning to stay, but well,” you sigh. “Shit went down and I had no choice. That's when I met Henry and Sam.”

Ellie passes your dad something wrapped in paper, and as he opens it and reveals food, he looks over at you again. “Where were you coming from?” He asks and hands you some food that you pass to Sam first.

“Well,” you murmur and drop your gaze knowing he wouldn't like your answer. “A…” you hesitate and scoff. “Countrywide adventure to tell the truth.” You drift your eyes up, catching him stopping his hand midway as he’s about to hand you some more food. He narrows his eyes on you and shakes his head.

“Y/N—”

“Daddy,” you cut him off. “You can't be mad, I’m on my way home.”

A wave of emotions pass, and you swear you can even see a hint of sadness pass, but it doesn’t linger too long for you to confirm it.

“You could’ve gotten yourself killed,” he mutters and hands you a piece of food you hand to Henry. “I can’t believe your uncle Tommy let you leave.”

You scoff and shrug off your back pack, and put down your gun to grab your food now. “I was 22 when I left, I was grown. And he trusted me.”

Your dad blinks and looks at his own piece of food as he swallows thickly again.

“Why did you leave?” Ellie interjects.

You smirk and share your truth. “Prove to myself that I can survive.”

Ellie begins to slowly smirk. “Cool,” she says.

And it might or might not be a choice fueled by your dad, or really his past behavior.

“Where did you get these?” Henry interjects and changes the subject.

“From Bill,” Ellie answers. “He’s dead.”

Oh. Okay.

Silence passes, and your dad takes this time to hand Sam some more food.

And as soon as the boy gets it he taps your arm so you’ll look at him and what he signs.

“Yeah,” you assure him. “I’ll tell him.” You look to your dad and share what Sam told you. “He says thank you.”

“I’m guessing you don’t have much,” Henry adds. “So, this means a lot.”

You hum in agreement.

“How old is he?” Ellie asks.

Henry turns to Sam and shares what Ellie had asked him, making Sam answer.

“He’s eight,” Henry shares for Sam.

Ellie nods and smiles. “Cool. I’m Ellie.”

Henry once again communicates with Sam, causing Sam to look over at the girl and sign cool as he nods.

Silence then proceeds to fall again, but now you catch Ellie hit your dads leg to encourage him to introduce himself now, making you be more assured by the fact that she could be his kid. One he didn’t tell anyone about, not even you…

“I’m Joel,” your dad adds bluntly. “Look, you ate, we didn’t kill each other, let’s call this a win-win and move on.” He glances at you towards the end of his conversation, seeking you to speak.

Yet you don’t, you let Henry do so

“Well, I’m betting that y’all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out. And when the suns up, we’ll show you one.” Henry glances at you at the end, so you share an assuring look.

“There isn’t a lot we can see right now,” you add and look to your dad. “It’s dark. Once the sun goes up we can…” you pause and sigh. “Talk more. As of now if you guys want to sleep, go ahead. Henry and I can keep watch.”

“No,” Henry cuts you off. “You’ve been up all day, I can stay awake, Sam and you can get some sleep.”

You meet Henry’s gaze and come up with another option since you know your father wouldn’t be so open to that idea. And well you do want to talk to your dad too, someone you haven’t seen in years and suddenly appears here, Kansas City of all places.

“You sleep,” you direct at Henry. “I’ll…stay up with my dad, there’s things we need to talk about anyway.” You look over at said man, and meet his dark gaze.

And without adding much, your dad hums in agreement, making you smile softly.

“So,” you roll out and look down at Sam next to you. “You,” you point and begin to sign and speak quietly. “Need sleep.”

Sam rolls his eyes, but nods slowly. However, before he can stand up to find some corner, he adds one thing. “I decided what I want to have in Wyoming.”

You grow curious and probe.

“A giraffe,” he shares, making you grin.

“A giraffe,” you repeat. “Man,” you chuckle as you sign to him. “I don’t know how I’ll fit a giraffe in the backyard.”

“You said,” he argues. “Any pet.”

You sigh and drop your shoulders to try and pursue him to another option. “How about a goat, or,” you snap your fingers as the idea comes to mind. “A dog? A Cat?”

Sam shakes his head and looks at Henry and then at you to repeat himself. “A giraffe.”

You sigh in defeat, and nod your head. “Fine, fine, you twisted my arm, I will see what I can do, how about that?” You ask with a soft smile, in that moment missing how Henry was watching you; like he’s never seen something so beautiful in his life.

Albeit, you might not have noticed but your dad does. Your dad saw how you had just talked to Sam, so sweet and caring even through all this crap. So maybe he was right in leaving you with your uncle Tommy.

In the years before he left though, you were somewhat the same, you liked to see the good out of the bad even as young as you were, even as scared of the new world as you were. He doesn’t know how you did, where you got that from, but he knows that if you were stuck with him all your life, you wouldn't have stayed yourself. As you were before this outbreak, so, it’s good that you hadn’t been together until now.

“Are you sure?” Henry double checks as Sam walks away from the group.

You nod. “Yeah. I’m sure,” you assure him. “Go, get some sleep.”

Henry hesitates for a moment before he follows after his brother, leaving Ellie, your dad, and you left. Yet he sends Ellie off to bed too, and she relencutenly listens.

So now it’s just you and him, but neither of you speak until you know everyone is asleep.

“So,” you whisper as you move to sit by his left side. “Are you gonna tell me what you’re doing here?”

“It’s not as exciting as your reason,” he deadpans, making you smile. “I still can’t believe Tommy would let you leave. Tsk.”

You drop your gaze and do share the truth you hid. “He didn’t want me to leave, we argued…but at the end of the day, I was an adult, he knew he couldn’t hold me back.” You lift your gaze to look back at your dad. “You didn’t answer me though.”

Your dad meets your gaze and then glances at Henry across the room for a moment before he drops his gaze and mutters. “No offense or anything, but I don’t trust your partner. I trust you, but not him, so let’s save this conversation for later.”

So he hasn’t changed. That’s good to know.

“Okay,“ you grumble in annoyance, and instead chose to focus on the girl he’s traveling with. “The girl, is she your…”

“No,” your dad cuts you off before you can ask what he knew you were curious about. “She’s not anything. She’s cargo.”

Oh. Well now you’re even more curious. It’s bad he won’t answer a fucking thing.

“So what?” You retort. “Are you on some kinda mission?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “Somethin like that.” He meets your gaze, and you let your own gaze linger on him as more questions build up, as you want to spill out so much more. But, right now, at this moment you don’t want to ruin the bliss of this reunion, you’re happy to see him again, and you want to focus on that.

“You,” he continues to speak. “How are you doing, hm? You okay?”

You nod and sigh. “I was hurt, that's why I stayed, but I’m okay now. You?” You ask and prop your elbows on your knees to rest your chin on your hands. “I mean besides being old.”

Your dad rolls his eyes and scoffs. “I’m okay,” he mutters. “And you're getting there too, what are you now 30?” He manages to tease you with a faint smirk dancing on his lips.

“I’m 24,” you correct him. “And 30 is not that old, okay?”

“Yeah, says you, you’re almost halfway there,” he reminds you, making you smile that he remembers. “You still make it a big deal?”

You snicker. “Daddy, you know me right? Of course I do.”

His smirk deepens. “What was it you said when you were a little girl?” He asks even if he still in fact remembers. “That Valentine’s Day was celebrated ‘cause it was your birthday that day?

You nod. “I still believe that,” you mumble with a stifled laugh.

He laughs softly and shakes his head. And you smile softly. It’s been so long since you’ve talked, so long since you’ve laughed together, and now after years of estrangement, sharing that same connection fills your heart with such heartwarming bliss you’ve missed.

“You going to Wyoming?” You quiere a bit mote seriously.

Your dad nods stiffly.

You scoff. “Uncle Tommy might get some kind of heart attack when he sees you.” You grin.

“He’s old,” you both say at the same time.

You giggle quietly and nod. Silence follows, comforting silence that lets you notice the watch on his wrist, the same one Sarah had given him for his birthday 20 years ago. He still wears it.

He never liked talking about her after she died, you can’t imagine that’s changed, but you still miss her and he still misses her too. So without saying anything you sit up and grab his wrist to carefully swipe your finger over the cracked glass.

Your dad watches you and of course doesn’t add anything, he lets you hold his hand to look at the watch instead.

“Get some sleep,” he mutters. “I’ll stay up.”

You let his hand go and breathe out softly before blinking and looking at him. “It’s okay. I’ll stay up with you. I missed you.” You admit.

The corner of his lips twitch to a smile, and he then wraps his arm around your shoulders to press you against him and press a kiss on the top of your head.

You smile and rest your head on his shoulder as he keeps his arm around you. You sit in the silence then, basked only by the dim white light. And you fight it, fight the sleep that came as you felt comforted and safe by your dad, but it overtook you, and regardless of what you told him you fell asleep with your head on his shoulder just like you would when you were a little girl.

——

*THE NEXT MORNING*

“Welcome to Killa City,” Henry says whilst he, you and your dad look out at the city from an office building.

“No FEDRA,” your dad interjects.

Henry shakes his head. “Not as of 2 months ago, no.”

“We always heard KC FEDRA was—”

“Monsters? Savages?” Henry cuts your dad off, and looks at him as he nods. “Yeah, you heard right. Raped and tortured and murdered people for 20 years. And you know what happens when you do that to people? The moment they get a chance they do it back to you.”

“But you’re not FEDRA,” your dad mutters, and you sigh quietly and avert your gaze as you know what’s coming is something he won’t like.

“No, worse,” Henry says. “I’m a collaborator.”

You clench your jaw and peek over, catching your fathers immediate displeasure and judgment.

“I don’t work with rats,” he snaps at Henry, and side eyes you since he knows he had taught you better.

“Yeah,” Henry scoffs. “You fucking do.”

You sigh and drag your eyes to him. “Henry,” you warn.

Said man glances at you, but he doesn’t change his tone of voice.

“Today you do.” He continues. “‘Cause I live here and you don’t. That’s how we followed you here….”

Albeit you didn’t actually know you were following your own father when Henry told you.

“I know this city, and that’s how I’m gonna help you get out.”

“Why help us?” Your dad queries.

Henry glances over at you and his gaze softens. “Her, for one,” he points to you, making you feel flustered. “And two, I saw what you did, the way you killed those men,” he says and glances back at your dad, making you do the same. “Now, I know where to go, and I trust y/n would have gotten us out alive, but we are safer in numbers.”

You meet your dad gaze briefly before he directs his comment to Henry. “You seem capable enough. You’re armed.”

Tsk.

“You’re wrong, and wrong,” Henry rebuttals. “Never killed anyone. And pointing that borrowed gun at you was the closest I’ve ever come to being violent….so that’s the deal. I show the way, you and y/n clear the way.”

You nod in agreement, and then look to your father in hopes he’d agree too. After all, you are going to the same place.

Yet you can’t read the answer he may have, he makes it hard to do so. But you want to believe he’d want to stick around with you at least….

What if you’re not enough though? He’s left before.

You sigh shakily and want to pull him away, but then a distinctive laugh fills the room. When you glance back you see Sam laughing with Ellie.

She made him laugh.

“Haven't heard that in a long time,” Henry says.

You smile at the boy, and then share that same happy smile with Henry.

“So how are we gettin’ out?” Your dad gives in, making you look to the ground and smile wider.

Without hesitation Henry walks to the table and pulls a piece of paper and pencil from his backpack, making your dad and you gather around the table where Henry is to watch as he begins to write. And shortly thereafter Ellie joins the group too, leaving Sam to sit at the other side of the table in wait.

“Highways, downtown,” Henry explains and points and circles the spots with his fingers. “Us. This whole area belongs to Kathleen.”

“She’s in charge?” Ellie probes.

You cross your arms over your chest and nod before answering with what you’ve been told from Henry himself, and the others that were a part of his group. “Leader of the resistance.”

“You can see the way we’re bounded by highways,” Henry continues to explain. “They got people posted all around the inside perimeter. If we get close, we get caught. No question. So how do we get across?” He asks, but then taps the surface of the table to gain Sam’s attention.

And when the boy looks up Henry asks the same question, so Sam can write down the answer on his board. “Tunnels.”

Henry snaps his fingers and says. “Boom.”

“Kansas City has a subway?” Your dad questions.

“No, but they do have maintained tunnels,” Henry answers. “There’s a bunch of buildings all put up by the same developers. And they share these tunnels, including,” he says and looks back at his paper.

“A bank building here.” He writes down on the paper as he explains as well. “So we enter the tunnels here, travel underground, and pop up here. Westside North. Residential. There’s an embankment on the other side of the houses. We head down, pedestrian bridge over the river.” He drops his pencil and claps proudly. “Free as a bird.” He then shoots you a proud look.

And you might be impressed by his plan, but your dad doesn’t seem so.

“You’re right,” your dad comments. “It’s a great plan. So what do you need us for?” Your dad points to him and you.

Henry sighs and shares one concerned look with you before looking at your dad and explaining further. “You noticed anything strange about this city? I mean, other than the strange shit you’ve already seen?”

“No infected?” Ellie answers correctly right away.

“Oh, there’s infected,” Henry corrects her. “Just not on the surface. FEDRA drove them underground 15 years ago and never let them come back up. It’s the only good thing those fascist motherfuckers ever did.”

“So you want us goin’ into a tunnel?” Your dad quips as he looks between Ellie and you.

“Everyone thinks that It’s full of infected,” Henry adds. “Including Kathleen, which means that we’re not gonna be running into any of her people. But you see, what I know is, it’s empty.”

“You’ve been down there?” Your dad asks.

You avert your gaze and hear Henry’s response. “No,”

“Oh god,” your dad mutters in annoyance. “Y/N.”

Yes, it’s a very questionable plan, you know that, but that’s why Henry and Sam had you. To fight for them.

“…but the FEDRA guy that I worked with told me that it’s clean,” Henry continues. “Completely clean. They cleared it out. All of it.”

“When?” Ellie asks.

“Like, three years ago,” Henry says.

Your dad scoffs and shakes his head.

“Okay, maybe,” Henry quickly adds. “There’s one or two, but you can handle it.”

“What if there’s more?” Your dad counters.

“Or one of those blind ones that sees like a bat?” Ellie adds her question.

“Y/N has fought clickers,” Henry explains and points to you.

You nervously glance up at your dad, and meet his quick judgmental gaze only meant for one man.

“And now I know you have,” Henry continues. “You see? You’re the right people. If it gets bad down there, we turn around, and run right back out the same way we came.”

“Oh that’s your great plan?” Your dad argues. “Put my—”

“No, that’s my dicey-as-fuck plan,” Henry cuts your dad off. “But as far as I can tell…it’s our only shot.”

“Y/N,” your dad presses you to explain yourself and your decision to follow something risky.

“It’s our only choice,” you vouch for Henry. “They chased us out of the forest, and now they have the forest line surrounded. It’s either this way or we go guns blazing. Which is an actual stupid idea. Trust me. Can you do that? I know it’s been a while,” you swallow thickly. “But can you do that?”

Your dads gaze lingers on you, his answer is simple in regards to you, but it’s the man you’re with that makes his choice difficult.

“They’re saying,” you hear Henry interject before your dad can answer you. “They’re going to help us escape.”

You look to the end of the table and see Sam smirk and nod in comprehension.

“Right?” Henry asks.

“Fine,” your dad grumbles, making you smile softly at him.

Good thing it didn’t come to choosing sides because if it had you don’t know who you’d side with….

Regardless, you don’t linger in the building any longer, the next rotation would start their shift soon, so now was the time to flee while the ghost was clear.

There could be surprises considering they are looking for your dad now too. But luckily the run to the bank was clear, and the bank itself was clear—It seems that the resistance group isn’t as smart as they think they are.

The only difficulty is now navigating your way through the long dark tunnel that you’re in.

“This should be it,” Henry says once the door closes behind your dad. “You ready?”

You turn your flashlight on and step down the stairs first.

“Get your gun out,” you hear your dad tell Ellie most likely. But you take this time you pull your rifle down and have it ready just in case something jumps out in this silence.

“How many bullets do you have?” You direct to your dad and look over your shoulder, noticing him climbing down the stairs to join you so you can both lead the way to some other big metal door.

“Not a lot,” he says, and shortly thereafter stops to open the big metal door for everyone. “You?” He asks once it’s open.

“Not a lot either,” you grumble and continue to slowly walk forward with your light pointing at the long path ahead.

“You see? It’s empty,” Henry points out loudly and with pride. “The plan is good!”

You look back to kindly tell him otherwise even if you really don’t smell or hear anything concerning, yet your dad beats you to it.

“Shh,” your dad shushes him. “The plan is good?” He repeats and scolds Henry. “We’ve been here for two seconds. We don’t know anything.”

Henry meets your gaze, and you shoot him a comforting smile before he leans close to Ellie and directs his comment to her.

“Your dads kind of a pessimist.”

“He’s not my dad.” Ellie quickly rebuttals, at the same your dad also does

“I’m not her dad.”

Why do they sound offended?

Maybe there shouldn’t be a reason why you need to be jealous then?

“Just point your light forward,” your dad continues to tell Henry. “And be ready to run.” He continues walking, so you also continue to lead the way at his side.

It turns out to be a long walk. A silent one thankfully. It seems Henry was right about this tunnel now being infected free. Yet as you come approaching some colorful painted doors who knows what may lie behind them.

“Whoa,” Ellie utters as you all flash your lights at the colorful drawings that fill the three walls.

There’s a castle painted around the doors, flowers and plants on the other walls, children, rainbows and a sun. This must be the reason why the infected aren’t down here.

Yet it’s too quiet, and unprotected. And when you feel the walls to check if it’s fresh or old paint. Thankfully, or sadly…the paint is dry and crusted.

“Let’s knock,” you suggest. "If there's infected they’ll run to the door, if there’s people then we’ll hear them too. If there’s nothing then…the ghost is clear.”

Your dad hums and nods in agreement. And just as you step forward and lift your fist to knock, Sam passes you to reach the door, but you quickly grab his arm and face him.

“No,” you warn him. “It can be dangerous. Always, always check if something is safe first, okay?” You take this time to teach him. “You understand me?”

Sam's smile fades, and he quickly responds. “I understand, sorry.”

You shake your head. “You did nothing wrong, just always double check first. Wait. My dad and I will give the sign that it’s safe. Okay?”

Sam nods stiffly and steps behind you, letting you secure his hand under yours, and now knock.

Once you get no response your dad opens the door first and slowly walks in, letting you and the rest follow him inside, noticing a larger room with more painted walls, with furniture and books. A home. An abandoned home.

You let Sam’s hand go and turn your flashlight off since this room is basked by natural light that comes from the vents on the ceiling.

“I heard about places like this,” your dad comments as he slows his pace to study the room. “People went underground after Outbreak day. Built settlements.”

You hang your rifle around your shoulder and slowly begin to walk ahead to investigate more of this living space.

“What happened to them?” Ellie asks.

“Maybe they didn’t follow the rules and they all got infected,” your dad counters.

Or they got tired of underground living and left. That’s what you hope happened anyway.

“No way!” You hear Ellie exclaim, making you snap your head to her out of fear.

Yet when your eyes land on her, you see her and Sam around a small table checking out a comic book.

“I love these!”

Fuck.

You let out a relieved sigh and continue towards a shelf of records and movies. Ellie continues to talk, but you focus on the music and films that have collected dust, giving away the time of unuse; hinting mostly at how long this place has been abandoned.

“…fuck yeah man!”

“Hey, keep it down,” your dad cuts Ellie off. “We’re not out yet.”

There he goes…grumpy, and overly cautious.

“C’mon,” Ellie groans. “Can we just rest here for a while? There’s like, actually shit to do here.”

A certain movie called Curtis and Viper 2 grabs your attention, and makes you smile to yourself while they talked.

“Wouldn’t be so bad to wait the light out a bit,” Henry tries to persuade your dad. “Safer in shadows when we pop back out on the other side.”

You snatch the movie from the shelf and look over your shoulder to wait for your fathers response. And surprisingly he gives in, letting you focus back on the shelf of goodies.

Since the records take too much room in your pack you leave them behind unfortunately, and step over to the box of cassettes, finding many albums that you had left back home, some that were your favorite and haven’t heard in years.

You find books, two that practically caught your attention. You find accessories, and more stuff that you would have enjoyed when you were a little kid. Albeit you still do put on some heart shaped sunglasses for fun now.

And even if it’s a habit your father is used to or should be used to, he still questions your choice of accessory as you join him and Henry sitting around a table. “What are you wearin’?”

You grin and pull up a chair next to Henry. “Daddy, don’t they look great on me?”

Your dad scoffs and looks away. “Well it’s good to see you haven’t changed,” he mumbles whilst he hides his faint smile over the fact.

You grin and proceed to throw your backpack and gun down, to then rest your feet on Henry’s lap as you sit back on the chair. “Look what I found,” you bring up and put your stuff down to show them a pun book. “A pun book. These are so fun, you love these don’t you,” you point at your dad.

His gaze drifts back to you and his eyes narrow. “Y/N,” he mutters, but you ignore him and open the book to read a random joke.

“A book,” you begin to giggle. “A book just fell on my head. I only have myself to blame—“ you stop and snort. “Fuck! No, fuck I said that wrong,” you giggle some more and correct yourself. “A book just fell on my head…I only have my shelf to blame.” You look up and see your dad keep his arms crossed over his chest and his nonchalance on his face, so you look over at Henry, and see him smile.

“Yeah,” you mutter. “I ruined that one.” You scoff and flip the page to read another one. “Ah, another! I used to be addicted to soap,” you laugh softly and glance up at your audience. “But I’m clean now.” You laugh and actually hear Henry giggle.

“Next…” you flip the page and grin as you find a good one. “Do you know what’s not right?” You ask and look up as you press the book against your chest to wait for a response.

“Left,” Henry answers, making you beam and nod.

“Yeah, yeah, you get it,” you laugh. “That was a good one.” You close the book and shove it in your backpack. “I’ll say more later….Now.” You say and sit up to grab another book. “Look. Little Women, my favorite book. Which,” you point the book at your dad and Henry. “I made into a play back home a few years back…”

You miss your dads curious look as you mention that you have made a play since you continue to speak.

“…I’ll let y’all guess who I played.”

“The main character?” Henry probes.

You put the book down on the table and shake your head. “Nope. Read the book and you’ll know. And look,” you continue and lift a cassette. “ABBA, and Kate Bush, Hounds of Love album, I love Running up That Hill.”

“I swear you love every song,” Henry comments.

You shrug and smirk. “Yeah, pft, well there’s too many to choose from.” You bend down and pull out your Walkman to put in the Kate Bush tape.

“Actually, before you do that,” Henry mumbles. “I found you something,”

You blink and snatch your sunglasses off to look up at him without the dark tint.

“It reminded me of you,” he says timidly and leans closer to you to pin something on your poncho.

When he pulls his hand away, you look down and see a small little gold sun pin.

“Uh, you can pin it to your backpack, or I don’t know, keep it there, but I just wanted you to have it.”

You smile softly and look up at him to meet his soft enamored gaze.

“Thank you,” you whisper and grab his chin to caress it before you lean in and press a small kiss on his lips, forgetting in that moment that your father was nearby—“I love it.”

“Good,” Henry says. “Good.”

You both let your gazes linger for a moment longer before you grab your book to hide your giddy grin as you sit back. You then proceed to put on your earphones on, and press play on the music, but can’t stop smiling like a love struck idiot.

But maybe you are one though….

Anyway, you read some pages of the book and miss the conversation that your dad and Henry have, you don’t look up, or listen in. You don’t look up until Ellie and Sam playing across the room catch your attention.

And at first it was just a brief glance since you could hear them faintly through your music, but as you see that they’re playing soccer, as you see Sam trick Ellie to take the soccer ball away from her, you grow nostalgic and sad. You remember Sarah, again, this time more than ever. You remember playing soccer with her in the backyard of your house, you remember tricking her to steal her ball away; the memory plays faintly in your mind, bringing tears to your eyes.

You remember her smile, her laugh. You remember those simple days, and miss her, just like you do every single day that passes.

“…Y/N…”

You blink at the sound of your muffled name and look up, catching your dad standing by you now. You pull your earphones off and hum to probe.

“It’s time to go,” he says.

You draw in a deep shaky breath and nod in comprehension. He walks away and you sigh as you pull your legs off Henry’s lap to pack up your things now.

“I don’t think he likes me that much,” Henry whispers.

You glance over at him and then look at your dad walking to Ellie.

“Just,” you quickly try to assure Henry. “Give him time. He’s,” you smile. “He’s a hardass, but he will come around.” You zip up your backpack and pick it up, before grabbing your rifle off the ground to then stand up.

Henry stands up from the chair too and sighs.

“Come on,” you urge him softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

.

.

.

.

A/N- I don't want to write what follows…

A/N- Can you guess who y/n played in her Little Women play? (That part was added for a reason 😙)

Tagged- @slut-f0r-u @star-wars-lover @traceylader @givemylovetoall @itzagothamcitysiren @sammy-13 @beloved-reblogger @emiriia @rues-daya @sunfairyy @littleshadow17 @mcu-starwars @bigtuffswordboy @riaqiax @dheet @queenofthekill @joliettes @d4rno @dgraysonss @rana030 @punisherinthealps @pedropascalluvr41

[ameagrice]

Genesis

chapter two

summary: a grand plan your best friend devises turns on its head, leading the both of you to serious danger.

For as long as you could remember, all there was, was FEDRA.

And for as long as you could remember, there was Rudy Wilson. A funny boy with a mop of copper hair, always unkept and knotted, and despite his habit to get in trouble every other day at school, he was happy, and he was your best friend. You always had (and supposed you always would) do everything together, even if it got you into trouble.

Which, unfortunately for you, happened quite a lot.

“How many times do I have to tell you?l Fields sighed exhaustedly, tapping his hand on his desk at every word. “Do not follow in that boy’s footsteps. You’re digging your own grave.”

You blink up at the ceiling, and then out of the window, behind Lieutenant Fields and his mop of curly hair. He was fairly young, and fairly fond of you—something you weren’t sure you should be happy about. Extra attention never had been a priority.

His muffled words came into full focus when he snapped his fingers in front of your face. “Are you listening to me right now?”

You snapped, face fierce. “Yes. And I don’t need a lecture.”

“Who would you rather? Me, or the old hag down the hall?” He leaned forward, and you caught the green in his eyes.

You didn’t answer him directly. “Come on. I didn’t do anything wrong. Can I just go?”

He paused, remaining quiet for a second. Then, “Get into a fight like that again because your little friend can’t take care of himself, and you’re out. You’ve had five warnings.” He paused, and eyed you carefully. “You’ve got potential. Buckets of it. Don’t waste it.

Now, get out of my office.”

A single bell rang all over the building, indicating the most anticipated time of the day: lunch time, at exactly twelve-forty. You swung open the office door, pulling it shut behind you. And, as you stepped out into the hallway, so did the troublemaker you called your best friend.

Directly in front of you, with scarlet cheeks and a sharp smile, stood Rudy Wilson, at attention.

“You got Fields,” he smirked. “Lucky.”

“I’m starting to think you have a thing for her,” you nodded at the door of the second most terrifying Lieutenant of FEDRA school.

Rudy shrugged, setting off down the hallway. Already the sound of other students yelling from floors below was getting louder.

“I love her to pieces,” Rudy sang, humming. He wiggled his eyebrows at you. “Especially all those wrinkles.”

“You’re disgusting.”

Descending the next two floors, you landed on ground level, and promptly joined the lunch queue, forming against the walls of the gymnasium.

If you had known that day would be your last normal one with your best friend, you might have talked more. You might have cracked another joke at Rudy’s expense, or even thanked Lieutenant Fields for always letting you off lightly. But nobody ever really knows when the last day of something will arrive, and it’s only when the wheels are turning and time is ticking that you start to realise you ought to have done more.

Your alarm clock reads two-past midnight when Rudy’s shadow forms on the fire escape just beyond your dormitory window. You didn’t even miss the warmth of your bed, when it came to escapades with Rudy.

“I’ve got something to show you, later,” he explained through a mouth full of potato at lunch. You’d nodded, excited at the prospect of another secret outing.

You climbed out of bed, and reached under it for your best shoes: an old pair of green lace-ups, and your backpack. Without a blip, you descended the fire escape together.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going?” You asked, climbing slowly down the ladder.

He hummed dramatically. “Maybe.”

“Is it somewhere I’ve been before?” You glanced down, wondering. He simply shook his head.

“Surprisingly, no.”

That final night together, Rudy was dressed in faded jeans, almost grey in colour, a too-big black tee tucked into his too-small pants, and a black jacket. His copper hair had been pushed back from running his fingers through it so often, and his sharp face was alight with the glee of childish mischievousness.

Past piles of rubble, past mountains of ash you walked, remains of the fireflies’ failed attempts at overruling FEDRA. Some of the buildings were only partially blown up last night, some still crumbling from months ago, and you were forced to slow your sneaking lest you wanted the rubble to bring you down with it. The air smelled of fire and dirt, the stars way up there watching two teens enjoy the beginning of their last night together. Rudy led the way, crouching behind buildings and signs when lights in the lookout towers came too close for comfort.

Eventually, you arrived at your destination.

Sceptically, you eyed the large, domed building. It was bathed in darkness, the outline barely visible in the dimmed light of street lamps.

“The mall?” You raised a brow. Rudy’s spindly figure, walking ahead, turned in a swift spin, grinning. “But…you know what’s in there, right?”

“I know what isn’t in there, more like. Now hurry up; we’re on a tight schedule.”

You followed after him promptly. “You're tellin’ me. You do know I have to be up in three hours for drill, right? I know you have the luxury of not having to be a part of that these days, but some of us haven’t been recruited by the fireflies.”

He waved his hand at you, unbothered. “Pffft. I do far more exciting things than drills with the fireflies.”

“Like what? Shooting people?”

“Hey,” he elbowed you. “You’ll be shooting people too, soon.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong. “Yeah, but for good reason.”

Rudy groaned loudly. “Jesus, you do far too much kissing FEDRA’s ass.”

“Shut up and lead the way, you terrorist.”

Rudy made a start by climbing a well-established path up to the roof, using mismatched ladder parts and old boxes. His fluid movements told you, he’d been here before.

“For somewhere that’s full of infected, it’s sure lacking security,” you commented, looking up. Rudy, agile as a spider and already halfway up a bit of roof, jammed his foot against a hold and lowered his hands to help you up. His sharp smile appeared, canines slightly longer than the rest of his smile.

“Like I said before,” his deepening voice, not quite there yet, rang loudly in the dead of night. “It’s not full of infected. In fact, it never was. I’ve been working on your birthday surprise for months now, amongst other things. Lemme tell you; we’re very safe here.”

“Famous last words,” you jumped your brows. He imitated your words, sticking out his tongue.

Up the roof you went, growing ever more nervous. The night was cooler than the day—so warm today, in fact, that it thundered all afternoon. September’s cooler climate was fast approaching, thank goodness. Your hands slipped a little bit, making your way up. Thoughts ran amok. Sure, Rudy said it was safe, but how could he know for certain? The thrill of doing something new began to overtake the sense of anxiety, however, and you didn’t contemplate the infected for long.

You crouched beside Rudy, whose eyes narrowed into the dark below, searching. Water from this afternoon’s rain slipped through a gap in the roof, spattering and echoing across something down below in the dark.

“Right,” Rudy cleared his throat, grabbing your arm forcefully. “Down you go.”

Without warning, he pushed you over the edge, down the hole. You screamed, heart falling to your stomach, but you didn’t fall far. Instead of landing on concrete, you…bounced?

An old mattress cushioned your fall. Above, Rudy laughed.

Safe to say, you chewed his ear off when he landed, too.

Inside, everything had rotted. From the mattress you landed on, to the metal stairs Rudy told you to ascend; all slimy, all gross. Your ears honed in on the small sounds, listening for signs of infected;

Nothing.

“Okay,” Rudy shrugged his pack up his back. “It’s just up these stairs. But first I gotta…”

Halfway up the staircase, he reached up for a corroded metal box, nimble fingers twisting a small latch until the door swung. Inside sat a set of switches, none labelled. This didn’t matter to Rudy, who flicked them all down. You expected some sort of commotion—but nothing in the air changed.

“Oh, no way!” He had flicked a switch, and waved his hand. A sign above the door—albeit a bit rotted—came to life in vivid red. “But how?”

“Did you see those blocks of buildings earlier, on the roof?” You nodded. “Marlene told me FEDRA is starting to open them up. More people are coming into the QZ, so they need more housing. They obviously need lighting, so when they connected them up to the mains, they connected this place, too. Who knows if they meant to do it—I’m just glad they did. Makes for a great birthday present.”

You nodded along, in wonder and wondering. “But—if the lights are on, won’t somebody see? They’ll know we’re here.”

“How will they?” He scoffed. Rudy led the way up to a set of double doors. Old, yellowed stickers remained set across them: TEAM MEMBERS ONLY. “You saw this place from the outside. It’s one big, blacked out dome. People think it’s full of infected, civvies won’t come this far, and FEDRA don’t know a thing about it being connected to the mains. We’ll be alright.”

You trusted Rudy. Really, you did. In all of your shenanigans, Rudy was the instigator. Something about this huge, quiet mall sat your nerves on edge, however. You’d wandered to the old park on the far side of the QZ, and walked the streets at all hours of the night, but the sheer size of the mall, stepping inside, made you feel uneasy.

Despite this, it was also amazing.

Neon colours and bright lights illuminated the vast space. The stores themselves had long since been abandoned, rummaged through and almost destroyed. What seemed to be fake plants here and there provided a sense of life you didn’t often feel in the zone. You tried to picture the stores full, the place clean and busy.

Some stores, like Jane Norman, and Victoria’s Secret, still displayed clothes and shoes, and for some reason hadn’t been looted as well as the others, which were empty, storefront signs flickering, half-lit.

“Wait for it,” Rudy said, out of the blue. You frowned. Wait for what?

All of a sudden, music began playing quietly all over the mall, a little crackly but there. An upbeat song you’d never heard before, but loved instantly. The lights, the music, the stores…it was one thing to read old books where the characters went shopping, or had a girls trip. But to actually set food inside of the setting (albeit, very different from how they were originally written), was a strange feeling.

Your head snapped to Rudy. You were all smiles, and Rudy shoved you.

“Knew you’d like it,” he coyly brushed you off. “Come on! There’s something even better this way.”

The ‘something even better’ happened to be an escalator. You’d read about these moving staircases in books, but actually standing on one? Whole. Different. Experience.

“Hey!” Rudy called, laughing. “Look at me!” His long legs marched backwards on the escalator, which was rolling down to the floor below. Rudy remained in place, as if he were marching on air. You couldn’t help but laugh, and make your way down to the next floor by sliding down the escalator rails.

This floor had been used for restaurants and smaller stores. Rudy plumed ahead, nattering on about needing new shoes. You took your time exploring a bookstore. Some of them had rotted, full of brown mould, and were tipped face-down, pages bent. But the ones you saved, you shoved in your backpack. Only two, but more than you’d held in a while.

“I feel bad,” you told Rudy, kneeling, zipping up your backpack of new books.

He pocketed something you didn’t see. “Nobody’s gonna know. Like, ever. Take what you want. It’s your birthday.”

“I’m gonna use that explanation for the rest of my life,” you raised a brow. “It’s my birthday. Stealing is acceptable and excused.”

A plastic water bottle. A pair of socks. Books, jeans, and a sweater. Your shoulders ached with the weight in your pack.

Rudy had been quiet for a while, allowing you to explore. Now, he smiled excitedly, buzzing in place.

“And now, the finale,” he proclaimed dramatically, waving his arms. “This way, madam.”

You walked another floor. This far away, the music playing was almost inaudible.

At the end of the hallway, Rudy proudly beamed.

“Welcome to the carousel,” Rudy waved his hand. “Right this way, your ladyship.”

“No. Fucking. Way. Dude!”

All smiles, you approached the glowing amusement, shining in the dark. Horses painted with sashes of every colour sat at varying heights, lights reflecting in the mirrors.

“Your horse awaits.” Rudy climbed up onto the ride, pushing open the small door in the centre of it. He whacked something a few times, and the ride began to move, going around slowly. You hurried to join him.

“I’m afraid this is the final amusement,” he proclaimed dramatically, rolling his eyes. You couldn’t help giggling at him. “However, we have been here for two hours, and you have to be up for drill in thirty minutes. So!” He clapped his hands, and climbed the horse beside yours.

Music from so long ago, sweet and lyricless, played softly as the carousel turned. Your horses moved with the music, up and down gently. You closed your eyes, remembering this feeling of utter calm. Rudy at your side, the cold of the pole you held, and the jingling, old-worldly music. The warmth of the evening, and the knowledge that the two of you were completely alone.

The sudden jolt of the carousel almost sent you careening off your horse. Rudy exclaimed, and the carousel slowed to a stop, the music falling short. Rudy groaned, sliding of his horse.

“Awh, come on!”

A few whacks of the console later, the ride was done. Rudy came out sheepishly, shrugging. “I think we broke it.”

Despite the ride’s end, you couldn’t help smiling, climbing down. “I think you broke it. I’m not sure you’re supposed to hit electricals.”

“Whatever, loser. Wanna get going?”

As much as you enjoyed your night looting and exploring, you did need to get going. “Sure. Although I don’t appreciate having to do drill on no sleep.”

He scoffed, and then quietened. “But, did you enjoy your birthday surprise?”

He’d never admit that he was conscious of his actions. That wasn’t Rudy.

“Yeah,” you said. “Thank you, Rudy.”

You walked back the way you came. A couple of times, you thought you heard crashing, but when you mentioned this to Rudy, he shook his head.

“Just the ride breaking down,” he waved it off. “Let’s just get out of here.”

For somebody who swore the mall was safe, Rudy appeared to be on edge. He kept looking back after every noise, prompting you to walk faster.

“You’re gonna miss drill,” was his excuse.

The final time, you couldn’t deny the noise. Clicking, and groaning. An inhuman noise from just down the mall. Growing louder.

You blinked at him, fearfully. For a second, you swear your heart stopped.

Rudy had grown pale. His brown eyes looked black in his very white face. He gulped. “Don’t panic. We’re fine. We’re—”

It had been closer than you both thought it was. Out of the shadows, something snarled, and it burst forth, running at you with unnatural speed. It’s head was split open by the fungus you’d only seen pictures of, and it was more horrifying in person. Dried blood stuck to its clothes, and dribbled from its mouth. It shrieked and screeched as it stumbled towards you, and in a frantic hurry, you screamed.

Rudy snatched up your arm and yanked you along desperately. “Don’t try to fight it! Fucking run! Go!”

Your voices echoed, the sound of the infected screaming echoing with you. Your heart pumped viciously, throat and chest burning with exertion. FEDRA school provided the basics in saving your hide—doing the real thing happened to be much, much harder. You grasped your switchblade from your pocket, flipping it open.

The Infected caught your hair. Yanked you down.

Your chin smacked the floor, and pain radiated through your face. The deafening shriek it let out rang in your ears as harsh blows from its erratic hands pounded your head. All you could do was try to crawl away.

Rudy yelled, another weight added to the mix. You were released momentarily. You looked up; your switchblade lay halfway across from where you lay, breathing deeply. A little away from you, a sharp knife stuck out of the Infected’s neck, blood leaking out. Rudy fought with all his might, kicking, punching. You found your feet, trying to hurry and save Rudy, but it was like you were stuck in jelly, everything felt weird. Rudy howled in pain, the Infected screamed, and your knife lay in your hand once again.

With a strange determination, you ran over, grabbed the Infected by the shirt, and drove your blade into it with a fury that frightened you. Again and again, until it grew quiet and motionless.

All was quiet. The scuffle of your shoes, rounding the dead Infected, felt jarring.

Rudy was breathless. You were breathless.

“Oh shit. Holy fuck.”

Pure shock. Adrenaline ran through your veins, and your whole body shook. Rudy’s eyes didn’t meet your eyes. His whole face fell.

On the floor, they rested midway. You slowed down, and directed your eyes in the direction his were.

There, on your wrist, lay a bleeding wound in the shape of teeth. The sight made you woozy, forcing you to sit down before you fell down.

The despair hit quickly. “Oh, not today. Not my birthday.”

Rudy huffed a tearful laugh. “Any other day is fine?”

You wanted to pretend it didn’t hurt and walk out of here to the parade yard. Truthfully, the bite really fucking hurt. If you didn’t wrap it up soon, you’d bleed more than you liked.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

Rudy took a minute. Then he pulled up the too-big jacket, and revealed a similar bite on his wrist. The bone looked swollen and bruised, and bled profusely.

You moved over to your best friend, and together you warmed up, still shaking.

“I don’t want to be like that. I don’t—” he choked tearfully, dark eyes on the Infected. “I don’t want to be like that. End it. I’ll do the same. For you.”

As if Rudy predicted it, he declined first. The twitching a half hour or so after the accident. By now, your classmates would be asking around for you. Not long after the twitching did Rudy cry in pain. You couldn’t do it then.

Only when there was no sign of Rudy left, that was when you got on with it.

You really didn’t want to think about what would happen to you. Or rather, what wasn’t happening.

Hours passed, you’d stopped the bleeding, but nothing more had occurred. The skin around the bite had bruised, and turned puffy, but…you hadn’t changed. And it was well past the change time. So what the hell happened?

You decided to move. You couldn’t sit any longer with Rudy’s body, especially now there was a chance there was more than one Infected.

You shared a final look with Rudy, eyes closed like he was just fast asleep.

They caught you on your way out—Fireflies.

—

CHAPTER THREE

[penvisions]

return the favor {chapter 14}

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader 

Summay: Kansas City keeps throwing curveballs at your group, but the city limits are thinning and it looks like you'll all make it out.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: canon typical violence, canon compliant deaths, gore, description of injuries (not explicit) 

A/N: this is a bit of a smaller chapter, to help me get back into the motions with this fic. i think i psyched myself out with this fic due to how serious i set up the story line and how to the book i'm keeping it (for the most part), so to speak. but also like, the hoard scene is just really beautifully done in the show and i didn't want to mess it up but rushing through it, i really wanted to display that reader an Ellie are capable of taking care of themselves under pressure. 

please let me know what y'all think! and thank you for taking the time to read! 

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist 

There was a large creaking of metal filling the night air before the truck that had crashed began to teeter in its spot as if it was on the cusp of a cliff. The quake of earth giving way caused you to stumble, your foot coming off of Perry’s neck as everyone turned their attention to the source of the sound. The truck swayed where it was half crashed into the house it had served into, the sound of metal grating on metal making your head throb. Before it could even fully tip forward you took a step to distance yourself further from it. Kathleen didn’t seem to notice as she was completely focused on the movement of the truck. It disappeared with a crumble of earth into the ground completely, a sink hole having opened up in the house as a result of the crash or had already been forming over time and had given way from the weight of the vehicle.

A feeling of cold dread shot down your spine at the quiet rumbling of that sounded from the dilapidated structure when silence would’ve been the natural progression once the vehicle settled below the ground. Whispers of snarling ignited goosebumps along the entirety of your body and you were stepping back further the more intensely they grew.

You were quickly leaning down and helping Perry up from where he was still pinned beneath your weight. He didn’t tear his eyes away from the rumbling and now alarmingly low roar of voices that was beginning to flood the air, though his hands grasped at your good one as he stood. He continued to face the house, as did everyone, the sound could only mean one thing….

Your motions were quick to retrieve your guns from the ground, placing them back in their respective holds and you had only managed two or three steps toward where you had been hiding and where your machete was abandoned on the ground when a crowd of rotted bodies all but exploded out of the sinkhole opening. Your heart caught in your throat and your nerves felt like they were buzzing, but you didn’t let the fear halt you. You let it fuel you. You broke out into a run, scooping up the machete from the ground and shouted for Ellie as loud as you could, hurting your already hoarse throat.

-

You swung as hard as you could at the two runners closing in on you, Ellie’s back to you as she tried to help guide you away from them in a relatively safe path through the utter chaos that had exploded. A shot rang out close and took out one of advancing figures. You lunged and landed the blade of your machete in the side of the second one’s head, the squelching sound bringing a wave of nausea over you that you pushed down.

You turned around and ushered Ellie toward a vehicle, silently telling her to hide in the confines as more figured descended on you. Two of them fell to the ground, shots smoking at the apex of their foreheads telling you how they were downed. As you looked up, your eyes connected with Perry across a small distance. His rifle was raised, and it was obvious he had helped you. You nodded at him, an understanding blooming between you. It was all circumstantial, if he had encountered you out beyond the walls or even within them and Kathleen hadn’t painted you as a threat, he would’ve tried to help you. Just as you would’ve tried to help him.

Ellie fell to the ground when one of the figures you were fighting turned and set its sights on her, grasping for her. You cursed under your breath as you felt a sting on your own arm, one of the clickers in front of you getting a good deal closer than you were comfortable with as your attention had been focused on her. You shouted over your shoulder at her to crawl, to crawl and keep low, keep vigilant and get to the damn vehicle and lock the doors. There was a shot that rained down and took the clicker crawling after her out, allowing you a short lived moment of relief as you tried to thin the hoard.

Precise shots rained down on any threat that got too close to you or Ellie. You knew Joel was trying to help in any way, the guilt of not being able to do so down on the ground in the trenches of the chaotic scene was probably eating away at him. It was better for him to be up in that house, away from all of this.

It was terrifying.

Time seemed to be moving in slow motion, everything seemed to draw out in long seconds. But it was also moving at an alarming speed, making your head spin as you focused on the task of getting Ellie to safety. She was running from the vehicle you had shoved her toward nearly careening into you in her haste, frantic. Bodies dropped as she made her way toward you. You saw a glimpse of the small Infected figure now trapped as it clawed desperately at the glass of the windows. The sound of its nails and fingers breaking against the glass were focused in your ears and it made you shudder. You ushered her close to your side, guiding her hand to grip a strap on your pack.

You weren’t near the crowd that had tried to ambush you. They had dispersed quickly, instincts taking over revenge. Haphazard shouts of orders barely registered

Shrieking hit your ears harshly and you spun around to see both Henry and Sam being pulled from underneath a car by a small form of Infected. You and Ellie both rushed over, your machete swinging wildly as you tried to clear a path. The revving of an engine was loud as a car came out of nowhere an you pushed Ellie away from you toward the boys, throwing yourself to the ground just in time to avoid the speeding vehicle. Inside the driver was being torn apart, blood splattering against the inside of the windows in a gory display.

You scrambled up and reached for the legs of one of the figures clawing after Sam, pulling it toward you and setting your blade into the back of its head. Ellie  managed to stab the one that had done the same to Henry, dragging the man from underneath the truck and had been about to sink its teeth into his back.

“Let’s go, now! Kids in front. Run!” Once they were freed, though they were injured much the same as you and Ellie, you ushered everyone ahead of you. You all moved down the street, off to the main path of asphalt to avoid being easy targets. “Run as far as you can and do not look back! Joel will meet you if we can’t!”

They were about to break into the line of trees surrounding the neighborhood when a figure appeared behind you, yelling at you to stop. You turned on your heel, the gun in your body holster in your hands and the machete being secured to your pack in a breath. Kathleen stood before you, the scene of what she caused playing out behind her in a sicky ironic way. She had fought so hard for revenge, to find justice that she had damned the very people who had been looking to her for guidance and were willing to help her achieve her goal.

She was closest to you, the kids and Henry further back but sill too close to her for your comfort.

“I can’t let you go, you took everything from me.”

“I didn’t take shit from you, Kathleen. You got greedy and damned yourself.” You held your gun with its last few shots just as adamantly as she was holding hers to you. Mirroring each other in a bubble of intense silence as chaos continued to reign all around. You felt the presence of your group behind you, and you silently urged them to step back with a short nudge of your head, not daring to take your eyes off the dangerous woman in front of you. If they could just breech the tree line, they would be that much safer.

Your eyes caught movement over her shoulder the same moment Ellie let out a quiet gasp.

Behind her, the same small Infected that had stalked Ellie was climbing over an abandoned vehicle, its head inclined toward Kathleen.

You had the passing thought to fire on her in a moment of sympathy, to save her from the intense and panicked death that she was sure to have. You even went as far as to lift up your gun higher, just as the small form lunged at her but her words of children deserving to die rang through your mind and you lowered it. Joel was behind you suddenly, having made sure everyone had begun to move before he approached you where you were rooted in your spot. The violence of Kathleen being torn apart and her screams holding you still.

“This way now! Move!” You heard his orders but they were muffled as if you were underwater, your gaze locked on the sight in front of you.

Joel reached out and placed a hand tight on your right shoulder gently, calling your name softly but no less urgently.

“We gotta go. Don’t wanna get mixed in this anymore than we already have.” His voice held a weird timbre, as if he was barely able to get the words out, they sounded forced from his chest. He needed to get everyone to safety, he needed to get you to safety.

Your eyes snapped back into focus, and you turned to look up at his worried face. He reached up and wiped away the tears you didn’t know you had been crying.

“C’mon, we gotta go.” You followed him, hands clasped tight together as you both ran to catch up with the rest of your group.

-

The tears wouldn’t stop flowing, the pain in your arm was too much, your vision was blurring and going black at the edges, your eyes refusing to focus. Your tears had quickly waned from those of horror and sadness of the city’s downfall to that of your own personal pain.

“I gotta stop, I think I’m doing more damage to it the longer I don’t do something about it.” Your voice was hoarse from your frantic cries when the injury had happened.

“I don’t know how to help.” Joel’s voice was rough, panicked beneath the crumbling resolve of trying to remain calm for you, for everyone as you tried to get as far away from the hoard as possible. His hands hurt where he clenched a gun, the metal hot with the heat of his stress and anxiety. His other one still holding tight to your good one.

You all had managed to put some distance between the absolute horror show of what had just happened and were all crowded in front of what used to be an apartment complex or a motel, it was hard to discern. The only thing that everyone knew for sure was that you were on the outskirts of the city limits, there were more highway junctions and open fields than condensed buildings and neighborhood streets.

“We just need to find somewhere safe, let’s clear this building and just…hunker down for the night.” You tried not to noticeably sway on your feet, but you think you failed as you felt Ellie’s small hands grasp at you. She was wrapping her arms around your sides, body offering support on your right side, careful to not knock your left shoulder or arm at all, your broken arm still held close to your chest. You couldn’t feel anything below your elbow and anything above that was throbbing.

“I’ll help anyway I can, but that really doesn’t fucking look good.” Ellie’s face was worried, eyes wide with panic. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the white of the bone sticking up through your skin despite it making her slightly nauseous. Joel snapped his fingers, the sound breaking her focus on the sight of your injury. She looked to him, trying to school her expression but she didn’t think she succeeded. His frown was a touch too loose to be intimidating.

“I know a little from helping the doc, but not much.”

“I think…” You let out a shaky breath, not sure if the hysterical laughter bubbling through the air you heard was your own or one of your companions. It was unnerving, regardless of who was making the weird sound.

“You can’t even stand up straight, you think you can patch it up?” Joel’s voice loud in your ear, you weren’t sure when he had moved so close, but his body was a hard line against yours. His own replacing Ellie as she now stood slightly off to the side, close to Henry, the two holding hands as they tried to keep their heads in such a situation. He was genuinely asking, not trying to make you feel lesser for being so out of touch now that adrenaline was fading from everyone.

“I have some stuff in my pack.” Your words were slurred, black spots popping up and making it hard to focus. You felt yourself sway again, his chest coming to support your back, arms secure around you as you felt the adrenaline drain from your body completely. Your head lulled back, knocking into his shoulder with a thud as it was suddenly hard to keep it level.

“But can you concentrate? I don’t think any of us know enough to help.” Joel’s voice was wrecked though he was still trying to school in his emotions, he didn’t like this, he really had no idea how to fix a bone that was broken through flesh. Surgery would be his first guess, but they were twenty years too late for that to be an option. You shoved off from him, feet scuffling as you tried to keep your balance as a flash of energy rushed through you at the sound of his voice.

“I can take care of it, just give me a damn minute!” You shouted, bringing up your good hand to rake through your loose hair. You could tell you were shaking with how spent your body was, ready to just pass out and be done feeling anything for a moment. You felt hot tears spill over your lashes in another wave, hand firm on your forehead as you tried to collect your thoughts. Ellie called out your name, making you open your eyes and look over to her.

“We just want to help. We just don’t know how and you’re shaking.” Her brow was furrowed, eyes wide as she tried to keep her arms to herself. She hoped her pleading eyes would be enough to convince you to let everyone help, you were so quick to do so for them. “I know you’re not trying to, but you’re scaring me.”

“She’s goin’ into shock.” Henry’s voice was quiet, him not wanting to impose on the already emotional situation.

You opened your mouth to retort but a particularly sharp, hot pain reverberated from where the bone was ripped through your skin, your words drowned out by a stuttering breath before your vision faded completely and you felt yourself begin to crumble where you stood.

“Shit!”

“Don’t let her land on her arm!”

“Joel, catch her!”

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[coolgrl111]

i’m gonna cry for sam and henry so much oh my god