This is the first fan fiction I've ever written, so it's not great but I worked hard
Chapter 1
"See anything Joel?" Ellie asked as they kept trudging along the snow caked ground, Joel lowered his rifle and sighed, "Nope. Not a goddamned thing" If it wasn't snowing so hard I would've probably gotten something by now "Fuck, its cold….can we just go back with Tommy and Maria now?" She shook the snow from her hair. "Actually Ellie, I think we might have to hole up in one of those cabins we passed by earlier, the snow's getting bad and we're way too far from the dam to make it back before dark" Ellie stomped her foot in the snow "Then why'd we even come out here in the first place" she turned away from him, pouting. He's always pulling bullshit like this. "C'mon now, don't get like that, it'll probably only be for the night anyway" He turned her towards him and grinned at her, "What do you say, it could be interesting, how about it Smellie?" She punched him softly in the arm, still pouting "I fucking hate it when you call me that…..but I'll go just because I have no choice " That was easier than I thought. Joel chuckled as they continued on back down the way they just came, the snow was coming down hard now, and by the time they had reached the small town-like area they had passed through at the beginning of their hunting excursion, they were covered from head to toe.
"I'm gonna have it be your choice since I made you come out here, so go ahead, pick one and that's where we'll stay". Ellie's eyes scanned each cabin, inspecting them meticulously, picking out flaws that would otherwise be overlooked. Shingles hanging off roofs, whether it had a chimney or not, the little mundane things that in a world before everything went to shit, wouldn't've mattered. Finally after much silence she finally said "That one" pointing to a fairly large, almost perfect looking cabin. "Okay then, lead the way" Joel said as he gently pushed her in front of him. Once they entered and it was clear that there was no ever present danger, they began to look around for supplies. " Joel, this place looks really cozy" Ellie said as she looked around, while Joel, ever the scavenger started up the stairs to search the rooms. He did't find much, some shotgun shells and rags he could use for a molotov were strewn onto the bathroom floor. He entered what seemed to be the master bedroom and something caught his eye. Oh she's gonna like this. "Ellie, come here and look at this" she ran up the stairs and appeared in the doorway moments later "What did you f-" she gasped as she saw the giant shelf he was standing in front of. There's probably over 200 books on this thing. She flew across the room and began analyzing the many titles that were neatly filed before her " Filth, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Misery, Fight Club…hey, what's this?" she grabbed a book off the shelf "Fifty shades of grey" she opened the book and began to read when Joel who had just been standing around this whole time, swiftly snatched the book out of her hands " Uh….I think you're a bit young for that" he said sheepishly. She crossed her arms. "Hmph" and turned back to the shelf and began checking out the rest of the books " Gerald's Game, Different Seasons, IT…" Her voice trailed off as Joel stood and watched the little book worm admiring her new collection. He looked down at the book he still held, does she even know what any of that stuff is? Am I gonna have to eventually talk to her about it?….No, not now, shut it out.
"Joel?" she was now looking at him, a puzzled look spread across her face, "You looked a little freaked for a second, you ok?". Joel quickly looked down at Fifty shades of grey then back to her face. "Yeah, I'm good, let's finish checking this place out" he said, quickly stuffing the book into his bag. The cabin was well stocked with canned foods, had a working fireplace, a generator, a working shower, and still had some gas in it's propane tank. As they descended the stairs, they heard the shrill sound of the wind swirling and screaming against the cabin's walls. Without much thought, Ellie grabbed Joel into a hug. when she let go of him, her face was red. "Sorry…I got scared" Joel gave her another squeeze "it's all right baby-girl" He walked over to the fireplace and toss a couple of logs into it that were sitting in a pile nearby. "Hungry?" he asked, turning around to see that she was looking through a tall closet that sat near the door "Fuck, it feels like I haven't eaten in years" she said as she produced a large box " But first I wanna look through this" Joel shook his head "Nope, you really should eat something first" "Fine" she sighed, and wandered over to the check the cupboards. She hasn't been pouting very much lately, I like agreeable Ellie. She returned holding a can in each hand "It's tomato soup" she said, tossing him the cans, the fire was really going now, filling the cabin with a warm, almost romantic glow. He opened the cans with a shiv, then passed them back to Ellie. "We're fucked if you don't keep an eye on this soup, I'm not exactly the best cook in the world" Joel laughed and watched her pour the thick red soup into two pots and set them on the stove. Joel got up and turned the stove on, meanwhile Ellie was opening the box she found I'm starving but I don't care, gotta see what's in this box. After pushing aside a mound of packing-peanuts she came across a note Merry Christmas Justin, Love Mom. Inside the box there was a small, bulky, CD player. "Holy shit, Joel check this out" she said excitedly. Joel lumbered over and picked the thing up, "Looks like it's never been used, did it come with any CD's?" Ellie saw a thin, square shaped case at the bottom of the box. She held it up, blew the dust from it a looked at the cover. MTV Unplugged in New York: Nirvana, "What's Nirvana?". Joel scratched his beard "Sarah used to really like them, they were a rock band, hugely popular in the 90's, the lead singer killed himself I think". A loud bubbling sound behind him asked for him to return to the soup, while Ellie sat on the couch in front of the fireplace with the CD player in her lap. She flipped it over and opened the small battery hatch on the bottom "Any batteries in one of those drawers over there Joel?" He crouched next to the stove, opened a drawer, and shifted a few things around until he stood up and walked over, handing her 4 AA batteries.
After inserting them, along with the CD, she placed it on the floor. A mug of hot soup appeared under her nose, "Drink up" Joel said, plopping down next to her and started to drink his own cup of steaming hot tomato soup. More shrill screams of wind thrashed around outside, through the window it was easy to see that the snow was coming down extremely bad "Damn…." Ellie said quietly, and put down her mug, suddenly she wasn't so hungry anymore. "Not big on storms huh?" Joel said setting down his now empty soup mug, "No, they freak me out, I never feel safe during them" she looked embarrassed. "Well I'm here for you Ellie" Joel soothed. She hugged him for the second time that night, "Thanks" she said into his shirt, then looked up at him. " I'm happy to have ended up with you, Joel….and well, I don't really know how to say this but….I..L-" Wind howled outside, and was soon accompanied by a crash of thunder that made her cling to him once more, a small shiver ran down her spine. Joel hugged her tight and whispered "It's ok baby-girl, I got you" the fire engulfed them, and the entire cabin, in it's inviting orange warmth. Ellie's mug of soup still sat on the floor. Once the thunder quieted down a little, Joel went up the stairs to get a mattress so he could sleep downstairs. Ellie looked over and saw that his bag sat over next to the door. She crept over to it, unzipped it, and took out Fifty Shades of Grey.
(P.s I checked and there can be lightning and thunder during a blizzard)
